16,000 Visit 'KDAY,' a Convergence K-Culture Event in Tokyo, Japan

37 Korean brands spanning hanbok, beauty and food take part
SHINee's Onew connects with local fans in hanbok

A two-day convergence K-culture event, KDAY, drew 16,000 people in Tokyo, Japan.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on the 20th that KDAY, held on Oct. 17-18 at Omotesando Hills in Tokyo, Japan, recorded a total of 16,000 visitors across its pre-event and main program.

KDAY is an event that expands the focus of K-culture beyond traditional culture and the arts and content to encompass everyday life, including food, beauty and fashion. It was organized by the ministry in collaboration with the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange and the Korea Craft & Design Foundation.

Following its first event in Bangkok, Thailand, last May, the second edition was held in Japan. Centered on "design hanbok," the event showcased a range of K-lifestyles, offering visitors new ways to discover their personal tastes in everyday life. Before the main event, from Oct. 14-16, partner brands including Ringti, GS25 and Anok held pop-up stores and interactive events.

According to the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange's "2026 Overseas Hallyu Survey," food had the highest rate of experience with Korean cultural content in Japan, at 90.7%. The rate for beauty-related content also reached 44.2%, up 7.4 percentage points from the previous year. A total of 6,000 people attended the pre-event, while 10,000 attended the main event.

The main event's exhibition featured 37 Korean lifestyle brands.

In the design hanbok category, 10 brands selected by the Korea Craft & Design Foundation presented a range of products, including hanbok, norigae ornaments, daenggi hair ribbons and key rings. A hanbok fashion show also featured six brands: Hanbok Couture, WAYYU, Gaui Hanbok, Somigyeong, Baek Hyun-joo Hanbok Research Institute and Jaeidam. On Oct. 18, the second day of the event, Onew of SHINee took to the stage wearing a hanbok he had personally selected and spoke with local audiences about K-lifestyles.

A total of 23 hands-on sessions shared ways to enjoy fashion, beauty and food in everyday life, including making knot bracelets and hyangnang scent pouches. All sessions sold out as soon as the advance registration system opened.

A ministry official said, "We hope the K-lifestyles that people in Japan discovered and experienced through KDAY will become part of their daily lives," adding, "Next year, we will present a new version of this event as a flagship model for convergence K-culture."

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