Character Licensing Fair 2026 Draws About 40,900 Visitors

Character Licensing Fair 2026 was held at COEX from July 16 to 19, 2026. It was organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency, and Board Game Con took place over the same period.

A total of 241 companies took part with 722 booths, and about 40,900 people visited. Business matching meetings totaled 1,208, with consultations worth about 36.7 billion won ($27 million). On July 16, the opening day, the Korea Creative Content Agency signed separate agreements with emart24 and Lotte GRS under its "IP Licensing Build-up" program, which turns the IP of small and mid-sized content companies into collaboration products and helps with distribution.

Local governments and companies also brought their own characters. Busan Metropolitan City ran a "Boogi Sauna" booth, putting its city character Boogi at the front for business matching on joint IP development. It also sold 34 types of goods from local companies on consignment.

Lotte Department Store took part with Kinder Universe, its own kids' character universe. Kinder Universe is a set of nine characters launched in 2024. It started as decoration for the store's kids' floors and has expanded to company-wide marketing. Lotte Department Store also announced its plans for goods in the second half of the year.