Two major ‘creator’ events to be held in Korea
On July 4, at studioJPAK located in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, participants in Creator Week& and the Incheon International Single-Media Festival hold up the names of event sponsors. A mega unboxing with 20 famous creators, experts and journalists will be held at the event. [KWON HYUK-JAE]
Now, creators - as they are known - are going from internet famous to real-world famous. Multi-Channel Network (MCN) companies, and agencies that hunt and foster talented creators, are working to find them and turn them into bigger stars.
For Korea, this represents a larger opportunity. Internet creators could become new growth engines, on par with K-pop, K-drama and K-fashion, and cultural exports.
To help build momentum, an event will be held later this summer to bring the creators together and connect them with the public.
“Creator Week&” will be held at Coex, southern Seoul, in exhibition Hall C from Aug. 9 to 11. The event is hosted by the JoongAng Ilbo and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
In the past, creator events were held via individual platforms, or MCN companies would arrange performances for their creators. Creator Week&, on the other hand, is a mega event where major platforms and MCN companies collaborate with media, including the JoongAng Ilbo and JTBC.
Treasure Hunter and Sandbox are the major MCN partners for the event. Treasure Hunter has famous YouTubers like Big Marvel and ACAU and Sandbox has Dotty. JTBC’s Lulu Lala Studio, which made Wassup Man and Workman huge hits, is also participating in the event.
In terms of platforms, afreecaTV has Shugi and Selly among its creators, and GlanceTV, which dominates the off-line platform markets, will also feature performances by their creators.
YouTube will deliver a lecture about how platforms support creators through policy. Law firm Jipyeong will explain copyright issues that could be raised with creator content. TikTok, a global short-video application that currently leads the 15-second video boom, will also participate.
On the main stage, creators connected to Treasure Hunter, Sandbox, YouTube, afreecaTV and lecturers will speak.
The highlight of the event is a huge unboxing show where 20 famous creators, experts and journalists will open new products. A 20-person simultaneous unboxing has never been held in Korea. Along with the unboxing show, the performances over the three days will be broadcast live through afreecaTV and will be uploaded to YouTube and GlanceTV.
Aside from creator performances, around 20 companies will hold marketing events with creators. Creators will walk to all of the venues and have interviews with participating companies.
They will share their experiences using products by uploading videos to their channels.
Tuesday morning will be a “business day” where creators and companies’ marketers can meet and broaden their networks. The creators and marketers who visit the venue on this day will have a chance to discuss the collaborative event with each other.
The creators can even experience hosting a show in person at the MCN booth or on platform. Visitors can buy tickets at the Interpark website from July 19.
“It is the first time in Korea to open a creator event where not only platforms and MCN but also the media participate,” said Song Jae-yong, the head of Treasure Hunter.
“This event will go beyond the interests of platforms and MCN companies, and become a foundation to grow the creator industry as Korea’s next growth engine.”
Following Creator Week, the Incheon International Single-Media Festival will be held at the Exhibition Hall in Convensia located in Songdo, Incheon, from Aug. 16 to 17. Incheon Metropolitan City will host the event.
The Korea-China Cultural Exchange Forum under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Incheon Techno Park are co-sponsoring the event. The event, in its second year, will have over 130 popular creators both from home and abroad. Visitors can enjoy a variety of programs, including photo time with creators.
This year, the Wang Hong studio for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be on site. Wang Hong, a term used to designate Chinese online influencers, will host a live show and sell small- and medium-sized start-up products. At the studio for the young who aim to establish a start-up, an innovative product will be introduced and be sold on the spot.
“At this year’s event, in line with the reputation as an international city, we, Incheon, will invite a large number of popular creators from overseas,” said Song Soo-keun, the head of The Korea-China Cultural Exchange Forum.
“In particular, we will make the event to allow the young to find new jobs and help SMEs.”
BY JUNG KYUNG-MIN [kim.heyu@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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