Onew Also Wore Hanbok... 16,000 Visit Tokyo’s KDAY

[Financial News] KDAY, which showcased designer hanbok and Korean lifestyle culture—including fashion, beauty and food—all in one place, was held in Tokyo, Japan. A total of 16,000 people visited the pre-event and main event.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 20th, the ministry, the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) and the Korea Craft & Design Foundation (KCDF) held KDAY’s main event on the 17th and 18th at Omotesando Hills in Tokyo. The main event drew 10,000 visitors, while 6,000 people visited the pre-event held on the 14th through the 16th.
KDAY is an event that broadens the introduction of Hallyu, centered on culture, arts and content, to include lifestyle culture such as fashion, beauty and food. It was first held on May 23 and 24 in Bangkok, Thailand. At the time, 46 Korean brands took part, and around 6,000 people visited the event.
Thirty-seven Korean lifestyle brands took part in the Tokyo event. The exhibition was organized around three themes: “Ways of wearing tradition in today’s everyday life,” “Ways of managing and filling your day,” and “Ways of expressing your tastes in your own way.” In the designer hanbok section, 10 brands selected by KCDF showcased hanbok garments, norigae ornaments, daenggi hair ribbons, key rings and other items.
A designer hanbok fashion show was held over two days on the grand staircase stage at the center of the venue. Six brands took part, including Hanbok Couture, Weiyu, Gaeui Hanbok, So Mi-gyeong, Baek Hyun-ju Hanbok Research Institute and Jaeidam. Visitors tried on hanbok and explored the exhibition, or took commemorative photos with the models.
On the 18th, Onew of SHINee attended the event wearing a hanbok he had chosen himself. Onew spoke with local visitors about Korean lifestyle culture.
The event also held 23 hands-on sessions sharing ways to enjoy fashion, beauty and food in everyday life. All sessions were fully booked as soon as advance registration opened, and participants took part in activities such as “Make a Knot Bracelet” and “Make Your Own Scented Sachet.” The pre-event featured pop-up stores and hands-on activities by partner brands including Ringti, GS25 and Anoc.
In KOFICE’s “2026 Survey on Overseas Hallyu (based on 2025),” food had the highest rate of experience with Korean cultural content among respondents in Japan, at 90.7%. This was 12.7 percentage points higher than the 78.0% food experience rate among all survey respondents. The rate of experience with Korean beauty content in Japan also rose 7.4 percentage points from 36.8% the previous year. The survey covered 27,400 people aged 15 to 59 in 30 countries and regions outside Korea who had experienced Korean cultural content.
A policy official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, “Next year, KDAY will return in a new form as a flagship model for a convergence-based K-culture event.”

[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter