K-Pop's Big Four Formally Register Their Fanomenon Joint Venture, Targeting a December 2027 Festival Debut
Seoul — Fanomenon, the joint venture co-funded by South Korea's four biggest entertainment agencies — HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment — completed its incorporation registration at the Seoul Central District Court registry on Oct. 26, giving the planned global K-pop mega-festival, widely dubbed a Korean Coachella, a dedicated operating company. Korean legal and entertainment industry sources disclosed the completed registration on Nov. 10.
The name Fanomenon blends "fan" and "phenomenon." The joint venture will oversee the festival's planning, production and on-site operations. On trademarks, the venture took over half of the domestic and overseas Fanomenon trademark rights filed under JYP Entertainment's name, while the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism holds the other half under a joint-ownership contract signed on Oct. 22, putting the public-private governance structure formally in motion.
The venture's first chief executive is Park Yoon-seo, who has worked at both HYBE and JYP Entertainment. The project is spearheaded by JYP founder Park Jin-young, who co-chairs the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange with Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young. In April this year, the four companies filed a business-combination report on the joint venture with the Korea Fair Trade Commission.
Under the current plan, the first Fanomenon festival will be held in South Korea in December 2027 and become an annual event; from May 2028, it is to expand into a touring format across major world cities. All four agencies are publicly listed, and their decision to set aside years of rivalry to co-fund a single festival platform is a first for the Korean entertainment industry.
(Source: Fanomenon joint venture)
Source: Fanomenon joint venture
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：韩国K-pop体育场演唱会现场（2015年KCON济州站，资料图）。照片：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / Photo: A K-pop stadium concert in South Korea (KCON Jeju 2015, file photo). Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
