Blackpink have headlined Coachella, as have Stray Kids at Lollapalooza, while Seventeen have rocked Glastonbury and Le Sserafim have dazzled Summer Sonic. Yet Korea has no equivalent – there is no festival that sees music fans around the world book flights to K-pop’s birthplace every year. But that is about to change.“Fanomenon”, a K-culture mega-event unveiled this week by South Korea’s Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, is the most ambitious attempt to fill that gap.More than a new festival, it signals a strategic pivot for hallyu (“the Korean wave”), from exporting artists and content outward to pulling fans to Korea, in turn converting global fandom into an annual pilgrimage built on concerts, tourism, merchandise and participation.The plan is sweeping. The inaugural festival will run from December 2-12, 2027, at the Seoul Arena – under construction in northern Seoul’s Dobong district – and Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi province, anchored by concerts featuring artists from the rosters of SM, YG, JYP and Hybe, and a fandom awards ceremony. Another event will take place in Los Angeles in May 2028.Organisers project 520,000 visitors, including 200,000 from overseas, and over 1 trillion won (US$690 million) in economic impact.BTS perform during the 2026 World Cup final halftime show at the New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford on July 19, 2026. Photo: Tom Weller/dpaThe tourism logic is hard to dispute. Korea welcomed nearly 19 million foreign visitors last year, and hallyu content was one of the biggest reasons for visiting the country.