Kakao Entertainment said on the 9th that Melon, the music platform it operates, will host the 2026 Melon Music Awards (MMA2026) at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul from Nov. 14 to 15. This is the first year MMA will be held on two consecutive days.
This year's MMA theme is "connect," and the slogan is "K-POP CONNECT: The New Pulse." A Melon official said, "It defines the moment when fans around the world come together through K-pop and become one beyond time and space, and MMA2026 carries the meaning of becoming the starting point of a new musical movement (Pulse) for artists and the global fandom."
Melon has recently focused on creating new standards to capture global K-pop trends, such as unveiling the "Global-K Chart" with China's Tencent Music and Japan's Line Music. Melon plans to link the "Global-K Chart" with MMA202 to reflect the opinions of K-pop fans around the world, beyond Korea, in the award results.
A Melon official said, "MMA is the biggest K-pop festival, completed by 22 years of data accumulated by Melon and the heartfelt participation of fans," adding, "This year, with the first two-day event and the linkage with the 'Global-K Chart,' we will take a further step forward as an awards ceremony created together by K-pop fans around the world, beyond Korea."