K-Culture Heats Up Mexico as 48,000 Attend K-Expo

Held Over Four Days, Marking the Largest Expo to Date

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on September 30 that the "2026 K-Expo Mexico," held in Mexico City from September 24 to 27, concluded after attracting 48,000 visitors and conducting 1,561 export consultations.

This expo was organized through the collaboration of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, as well as relevant agencies such as the Korea Creative Content Agency. A total of 120 companies from content, Korean cuisine, beauty, and other K-culture sectors participated, making it the largest-ever comprehensive K-culture event of its kind.

Consumer exhibition hall view at the "2026 Mexico K-Expo." Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Having reached its fifth year, the "K-Expo" is a comprehensive expo that connects cultural events based on K-content with industrial exhibitions and business consultations. Notably, this year’s event offered a variety of side events aimed at expanding K-pop interest into the broader K-culture industry by tapping into Mexico’s K-pop fandom, which is the fifth largest in the world. According to data released last year by Spotify, Mexico has more than 14 million K-pop fans.

Prior to the opening of the consumer exhibition, a "K-pop Random Dance Play" session was held in the corridor in front of the venue, with 150 young K-pop fans from Mexico participating.

From September 25 to 27, the consumer exhibition featured participation from major beauty companies like Amorepacific and LG Household & Health Care, food companies such as Nongshim, CJ CheilJedang, and Binggrae, as well as leading domestic firms including Samsung Electronics, Kia, and LG Electronics.

On the second day, September 26, about 2,000 people were waiting to enter before the doors opened, and on the final day, September 27, the venue reached capacity early due to a surge in visitors. The consumer exhibition drew a total of 42,000 attendees, while the K-pop concert held on September 25 at Mexico City’s Pepsi Center attracted 6,000 people. The total number of expo visitors was tallied at 48,000.

The export consultation sessions, held on September 24 and 25, brought together 120 domestic firms specializing in content, beauty, food, and lifestyle with 313 buyer companies including major broadcasters and record companies from 10 Latin American countries. A total of 1,561 consultations took place on-site, resulting in the signing of 88 memoranda of understanding (MOUs).

'2026 Mexico K-Expo' K-Pop Concert Venue. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The total value of export consultations recorded so far is USD 120.21 million, with actual contract amounts reaching approximately USD 900,000. One participating cosmetics and medical device company signed an MOU with a local buyer for a deal worth USD 7 million, while a venture company specializing in performance intellectual property (IP) successfully signed export and investment agreements worth USD 800,000 with local buyers in Mexico.

Additionally, ELTV, a food content production company, entered into a USD 1 million MOU with a Brazilian online video service (OTT) platform for the joint production of K-food content. Baek Heonseok, CEO of ELTV, commented, “I witnessed the passionate interest in K-food and K-culture throughout Latin America. Building on the momentum of this expo, we will continue to expand into the Latin American market.”

Choi Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, “This expo has made K-culture’s appeal more tangible in everyday life across Latin America and provided an opportunity for our K-culture companies to expand into new markets. Collaboration with related ministries and major companies has been an essential driver of these results. Next year, we will further incorporate feedback from the field to elevate the event and build upon this year’s achievements.”

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