HYBE original story IP Dark Moon (DARK MOON) and the group ENHYPEN participated in the United States' San Diego Comic-Con 2026 (hereafter SDCC 2026), a global pop culture fan festival, opening a new era for the vampire genre.
On the 23rd (local time), HYBE said on the 27th that at SDCC 2026, held around the San Diego Convention Center in the United States, "Dark Moon" is carrying out a variety of offline campaigns that are drawing numerous global fans.
SDCC is a mecca of popular culture where global entertainment corporations representing pop culture, such as Marvel and DC, introduce new content and interact with fans worldwide, and this event proved that Dark Moon's modern vampire narrative, which fuses story and K-pop, strongly resonates in the mainstream North American popular culture market.
In particular, the panel talk held on the 23rd at Ballroom 20, one of SDCC's most core stages, was a moment in which Dark Moon was recognized as a new leading work in the vampire genre. Ballroom 20 is a symbolic space for the vampire genre where landmark works such as the film Twilight and the drama The Vampire Diaries have held sessions and been presented to the public.
At this session, ENHYPEN, who collaborated with Dark Moon, took the stage alongside Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke and actors Ashley Greene and Peter Facinelli. The panelists cited "solidarity among the marginalized and alternative families" as the reasons the vampire genre remains beloved across generations.
ENHYPEN also expressed deep empathy when mentioning the narratives of the vampire boys in Dark Moon. The members said "the boys in the work lose their memories and, after becoming vampires, wander for hundreds of years, but they overcome trials together and forge true brotherhood," and noted.
In particular, ENHYPEN emphasized the strong connection between character and artist narratives, saying, "A sense of bond and solidarity is the most important value for ENHYPEN as well, and our ultimate goal is to connect people's hearts around the world through music. Because the members and fans are by our side, we can rely on each other and overcome [challenges]."
Meanwhile, the excitement of Comic-Con continued into the night. The off-site event DARK MOON BLOOD NIGHT with ENHYPEN, held on the evening of the 24th at the House of Blues in San Diego, was designed as a unique space where attendees could sensorially experience Dark Moon. Hundreds of attendees who dressed in vampire dress code immersed themselves in the universe by enjoying immersive videos reenacting the work's narrative, live performances on site, and themed food and beverages. ENHYPEN, who then took the stage, performed six live songs imbued with Dark Moon's narrative and held a talk.
ENHYPEN said, "We successfully completed the world tour we held in San Diego for the first time, and we never expected to come all the way to Comic-Con like this," adding, "I also toured the Dark Moon booth and it was really cool. Because I wanted to show you a great stage, I stand here, and thank you for coming." They went on to deliver a string of performances such as "Bite Me," "Moonstruck" and "CRIMINAL LOVE," full of their distinctive dark fantasy color, stoking the crowd's enthusiasm.
Park Tae-ho, head of HYBE's Next Entertainment Business Division, said, "Through vampires who stand on the boundary between human and monster, Dark Moon conveys messages about the loneliness and identity confusion modern people feel and healthy solidarity that overcomes these issues," and emphasized, "As this Comic-Con proved it is a distinctive transmedia IP in which story, music and offline experiences are perfectly combined, we will continue to expand the IP so global fans can enjoy it together."
[Photo] Belift Lab Inc.
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