HYBE-SM-JYP-YG’s New Project To Surpass Coachella?— Netizens React

It has been confirmed that Korea’s major entertainment companies, HYBE, SM, JYP, and YG, are joining together to establish a joint venture to create a global festival.

According to a report released on April 16, the four agencies recently submitted a merger notification to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to establish a joint venture related to concert planning.

It was reported that the venture required an FTC review, given that HYBE was classified as a large conglomerate and SM is an affiliate of Kakao Group, another large conglomerate.

While the venture is scheduled to be established with four companies contributing equal equity stakes, the specific structures, such as the CEO and board of directors, have not been finalized.

It has also been confirmed that the corporate name will most likely be “Phenomenon”. As the name suggests, the joint venture will serve as a platform for executing the Phenomenon project, a global K-Pop festival promoted by Park Jin Young, the Chairman of the Committee on Inter-Korean Exchange and Culture.

They aim to hold a large-scale festival in Korea in 2027 featuring artists from the four agencies, before expanding it into a global festival starting in May 2028.

They hope to build a “world-class K-Pop concert venue and create a global music festival that surpasses ‘Coachella’.”

However, netizens felt it should be held only at the national level, so it could attract more people to Korea.

• “Let’s do something, but stop going overseas.”
• “Wait, they shouldn’t be making rounds overseas…”
• “Stop thinking about going overseas and do it in Korea so that foreigners can come here. What’s the point of going making it overseas?”
• “Just do it in Korea so that people can come here!”
• “It would only have merit if they did it in Korea. If you do it overseas, will people go? I mean foreigners will, but…”
• “Just do it in Korea.”