K-EXPO UAE Drives K-Style Evolution in the Middle East

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On the 16th, local time, at 5 p.m., the main stage of Global Village in Dubai, the largest multicultural festival theme park in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was alive with energy. Locals wearing hijabs gathered around frying pans, attentively listening to instructions on how to prepare a popular Korean dish. The day’s focus was on tteokbokki, a beloved Korean street food. A host at the “K-Food Cooking Stage” explained, “Mix Korean chili paste (gochujang) and Korean chili powder (gochugaru) to make the sauce,” which sparked nods of understanding from the audience.

After tasting their homemade tteokbokki, participants were overwhelmed with enthusiasm, repeatedly exclaiming, “Delicious!” Rawan, 21 years old, and Mariam, 23 years old, members of a Korean culture club at their university, shared, “We discovered tteokbokki through K-dramas. Making it ourselves was easy and tasty.”

The “2025 K-EXPO UAE,” hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency, took place in Dubai on the same day. This event is part of the global Hallyu (Korean Wave) expo, which is jointly held by government agencies and institutions to promote exports in content and related industries. The K-EXPO series began in Vietnam in 2022, followed by Thailand in 2023, and France and Indonesia in 2024. This year, after Canada and Spain, it was held in Dubai—the first time in the Middle East. A total of 103 Korean content and product companies participated, along with six government departments and 12 institutions.

The event highlighted the widespread influence of K-culture. Booths featuring characters, games, and platforms from domestic content companies attracted large crowds. LG Electronics showcased its ad-based free streaming TV service, FAST TV, while other booths displayed the Gonggi Game, webtoon characters, and Korean ramen, gochujang, and kimchi. Notably, a K-Beauty booth had a line of approximately 20 visitors eager to try products and collect samples. Ariana, 37 years old, said, “I’ve heard Korean cosmetics are great but haven’t tried them. I’m excited to sample them here.”

The globally popular Baby Shark mascot from The Pinkfong Company roamed the venue, taking photos with visitors. The game “Step In,” which uses AI to track dance moves via a single camera for real-time dance battles, also drew large crowds. A Sidewalk employee explained, “Our AI evaluates dance skills using just one camera, no sensors needed. Many locals are eager to dance to K-pop tracks.”

At 7 p.m., a K-pop concert at the same venue attracted over 10,000 attendees, who filled the aisles and sang along in Korean. Cheers erupted as girl group Billie, musical actor Kim Ju-wang, singer Punch, and Hallyu (Korean Wave) star Chen took the stage, overwhelming Global Village, which attracts over 10 million visitors annually.

This K-EXPO aimed to expand the reach of Hallyu beyond its traditional focus on consumer trends like K-dramas, K-pop, and K-Beauty into a broader K-style business model that integrates content, industry, and technology. On the 17th, a B2B (business-to-business) expo at the Dubai World Trade Center connected Korean companies with local buyers. Kim Nak-kyun, head of the Global Innovation Division at the Korea Creative Content Agency, stated, “The K-EXPO UAE signifies a new intersection where Korea and the UAE can simultaneously advance culture and industry, based on their special strategic partnership. It will mark a new phase for Hallyu (Korean Wave).”

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