SEOUL, April 17 (AJP) - South Korea’s K-pop powerhouses — HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment — are moving to institutionalize a Coachella-style annual K-pop festival, marking a rare joint initiative among the industry’s fiercest rivals.
The four agencies have jointly submitted a joint-venture proposal, tentatively titled “Fanomenon” a portmanteau of “fan” and “phenomenon” to the Fair Trade Commission, according to sources on Friday.
The initiative has also been tabled at the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, a policy advisory body launched in October 2025 and co-chaired by Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young and Park Jin-young, founder of JYP.
Park is aiming to debut the festival in South Korea in December 2027 as an annual event, with plans to expand into a global touring format across major cities starting in May 2028.
He envisions building the project into a large-scale event on par with the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which spans two weekends and draws more than 120,000 attendees per day.
The companies said the project remains under development, with key details on structure, operations and execution yet to be finalized.
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