The world's largest influencer expo, 2025 SEOULCon, wrapped up successfully, setting records for the largest-ever attendance and online reach.
Seoul Business Agency (SBA) said on the 9th that about 94,460 people visited 2025 SEOULCon, which it co-hosted with CJ ENM. That was up 53.4% from a year earlier.
Marking its third edition last year, SEOULCon was held from the end of the year through early this year at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). The event featured Seoul's flagship lifestyle industries, including fashion, beauty, music, and gaming, and drew attention as a global K-culture business platform combining K-content and commerce.
This year's event drew a total of 3,567 teams of global influencers from 56 countries. Among them, 1,772 were domestic influencers and 1,795 were overseas influencers. During the event, they produced a total of 9,455 online pieces of content themed on "Seoul, a city of charm," and K-culture.
These pieces of content spread across online platforms worldwide, logging about 450.55 million cumulative views. That was up about 40.6% from a year earlier. SBA said the results show that SEOULCon has established itself as a key exchange platform in the global creator ecosystem.
SEOULCon also delivered meaningful results in economic ripple effects. SBA estimated the event generated about 175.7 billion won in economic impact. The figure was derived by aggregating the consumption expenditure of roughly 94,000 visitors, global advertising effects from influencer content distribution, and various production and value-added inducement effects.
An SBA official said, "The commerce-matching program operated during the event led to practical business cooperation between corporations and creators, contributing to expanding the economic impact."
SBA plans to improve the operating direction of SEOULCon to boost content business competitiveness and expand citizen participation. It will systemize programs around core themes such as K-pop, K-beauty, fashion, and e-sports to strengthen business cooperation between influencers and corporations. Citizen-participation programs will also be expanded to provide general visitors with diverse hands-on experiences. SBA will prepare programs linked with DDP, the event venue, and commercial districts across Dongdaemun to spur the local economy.
Kim Hyeon-woo, head of SBA, said, "SEOULCon has firmly established itself as an integrated K-culture business platform," adding, "We will strengthen programs centered on core themes and links to local commercial districts to develop it into a public event enjoyed by citizens and a digital economic ecosystem where global creators and Seoul corporations grow together."