New York is getting yet another big pop culture event in 2027: KPEX, the Korean Pop Culture Expo, put on by the folks behind Anime NYC.
The three day event will be held Memorial Day weekend, May 29-31st at (where else?) The Javits Center. Get ready to crowd in yet again for an extravaganza of K-Pop, K-Dramas, K-Comics, K-Games, K-Food, and K-Beauty, or as it’s being called, “a revolutionary comic con for the Hallyu Generation.” (Will there be comics? Yes – keep reading.)
What to expect: a chance to “see, hear, taste, and touch what’s next in Korean entertainment.” Stars, panels, screenings, interactive workshops, autograph sessions, and a concert every night with Korean music stars.
That sounds like a lot but KPEX is brought to you by a team of experts: Greg Topalian (co-creator of New York Comic Con), Robert Khoo (co-creator of PAX), and Peter Tatara (co-creator of Anime NYC), and run by LeftField Media, which puts on Anime NYC, Anime Frontier, Awesome Con, and Rose City Comic Con. In addition, they are teaming with the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), and Ize Press, the US publisher Solo Leveling and Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, and many other companies that are involved in the Korean culture explosion. B2B activities will also be part of the event.
OF course we at the Beat are no strangers to this explosion via our sister site, KComicsBeat – we’ll have regular updates and coverage over there so bookmark now!
And now the forward looking statements:
“From Oscar wins and K-Pop stars performing during the World Cup, to record-breaking streaming success, Korean entertainment has become a beloved fixture in American pop culture with over 25 million fans all across the country,” said Peter Tatara, Co-Founder of KPEX. “We hope we can now give its fans, creators, and the companies at the heart of K-Culture a place to call home in the center of New York City.”
“KPEX hopes to create a space for fans to deepen their relationship with Korean culture, lifestyle, entertainment, and artists,” said Robert Khoo, Co-Founder of KPEX. “We want to uplift the community by giving it a home in NYC, build a destination which elevates the fandom all across the United States, and our long-term goal is to expand this cultural excitement into lasting international awareness and goodwill that more closely connects the US and Korea.”
“KPEX looks to follow the same success as Anime NYC, which LeftField founded nine years ago, and we’re working with many of the same partners and team who brought Anime NYC to life,” said Kelly Comboni, CEO of LeftField Media and Clarion Connect. “We further want to make certain that KPEX is built authentically for fans of K-Culture. The KPEX team is made of K-Content fans, and we’re working with organizations and individuals across the Korean and Korean American worlds to craft the event in a genuine way, including partnering with Infinitize and IW Group, both award-winning agencies with tremendous experience in Korean culture, entertainment, and fandom, to help build the best, most fan-focused festival we can create.”
I usually spend Memorial Day weekend eating barbecue, but I guess I’ll be eating a lot of Korean fried chicken this time. Oh no? Oh YES.
Tickets go on sale September 18 at 12 Noon Eastern Time, with special guests and more show details being announced regularly throughout the fall.
To keep up with development, check out kpexevents.com, subscribe to the newsletter, and follow the event on Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok.
