Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
India could be heading towards its biggest K-pop moment yet. A mega K-pop festival is being planned in the country, with Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Shillong among the cities where venues are understood to be under consideration, India Today has learnt.
The development is being explored by HYBE, the South Korean entertainment company behind global acts including BTS, TXT and ENHYPEN, as well as the India-based talent initiatives currently underway. According to a source familiar with the development, the idea is to bring multiple major K-pop groups and artists to India for a large-scale festival unlike anything the country has hosted so far.
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“A mega K-pop festival is being planned in India, and venues are currently being explored across cities. Mumbai, Bengaluru, Shillong and Delhi are among the locations being considered. The idea is to create a large-scale K-pop event that brings some of the biggest groups and artists to India. The country has already demonstrated that it has a strong and highly engaged K-pop audience, and the aim is to build an event on a scale that has not been seen here before,” the source tells India Today.
The festival is not officially announced yet. Dates, venues and the artist lineup are still under discussion, and there is no confirmation at this stage that any particular K-pop group will perform.
What is confirmed, however, is that the global K-pop industry is moving towards increasingly large, multi-agency festival formats and India is emerging as an important market for Korean pop culture.
INDIA’S K-POP MOMENT
The reported festival plans come as India-South Korea ties continue to expand. During South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s state visit to India in April 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lee held talks aimed at deepening the two countries’ strategic partnership. Korean popular culture has also become an increasingly visible part of the relationship between the two countries, with K-pop and K-dramas finding a substantial audience in India.
Lee’s visit also brought attention to plans for a Mumbai Korea Centre, which is expected to include a dedicated K-pop performance space and serve as a wider platform for Korean cultural activities.
This could be seen as one of the first steps in the proposed expansion. And the cities being scouted for the same hint at a larger scene at play. Mumbai and Delhi are established destinations for large international music acts, while Bengaluru has developed a substantial live-entertainment market. Shillong, meanwhile, has a strong musical identity and is home to a particularly active youth and K-pop culture.
THE BIG K-POP FESTIVAL MODEL
South Korea’s four major entertainment companies — HYBE, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment — are coming together for Fanomenon, a large-scale K-pop and K-culture festival being developed in South Korea. The festival is planned for Seoul and Goyang in December 2027, with concerts, a fandom awards ceremony, exhibitions and other cultural programmes. A Los Angeles edition has also been announced for 2028.
Whether the proposed Indian festival will be connected to Fanomenon is not known. There is currently no confirmation that the two projects are linked. But the model offers a glimpse of what a large K-pop festival in India could potentially look like.
The US has already seen the success of this format through KCON, which combines performances by multiple K-pop acts with fan events and wider Korean cultural experiences. KCON LA has become one of the major fixtures on the international K-pop calendar.
The UK, too, has hosted multi-artist K-pop festivals, including HallyuPopFest, bringing Korean artists together for large-scale performances and fan-focused programming. An Indian festival could potentially follow that broader template.
THE OTHER BIG MOVE: AN INDIAN GIRL GROUP
The reported festival also comes at an important moment in HYBE’s India strategy. A nationwide audition drive is currently underway to identify talent for a new India-based girl group with global ambitions.
The search has been extensive. Initial auditions were held across 10 Indian cities, covering performers interested in vocals, rap, dance, acting and modelling. The campaign has since expanded to Lucknow, Dimapur, Kohima, Shillong, Jaipur, Indore, Goa and Kochi. The company is also looking beyond India’s borders, opening the search to Indian talent in the diaspora.
The response has been substantial. According to figures released as part of the audition campaign, applications came from all 28 states and six Union Territories, with submissions from more than 1,650 cities across 116 countries.
If the India-based group eventually makes its debut, a large-scale K-pop event in the country could provide an obvious platform for introducing Indian talent to the same audience that follows Korean pop.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
