When the elevator doors opened, Korea began: A K-culture journey in the heart of New York

[Financial News, New York = Reporter Lee Byung-chul]As the elevator doors opened, a burst of colorful neon signs immediately caught the eye.
"Dive into K-Sanctuary PC room."
Next to a space lined with dozens of gaming PCs stood a red snack counter. The shelves were packed with Nongshim cup noodles and Korean snacks, and the sign reading "Bunsik" made the corner look like a PC room lifted straight from a busy street in Seoul. This is the second floor of the Korean Cultural Center New York in the middle of Manhattan.
Back down the stairs, the atmosphere changed in an instant. On the large LED screen in the open first-floor exhibition hall, scenes of Busan, Jeju and the coast of Gangwon State unfolded. Past a relaxation area with parasols and beach chairs, visitors reached Amorepacific Corporation's K-beauty experience zone. Laneige, Innisfree, Hanyul, AESTURA and IOPE were all gathered in one place.
At the end of the path, an entirely different world was waiting. After passing through an entrance designed like a theater door, a large LED media wall draped with red curtains overwhelmed visitors. A moment later, the curtain lifted and silhouettes of zombies began appearing on the screen. The space that had just moments earlier evoked a summer beach in Korea suddenly turned into a horror-film set.


This is the scene of "It's Time for K-Culture 2026 - Escape the Summer, Dive into Korea," the center's summer campaign.
Now in its fourth year, the event turns the entire center building into a single "trip to Korea." For the first time, the Korean Cultural Center New York, the New York office of the Korea Tourism Organization and the New York Center of the Korea Creative Content Agency joined forces to connect tourism, K-beauty, gaming and horror films along one route. This year's slogan is also "One Building. Endless Korea." The idea is to offer visitors the experience of traveling through a Korean summer simply by walking through the building.



The first floor is organized around travel to Korea, K-beauty and horror content. The New York office of the Korea Tourism Organization introduces major destinations such as Seoul, Busan and Jeju, creating the feeling of choosing a summer vacation spot. Amorepacific Corporation has set up a K-beauty experience space centered on summer sun care and skin care products. The route feels like preparing for a trip to Korea, browsing cosmetics and then heading straight into a theater.
Korean horror films are positioned as the strongest visual element in the event. The large LED media wall, theater-style entrance, red curtains and zombie imagery reinterpret Korea's summer horror tradition in the language of a New York exhibition. A special horror film screening will also run from Aug. 6 to 21. Four Korean horror films - "A Tale of Two Sisters," "The Wailing," "Salmokji: Whispering Water" and "My Daughter Is a Zombie" - will be shown, highlighting the range of Korean genre cinema from psychological horror and occult themes to mystery and black comedy.
The second floor presents a very different side of Korea. The wall of the exhibition hall features the logos of Smilegate and the New York Center of the Korea Creative Content Agency, while posters for Korean games such as Crossfire are on display. Sung Joon-ho, CEO of Smilegate, who visited the site that day, said, "The United States is the largest game market," adding, "We supported this event to help promote Smilegate games, including indie titles."
Farther inside, visitors find a space designed to look like a real PC room. Black gaming chairs, monitors, headsets and purple lighting line the room, while a snack counter stands opposite.
In Korea, a PC room is more than just a place to play games. It is also a daily space where friends spend time together and escape the summer heat with ramen and snacks. This exhibition focuses on showing New Yorkers that distinctly Korean summer scene. In particular, the phrase "Too much gaming is good for your soul" and the ramen and game icons are used to playfully explain PC room culture in Korea.
The event will continue in the coming weeks. From Aug. 1 to 3, a space for BTS fans will also open, introducing K-pop fandom culture through participatory programs that fans can enjoy together. Once the special horror film screening runs through August, the center building will become a multifaceted K-culture space embracing tourism, beauty, gaming, food, film and K-pop.
Lee Jeong-mi, head of the Korean Cultural Center New York, said, "Global interest in K-content is now expanding beyond music and dramas to tourism, beauty, gaming, food and lifestyle as a whole." She added, "This campaign is also highly meaningful because it is the first project planned by three organizations housed in one building, each connecting its own expertise into a single story."




[email protected] Reporter Lee Byung-chul Reporter