40,000 Join 'Korea Season' Showcasing K-Culture in Thailand and Vietnam

39,917 people take part in major events in Thailand and Vietnam
Program features original ballet 'GAT,' band performances and classical music
Program to be expanded and revamped next year as the 'K-Culture Bridge Project'

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on November 6 that a total of 39,917 people had participated in or attended performances at major events under the 2026 Korea Season, which it is organizing with the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange and the Korean Cultural Centers in Thailand and Vietnam.

The Korea Season is a program that presents a wide range of cultural and artistic programs throughout the year in countries with strong interest in Korean culture and high potential for cultural exchange. This year, programs have been held in Thailand and Vietnam since May, including contemporary ballet, band music, classical music and media art exhibitions, highlighting the diverse appeal of Korean culture beyond K-pop and dramas.

This year's program opened with GAT, an original ballet by Yoonbyeol Ballet Company that reinterprets the traditional Korean hat known as the gat through contemporary ballet. Performances held in Bangkok, Thailand, and Hanoi, Vietnam, in May drew 934 and 716 people, respectively, for a total audience of 1,650. The venues also hosted exhibitions and hands-on programs featuring the gat, as well as professional training workshops.

The K-Live Festival, held in October, drew 34,465 people. The October 17 concert in Bangkok featured Korean artists including Hyukoh and Onewe, as well as Thai band Paper Planes, and attracted 6,101 people. The Hanoi concerts on October 24 and 25 featured Korean artists including QWER, Silica Gel and Touched, along with Vietnamese singer Hoang Trung and the Mau Nuoc Band, drawing an audience of 28,364.

Classical music performances were also held. On November 5, SM Classics Live in Hanoi, featuring a collaboration between SM Classics and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, took place at the Ho Guom Opera House in Hanoi. The performance reimagined familiar K-pop songs as orchestral music, including Red Velvet's "Feel My Rhythm" and Girls' Generation's "Into the New World," and drew about 900 people. Master classes for music education and a talk concert were also held.

A media art exhibition that reinterprets traditional Korean paintings in a contemporary way is also underway. The exhibition Life Around Us is running at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology from October 20 to November 29. Using works from the National Folk Museum of Korea, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and the National Palace Museum of Korea, it presents Koreans' wishes for protection, peace and abundance, as expressed through tigers, plants, animals and nature. A total of 2,907 people visited during the opening week.

In Thailand, the exhibition Landscapes of the Wind will be held at the Korean Cultural Center in Thailand from November 16 to December 25. Through immersive videos inspired by works from the National Museum of Korea, including Tiger, Roar! and Endless Mountains and Rivers, the exhibition explores the meaning of traditional Korean paintings.

Starting next year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will launch the K-Culture Bridge Project, an expanded and revamped international cultural exchange program. By linking three existing initiatives—the Korea Season, the Year of Mutual Cultural Exchange, and Support for Two-Way International Cultural Collaboration—the ministry plans to strengthen the strategic and reciprocal nature of international cultural exchange.

In particular, the ministry aims to go beyond introducing Korean culture overseas and expand exchanges in which artists and institutions from both countries jointly plan and create works. It will also focus on establishing a foundation for sustainable international cultural cooperation through exchanges between future generations and follow-up collaboration.

Kim Hyunjun, director general for international cultural policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "This year's Korea Season has presented performances and exhibitions that offer fresh interpretations of traditional Korean culture and provided an opportunity to broaden cultural exchange by creating performances together with local artists. Next year, we will expand the number of priority partner countries and further strengthen two-way exchanges in which artists and institutions jointly plan and create works."

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