Three decades after CJ entered the culture business, Chairman Lee Jay-hyun visits KCON LA 2026 to see K-lifestyle gaining ground with U.S. consumers
Under the blazing August sun in Los Angeles, ZEROBASEONE took the stage at Crypto.com Arena for the first live performance of “exotic,” drawing cheers from tens of thousands of fans. Across the street at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Gen Z and Gen Alpha visitors consumers from around the world lined up to experience K-beauty and K-food brands.
KCON, the world’s largest K-lifestyle festival launched by CJ in 2012, brought these experiences together in one place. Chairman Lee Jay-hyun, who first envisioned KCON, returned to Los Angeles to witness the festival’s energy firsthand.
The visit came just three months after Chairman Lee toured CJ’s key U.S. business operations in May. Crossing the Pacific once again, he saw how the global expansion of the K-wave and K-lifestyle — an ambition he began pursuing decades ago — is taking shape on the ground.
A Seed Planted in 1995, a Bet Made in 2012, and a Dream Taking Shape in 2026
“I will make it possible for people around the world to enjoy Korean culture by watching two to three Korean films every year, eating Korean food once or twice a month, watching one or two Korean dramas every week and listening to one or two Korean songs every day.”
More than 30 years ago, K-pop, K-food and K-beauty had yet to enter the global vocabulary.
At the time, the vision seemed almost unrealistic. In an era when the idea of culture as an industry was still unfamiliar, CJ’s decision to enter the Hollywood film industry, despite its roots in food, was met with warnings that it was a reckless gamble. Chairman Lee pressed ahead, guided by his belief that “culture is the industry of the future.”
Those words set CJ on a long journey. In 1995, CJ invested in DreamWorks, planting its first seed in the culture business. In 2012, it brought K-culture together under one roof with the launch of KCON, creating a place where global audiences could experience and enjoy it. Beginning with K-pop and expanding that interest in Korean culture to food, content and beauty, the festival became a real-world testing ground for Chairman Lee’s vision.
Fourteen years later, KCON LA 2026 showed how that small seed had grown into what CJ calls K-lifestyle. The films, food, dramas and music envisioned more than 30 years ago were now joined by beauty, all brought together at KCON. It was a tangible realization of a vision that once seemed far out of reach.
On August 14, Chairman Lee visited the festival to see that vision taking shape firsthand. At OLIVE YOUNG FESTA, which spanned approximately 4,700 square meters at the center of the convention floor, he saw long lines of Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers carrying festival-exclusive bags and waiting for skin scans. He also sampled bibigo Kimchi Noodles, recently launched in the U.S., and commented, “It needs a kick.”
At the Mnet Plus booth, showcasing CJ ENM’s global K-pop content platform, Chairman Lee encouraged the team, saying, “We have to make sure U.S. K-pop fans all use Mnet Plus.”
The following day, August 15, Chairman Lee visited the concert venue with Vice Chairwoman Miky Lee and Lee Kyung-hoo, Head of Brand Strategy at CJ ENM. As the audience sang along to ILLIT’s “Not Cute Anymore,” Chairman Lee watched performances by izna and ZEROBASEONE, both represented by CJ ENM label WAKEONE, as he reflected on CJ’s 30-year journey in the culture business.
A Dream Few Believed in 30 Years Ago Is Now Shared by Many
Since its launch in 2012, KCON has drawn 2.35 million attendees across 14 locations worldwide. More than a K-pop concert, KCON is a K-lifestyle festival that brings together K-pop, K-content, K-food and K-beauty, including experiences from OLIVE YOUNG, all in one place.
What begins with K-pop can lead fans to Korean films and dramas, as well as the food and beauty products they see on screen. KCON brings those experiences together, connecting cultural interest with K-lifestyle in everyday life.
This year, OLIVE YOUNG took that experience further as the title sponsor of KCON LA, where it presented OLIVE YOUNG FESTA. Held in the U.S. for the first time, OLIVE YOUNG FESTA gave consumers a chance to discover and try a range of K-beauty brands firsthand, while giving small and independent companies a platform to expand their presence in the U.S.
That was also why Chairman Lee spent considerable time at the K-Collection zone, which featured primarily small and midsize brands. KCON provides these brands with a platform to connect with Gen Z consumers and to explore opportunities for global expansion.
What began as one person’s vision has now evolved into a shared ambition for CJ and the small and midsize K-brands expanding alongside it.
From Three Days of Cheers to Everyday Life: CJ’s Next 30 Years
The cheers that filled Los Angeles over three days offered a glimpse of how a long-held vision has become a reality. But Chairman Lee’s return to the U.S. just three months later was about more than reflecting on that progress. It was also an opportunity to look ahead to the next chapter.
Samuel Richards, a professor of sociology at Pennsylvania State University known for his work on the Korean Wave, recently delivered a lecture to CJ executives, where he described CJ as a global K-lifestyle leader. “CJ operates across many different areas of culture, and you cannot find another company like it anywhere in the world,” he said. “CJ is the only company that has created culture through this kind of business and helped introduce K-culture to the world.” His remarks reinforced Chairman Lee’s conviction in the path ahead.
For CJ, the next 30 years will focus on taking K-lifestyle beyond the festival experience and bringing K-food, K-beauty and K-content more deeply into consumers’ everyday lives in the U.S. That is the path Chairman Lee is charting for CJ’s next 30 years.
