Oct. 12, 2026, SEOUL, KOREA – Kakao Entertainment Co-CEO Joseph Chang spotlighted K-culture’s worldwide reach and explored new avenues for its continued growth at the 2026 Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore on Oct. 8, joining global leaders from across industries.

The Milken Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank focused on accelerating measurable progress toward a meaningful life. Its annual Asia Summit brings together global leaders across business, finance, government, technology, philanthropy and other fields to address critical issues facing Asia and the world. This year’s summit brought together prominent international figures, including IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Nasdaq Chair and CEO Adena Friedman, and Trip.com Group CEO Jane Sun.

The 2026 Asia Summit featured a session titled “Gonna be Golden: How K-Culture is Innovating the Global Creative Economy,” delving into the business value and global expansion potential of K-culture. Chang joined the panel alongside Daniel Dae Kim, a renowned Korean American actor and producer. Kim, widely recognized for his roles in “Lost” and “Hawaii Five-0,” has also hosted and executive produced CNN’s “K-Everything” documentary series, which explores the global rise of Korean culture. 

During the discussion, Chang examined the factors behind K-culture’s global ascent and its potential for further growth. He also shared Kakao Entertainment’s distinctive competitive strengths and global strategy, underpinned by its powerful fandom ecosystem.

“Fandom is absolutely what surrounds and creates our business,” he emphasized. “K-pop is a very fan-centric business. At the heart of K-pop are the artists and creatives, but the lungs are the fans. What’s happening on the K-pop side is that it systematizes fandom. K-pop fans are so well synchronized, organized, and coordinated.”

Today, fans’ interest and participation are transforming content consumption into broader experiences and creating new forms of value, further amplifying K-culture’s influence around the world. The impact of fandom is also extending beyond digital experiences into real-world consumption and adjacent industries. Against this backdrop, Kakao Entertainment combines its IP production and distribution capabilities with platform technology to elevate the fan experience.

Chang further highlighted this approach, explaining how the company is strengthening its music, media, and other IP businesses while enhancing its platform services to seamlessly integrate commerce, ticketing, and live entertainment, delivering richer, more connected experiences for fans worldwide.

“From a platform perspective, we have music, a fandom platform, e-commerce, ticketing and the arena, creating a playground for fans to have that experience,” he said, adding that Kakao Entertainment will combine IP with technology to connect fans and build a sustainable growth model for K-culture.