Korean pop culture is ready to take over NYC with the launch of KPEX: Korean Pop Culture Expo. The new three-day event will take place in New York City’s Javits Center from May 29 through May 31, 2027, bringing K-Pop, K-Dramas, K-Comics, K-Games, K-Food, K-Beauty and more together in one epic pop culture event.
KPEX comes from an experienced team of fan convention organizers, led by New York Comic Con co-creator Greg Topalian, PAX co-creator Robert Khoo and Anime NYC co-creator Peter Tatara and built by LeftField Media (the makers of Anime NYC, Anime Frontier, Awesome Con, and Rose City Comic Con). The inaugural event will feature Korean stars, concerts, screenings, panels, autograph sessions, interactive experiences and an expo floor, with the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), a governmental agency focusing on expanding K-Content worldwide, and Ize Press, the US publisher of fan-favorite Korean comics and novels including Solo Leveling and Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, among its initial partners. Additional guests, partners and programming will be announced in the coming months.
NYC is quickly becoming the pop culture capital of the U.S., with NYCC continuing to grow into one of the premier comic-cons in the country, as well as other events like Anime NYC. KPEX will only bolster that growth and leverage the seemingly unstoppable growth in popularity of Korean pop culture.
Read more about KPEX below and get your travel plans ready for May 2027 in NYC.
Credit Anime NYC/LeftField Media and Aoki Studios
####
KPEX: KOREAN POP CULTURE EXPO LAUNCHES IN 2027 IN NEW YORK CITY
New Event from LeftField Media and the Co-Creators of New York Comic Con, PAX, and Anime NYC brings together the worlds of Korean Music, Movies, Television, Comics, Games, Food, and Beauty on May 29-31, 2027
New York, NY (August 27, 2026) – LeftField Media, a consumer and enthusiast division of Clarion Events, today announced the creation of KPEX: Korean Pop Culture Expo. This new event will be a three-day celebration of Korean entertainment and culture in America’s biggest city filled with special guests and events for fans of K-Pop, K-Dramas, K-Comics, K-Games, K-Food, and K-Beauty. Led by event industry veterans Greg Topalian (co-creator of New York Comic Con), Robert Khoo (co-creator of PAX), and Peter Tatara (co-creator of Anime NYC), and built by LeftField Media (the makers of Anime NYC, Anime Frontier, Awesome Con, and Rose City Comic Con), the KPEX team has made some of the biggest and most beloved popular culture live events in the US, and they now turn their experience on the exciting, burgeoning world of K-Content and K-Culture.
Spread across Memorial Day Weekend 2027, KPEX will provide fans an opportunity to meet their favorite Korean stars and see, hear, taste, and touch what’s next in Korean entertainment. Each day will be packed with panel discussions, premiere screenings, interactive workshops, autograph sessions, and a dynamic expo floor filled with shopping and unique experiences, and each night will be anchored by a showstopping concert spotlighting artists coming from Seoul to New York City. KPEX will present fans with over 100 hours of special events created by both leading companies in the K-Content world as well as their fellow fans all around NYC. KPEX is by fans, for fans, and the voices of the fandom will be felt all throughout the convention, delivering an unforgettable weekend for all lovers of K-Content and K-Culture.
KPEX is further proud to share that it will launch with partners, sponsors, and participants including the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), a governmental agency focusing on expanding K-Content worldwide, and Ize Press, the US publisher of fan-favorite Korean comics and novels including Solo Leveling and Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, with many, many more participants to be announced across the coming months.
Fans can look forward to tickets to the convention launching on September 18 at 12 Noon Eastern Time. KPEX will announce special guests and show features throughout the fall.
“From Oscar wins and K-Pop stars performing during the World Cup, to record-breaking streaming success, Korean entertainment has become a beloved fixture in American pop culture with over 25 million fans all across the country,” said Peter Tatara, Co-Founder of KPEX. “We hope we can now give its fans, creators, and the companies at the heart of K-Culture a place to call home in the center of New York City.”
Looking across the country, comic cons and anime cons connect fans with American and Japanese pop culture in almost every city, but very few gathering places exist for fans of Korean pop culture. KPEX will change this and build a revolutionary comic con for the Hallyu Generation, bringing lovers of K-Pop, K-Dramas, K-Comics, K-Games, K-Food, K-Beauty, and more all together under one roof in New York’s Javits Center.
“KPEX hopes to create a space for fans to deepen their relationship with Korean culture, lifestyle, entertainment, and artists,” said Robert Khoo, Co-Founder of KPEX. “We want to uplift the community by giving it a home in NYC, build a destination which elevates the fandom all across the United States, and our long-term goal is to expand this cultural excitement into lasting international awareness and goodwill that more closely connects the US and Korea.”
In addition to connecting fans with the Korean pop culture industry, KPEX will also connect industry professionals with one another through a B2B experience side-by-side with fan interactions. KPEX looks to build a path for companies and creators to debut projects and products and offer new media exposure and meaningful business connections.
KPEX is announced by LeftField Media just one week after the 2026 installment of its Anime NYC Japanese pop culture convention. Its largest year yet, Anime NYC played host to 172,000 fans from around the USA, world premieres, and appearances by some of the biggest stars and companies in Japanese pop culture, all brought together in the Javits Center – the same venue as next year’s KPEX.
“KPEX looks to follow the same success as Anime NYC, which LeftField founded nine years ago, and we’re working with many of the same partners and team who brought Anime NYC to life,” said Kelly Comboni, CEO of LeftField Media and Clarion Connect. “We further want to make certain that KPEX is built authentically for fans of K-Culture. The KPEX team is made of K-Content fans, and we’re working with organizations and individuals across the Korean and Korean American worlds to craft the event in a genuine way, including partnering with Infinitize and IW Group, both award-winning agencies with tremendous experience in Korean culture, entertainment, and fandom, to help build the best, most fan-focused festival we can create.”
Fans wishing to hear more can visit kpexevents.com, join its newsletter, and follow the event on Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok to be the first to learn about special guests, show features, and ways to get involved. High resolution logos can be downloaded here.
ABOUT KPEX
KPEX is a comic con for the Hallyu Generation, a celebration of K‑Pop, K‑Comics, K‑Dramas, and more in the heart of New York City! Join us for an exciting weekend filled with concerts, premieres, autographs, exclusives, and unique experiences that all connect fans with what’s next in Korean culture and entertainment. KPEX’s mission is to share Korean pop culture and support the artists and organizations behind it, and we’re a community for fans, a market for exhibitors, and a platform for publishers – all focused on expanding K‑Culture in America’s biggest city! Learn more at kpexevents.com.
ABOUT CLARION EVENTS
Clarion Events is the world’s largest privately owned event and exhibition organizer, producing and delivering innovative and market-leading events and digital products across the globe. Since its inception in 1947, the company has grown into a truly international organization, with a portfolio of 125 events and media brands across a range of vertical markets. Clarion Events employs nearly 2,000 people in 12 countries around the globe. The organization aims for each of their products to become a market leader in customer satisfaction and delight whilst retaining talented people and loyal partners. The business constantly strives to increase its value across long term vertical industries with significant international growth potential. Clarion Events is presented as a best-in-class, customer centric and digitally enabled partner. By applying a customer first approach across the organization, they create outstanding platforms and products for their customers and partners to grow their own businesses. For more information, please visit clarionevents.com.
ABOUT LEFTFIELD MEDIA
LeftField Media, LLC is an events company focused on developing face-to-face events in a range of communities rooted in contemporary culture and shared passion. LeftField was formed in 2014 and is now owned by Clarion Events Ltd. With a keen sense of the evolving needs of businesses and their consumers, as well as new opportunities created by change, LeftField takes a clean-slate approach to its work. LeftField’s portfolio includes Awesome Con, Washington D.C.’s Comic Con; Rose City Comic Con, in Portland, OR; Anime NYC, New York City’s Japanese pop culture festival; and Anime Frontier in Dallas-Fort Worth. LeftField Media is headquartered in Shelton, CT. For more, visit leftfieldmedia.com.
ABOUT GREG TOPALIAN
Greg Topalian created New York Comic Con, the most successful launch in Reed Exhibitions’ history. This led to the creation of ReedPop, a division which grew to $50+ million in revenue under his leadership. In 2014, he founded LeftField Media, an experiential events company rooted in contemporary culture. In three years, it grew to $4 million in revenue. Clarion acquired it in 2016, and in 2017, Topalian was named CEO of Clarion Events North America. In 2023, he launched On Deck Ventures.
ABOUT ROBERT KHOO
A Tokyo-based gaming and live events executive best known as a founding architect and longtime show director of PAX, the world’s largest series of gaming events. As President at Penny Arcade, he helped transform a creator-led webcomic into a global gaming brand, while helping define the modern fan event; culture and commerce built around communities, not just floor space. PAX events are now held across the US and Australia and attract fans from around the world.
ABOUT PETER TATARA
Peter Tatara has spent 20 years working in live events and with East Asian media. At Reed Exhibitions, he managed guests and programming at events including New York Comic Con and the official Star Wars Celebration before leading global business development. Then at LeftField Media, he launched Anime NYC and grew it into the second largest Japanese pop culture festival in America. Most recently at the century-old Japan Society, he ran 100+ traditional and pop culture events a year.
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.
