The “2026 Korea National Brand Up Exhibition,” aimed at properly promoting Korea at home and abroad to enhance its national brand, will open on February 25, 2026, under the theme “Hallyu Becomes a Global Culture.”
The event is jointly hosted by Cyber Diplomacy Organization VANK and Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s national news agency, and sponsored by the Korea Heritage Service. It will run from February 25 to March 2, 2026, at the underground walkway exhibition space of the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
This year’s exhibition focuses on highlighting the value and sustainability of Korean culture, which has drawn renewed global attention following the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Korea’s deep cultural roots serve as the foundation of the identity and global influence of K-culture today. Blending tradition and modernity, Korean culture has expanded into a central platform for global communication, with the country strengthening its role as a “cultural platform nation.”
Against this backdrop, the exhibition will showcase how Korea is developing into a country that connects the world through VANK’s civil diplomacy activities and Yonhap’s global communication network.
The exhibition is organized into five sections.
The first section, titled “The Original: Becoming a Masterpiece,” introduces a collection that reinterprets cultural heritage from Korean history that has drawn global attention as “K-luxury brands.” The second section, “The Present: Captivating the World,” explores how traditional Korean culture is reborn in contemporary popular culture — including film, television dramas and music — leading the globalization of K-content.
The third section, “The Bridge: Connecting Cultures,” presents Korea’s global cultural and economic influence as a platform where innovation in culture, technology and policy is created and expanded. The fourth section, “The Voice: Leading Change,” introduces VANK and Yonhap News Agency as K-brands in private and public diplomacy that connect Korea with the world.
The final section, “The Next Wave: Carried Forward by Us,” invites visitors to complete an art wall through lettering and illustration under the theme “What’s Your Next K-?”
The opening ceremony for the exhibition will be held at 3 p.m. on February 25 at the underground walkway of the National Museum of Korea.
Prior to the ceremony, VANK and Yonhap News Agency will hold the launch ceremony for the 13th cohort of Youth Public Diplomacy Ambassadors, a program jointly organized by the two institutions.