HYBE, SM, JYP, and YG Advance Plans to Establish Joint Venture for Global K-Pop Festival

The first major collaboration among South Korea’s top entertainment companies regarding the global K-Pop festival “Fanomenon,” set to open in 2027, is now moving forward. On the 16th, HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment are pursuing the creation of a joint venture to organize this international music festival under the leadership of Park Jin-young, co-chairman of the Fair Trade Commission’s Popular Culture Exchange Committee.

The four agencies recently submitted a merger application to the Fair Trade Commission, with the joint venture expected to be founded through equal equity contributions from all parties. The name “Fanomenon” — a combination of “Fan” and “Phenomenon” — is the most likely choice for the company. Park Jin-young first introduced this concept at the launch ceremony of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, last October, explaining it as “a phenomenon created by fans.”

Fanomenon is planned to debut in South Korea in December 2027 before expanding into a global festival that will tour major cities around the world starting in May 2028. Park Jin-young has stated his goal is to create an event on a scale larger than America’s renowned music festival, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

The reason why the government and these four entertainment companies are aiming to emulate Coachella lies in its substantial economic impact. Launched in 1999, Coachella currently generates an annual economic effect of nearly $700 million (approximately 1.317 trillion won). The revenue directly flowing to Indio, California, where the festival takes place, exceeds $100 million per year, while seasonal jobs created during the event total around 10,000. The government and the four entertainment companies intend to achieve similar festival-related economic benefits through Fanomenon and broaden the global reach of K-culture.

The committee’s popular music subcommittee includes Park Jin-young as chairman, along with SM Entertainment’s Chang Chul-hyuk, HYBE’s Lee Jae-sang, YG Entertainment’s Yang Min-seok, and JYP Entertainment’s Jung Wook. In a joint statement, the four companies stated, “We are currently in the initial planning stage, and no specific details regarding the project or operational methods have been finalized. We will make careful decisions by thoroughly considering market conditions and various opinions in the future.”

This push for a joint venture represents a notable milestone in South Korea’s music industry history. By choosing to collaborate at an industrial level, these once-rivaling Big 4 entertainment companies are demonstrating their intent to expand beyond K-Pop concerts into global festival IPs. Other major world music festivals include America’s Lollapalooza, the UK’s Glastonbury Festival, and Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival — all of which serve as key cultural assets that enhance city brands and tourism industries in their respective countries.