From Janmang Loopy to Ganadi... Meet Them at COEX

Character Licensing Fair to Be Held July 16-19
186 Companies, 443 Booths... Risenne Named Ambassador

Familiar characters from everyday life are gathering at COEX in Seoul.

On July 17, visitors at the '2025 Character Licensing Fair' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are exploring various characters. 2025.07.17 Photo by Dongju Yoon

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency announced on July 10 that they will hold the ‘Character Licensing Fair 2026’ from July 16 to 19 at COEX Halls A and B1. Under the theme of ‘Expanding: Content Intellectual Property,’ the event will showcase cases where characters create added value by collaborating with other industries.

Popular characters and intellectual properties (IPs) such as ‘Esther Bunny (K-Vision)’, ‘Ganadi (H&F)’, ‘Janmang Loopy (Iconix)’, ‘Shinhan Friends (Shinhan Bank)’, ‘Cats & Soup (Neowiz)’, and ‘Remini (OllaboX)’ will be featured by 186 companies across 443 booths to greet visitors.

There will also be a ‘Build-up Planning Hall’ exhibiting collaboration cases between content and related industries, a ‘K-Content IP Hall’ introducing IPs with overseas expansion potential, and a ‘Special Animation Hall’ promoting domestic animation.

Business matching programs with domestic and international purchasing companies will also be available. Last year, 388 overseas buyers from 16 countries participated, resulting in 1,178 consultations, consultation amounts totaling approximately 66 billion won, and expected contract amounts of about 37 billion won.

Children participating in the 'Character Licensing Fair 2022' held on the 14th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are following the character dance moves. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

At the opening ceremony, Risenne will be appointed as an ambassador and a celebratory performance will be held.

Kim Kyunghwa, Director of Culture Industry Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, “Characters are a key medium through which content IP expands into products, distribution, gaming, and more. We will support companies’ commercialization and overseas expansion efforts and ensure that this becomes a festival where the public can experience the charm of K-characters.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.