Industry insiders and executives in music, film, and brand partnerships settled into The London Hotel in West Hollywood for a full day of conversations, connecting and networking that would have been difficult to imagine a decade ago: a dedicated, high-level, business-to-business forum treating Korean entertainment as a clear and exciting pillar of the global industry — instead of a niche curiosity.
Hosted by CJ ENM America on May 14, 2026, the inaugural K-Entertainment Industry Summit was billed as “an industry hub bridging the gap between Hollywood and Korean entertainment” with a room of panelists, guests and moderators that reflected that ambition. Representatives from Disney, Universal Music Group, Moët Hennessy, AEG, HYBE America, Webtoon Productions and more gathered across three panel discussions covering K-pop fandom, Hollywood investment, and the expanding footprint of Korea-influenced storytelling and IP.
CEO of CJ ENM America Hyonbae Park set the stakes in his opening remarks, sharing, “The message is clear, K-entertainment is not just a passing trend; they have become an integral part of the daily lives of everyone globally.” While the U.S.-based branch of the Korean corporation has brought K-culture fans together through events like its annual KCON festival, Park noted that the industry lacked an infrastructure for business conversations in this world. “That’s why we saw a need for more consistent B2B platforms,” Park said, “Where industry leaders like yourself can come together to discuss K-entertainment as a creative, cultural, and business force.”
Beyond the featured panelists, executives representing a range of major agencies, firms and longtime industry partners in attendance including United Talent Agency, Transparent Arts, Infinitize, Rostr, AMAZE and more, alongside singers, songwriters, producers, actors and other creatives.
One of the greatest insights of the conference came from John Kim, Vice President of Marketing & Distribution at Universal Music Group/Interscope Records, who revealed the internal heat BTS and his team faced to land the lead single from their latest album, Arirang, atop of the charts. Initial projections had the song debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but as tracking days progressed, the numbers tightened against a competing release. Kim said that Universal didn’t retreat to conventional playbook tactics but instead specifically leaned into its fanbase directly, listening to BTS’ ARMY in real time, incorporating their feedback into an active push that ultimately carried “Swim” to the top of the chart and marking the group’s seventh No. 1 single on the Hot 100.
“Sometimes I feel like we work for the fans…it has to go hand in hand with the fans,” said Kim, whose experience includes tenures at SM Entertainment, Amazon’s Audible, and DreamWorks Animation. “K-pop fans want to be involved with everything surrounding the artist, whether it’s physical goods, whether it’s lightsticks, whether it’s an experience or fan events…I always tell people you gotta understand their behavior.”
Another major disclosure from the summit came from James Shin, President of HYBE America Studios, who offered new musical details on K-Pop Superstar: The Movie, the studio’s upcoming film collaboration with Paramount Pictures.
Starring KPop Demon Hunters actress Jiyoung Yoo and singer-songwriter-personality Eric Nam, the film is set for a 2027 release and will include an appearance by HYBE’s own girl group KATSEYE. But Shin shared that the movie will not simply be a HYBE Labels vanity project. Instead, the executive producer behind BTS’ The Return documentary for Netflix confirmed that major labels across Korea were “happy to clear” their music for the film, opening the door for artists even from HYBE’s chief label competitors — like SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment or JYP Entertainment — to appear in the feature and that commercial opportunities from Hollywood can be large enough to dissolve longstanding competitive barriers.
Meanwhile, Michael Traynor, Vice President at Moët Hennessy USA, detailed Hennessy’s multi-year creative partnership with Jackson Wang — one that grew from a standard endorsement into limited-edition bottles, dedicated content, and a collaborative song. “We saw extreme diversity, all different demographics, all different ages, and a fandom that had bought in not just to the experience, but they wanted more,” Traynor said of the team-up, which is ongoing and will include a second collaboration during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday season.
Less than a year after KPop Demon Hunters’ massive breakout success across the music, TV and movie industry, a clear goal of the K-Entertainment Summit is to ensure the successes continue and aren’t strictly limited to once-in-a-lifetime moments.
“Let’s take away the idea of lightning in the bottle,” James Shin remarked at one point of KDH to speak to a future vision for Korean entertainment. “Just look at the brass track of what it is: it’s a great piece of storytelling with innovative animation. They had the aspirations of the biggest musicals — how do we achieve that while also adhering to this whole idea of authenticity? How did they dial into that? Is it the mythology storyline? The details of K-culture?…it’s those little details, it’s the beauty and specificity.”