Korea Season Draws Nearly 40,000 in Thailand, Vietnam
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reports strong 2026 attendance for its traditional and contemporary Korean arts programming abroad.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Cultural
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The 2026 Korea Season, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism with partners including the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, has attracted 39,917 participants since launching in May in Thailand and Vietnam. The series ranges from the ballet GAT to the K-LIVE FESTIVAL BAND:AGE concerts.
Why it matters
The program aims to broaden the reach of Korean culture beyond K-pop and television dramas, presenting traditional art in contemporary forms and pairing Korean artists with local musicians and performers.
The ministry reports 39,917 participants since May, with the October K-LIVE FESTIVAL BAND:AGE concerts accounting for the largest audiences at 6,101 in Bangkok and 28,364 in Hanoi. The report does not provide a prior-year baseline for comparison.
The players
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
The South Korean government ministry responsible for national cultural policy, sports and tourism, which organizes the Korea Season with partner institutions.
SM Classics
The orchestral arm associated with the K-pop label SM Entertainment, which performed reworked K-pop hits with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra in Hanoi.
Yoon Byeol Ballet Company
A Korean ballet company that created GAT, the season's opening original ballet inspired by the traditional Korean gat hat.
The details
The season opened in May with GAT, an original ballet by Yoon Byeol Ballet Company inspired by the traditional Korean horsehair hat known as gat. The Hanoi lineup for K-LIVE FESTIVAL BAND:AGE included Korean acts QWER, Silica Gel and Touched alongside Vietnamese artists Hoàng Dũng and Màu Nước Band, and SM Classics joined the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra for a Hanoi concert reworking K-pop hits.
Timeline
May 2026: 2026 Korea Season launches in Thailand and Vietnam.
May 23, 2026: GAT ballet performs in Bangkok.
May 27, 2026: GAT ballet performs in Hanoi.
October 2026: K-LIVE FESTIVAL BAND:AGE held in Bangkok and Hanoi.
Nov. 29, 2026: Living Things Around Us media art exhibition closes at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi.
Culture Shift
The 2026 Korea Season is a stepping stone toward the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's K-Culture Bridge Project, which the ministry plans to launch in 2027 to expand joint cultural planning and artist exchanges. The initiative builds on the ministry's stated goal of moving Korean culture beyond K-pop and television dramas.
Audiences in Thailand and Vietnam had in-person access to the season's ballet, concerts and exhibition, with the Living Things Around Us show open through Nov. 29 at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. The report does not describe ticket prices or whether future events will be available outside those two countries.
The takeaway
The Korea Season shows that international audiences respond to Korean arts in forms beyond pop music, from ballet to orchestral reworks. Readers interested in cultural exchange can watch for the K-Culture Bridge Project's rollout in 2027.
What happens next
The ministry plans to launch the K-Culture Bridge Project in 2027, expanding international partnerships through joint cultural planning, artistic production and exchanges.
Further reading
Explore more cultural coverage on how Korean arts are reaching audiences abroad.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Korea Times.
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