Riyadh, 6th October 2022 – The Ministry of Culture hosted KCON in Riyadh in October 2022. This was the first time this international event celebrating Korean popular culture was held in Saudi Arabia.

KCON is the world’s largest Korean culture convention and music festival, which celebrates K-Pop, K-Movie, K-Drama, K-Webtoon, K-Beauty, and K-Food. In 2022, KCON celebrated its 10-year anniversary, having welcomed more than a million fans across four continents. The flagship convention offered over 250 brands high exposure and features exciting programming and custom activations. KCON originated in the US, with events in Los Angeles and New York that welcomed fans from all over the world, as 69% of fans traveled from other cities to attend. Since then, KCON has expanded across the globe and held events in Mexico, France, the UAE, Thailand, Japan, and Australia. The event in Riyadh hosted 6 K-Pop artists per day, including Pentagon, the Boyz, and StayC. The bands delivered performances, hosted meet-and-greet sessions, taught dance workshops, and attended a red-carpet event. There were K-Movie and K-Webtoon screenings, as well as stalls for top K-Beauty brands.

In June 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan al Saud, visited Korea to strengthen the bilateral cultural relations between the two countries. His Highness met with key government officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST). Members of the Saudi delegation also met with the Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, as well as business leaders in cultural powerhouses, to discuss ways to boost cultural exchanges between the two countries. During the visit, the Ministry of Culture signed an MoU with CJ ENM which included collaboration around cultural events and has resulted in Saudi Arabia becoming the host of KCON.

His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Culture, stated: “Saudi Arabia and Korea have been cultivating a warm and productive cultural partnership, based on strong ties built over many decades. It has been our pleasure to host KCON as part of our joint efforts to continue our cultural relationship, as well as a contribution to our goals in line with Vision 2030.”

Part of the mission of the Ministry of Culture is to leverage bilateral relations to create opportunities for international cultural exchange. As part of its Saudi Vision 2030 national transformation plan, Saudi Arabia aims to promote culture as a way of life, thereby enabling it to contribute to economic growth.