10 Exhibitions & Expos Across Korea Worth Your Time This October
October in Korea hits different for anyone who tracks the events calendar. This month alone spans AI and smart city technology, outdoor gear, baby products, K-beauty, webtoons, and fine art — all running simultaneously across Seoul, Gyeonggi, Daejeon, and Busan. If you time things right, you can hit two shows in a single trip. If you don’t plan at all, you’ll show up on the last day of something that ended yesterday.
Here’s what’s actually happening, confirmed as of October 4, 2026 — with dates, venues, who each show is really for, and how to stack your itinerary efficiently.
What’s On: The Full October Lineup
Before diving into the detail, here’s a snapshot of all ten events:
| Event | Venue | Dates | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baby Shark Secret Invitation: Becoming Shark | DDP, Seoul | Jun 18 – Dec 19 | Family / Kids |
| Wayne Thiebaud: The Order of Things | DDP, Seoul | Sep 19 – Feb 21, 2027 | Fine Art |
| Smart Life Week 2026 | COEX Hall A & B, Seoul | Oct 6–8 | Smart City / ICT |
| AI Festa 2026 | COEX Hall C, Seoul | Oct 6–8 | Artificial Intelligence |
| FLY ASIA 2026 | BEXCO Hall 1 & 2A, Busan | Oct 7–8 | Startup / Investment |
| KOBE Baby Fair & Early Childhood Education Expo | KINTEX Hall 10, Gyeonggi | Oct 8–11 | Parenting / Education |
| GOCAF: The Final Season Part 1 | KINTEX Hall 7 & 8, Gyeonggi | Oct 9–11 | Camping / Outdoors |
| KES 2026 Korea Electronics Show | COEX Hall A & B, Seoul | Oct 13–16 | Electronics / IT |
| K-Beauty Expo Korea | KINTEX Hall 3, 4 & 5, Gyeonggi | Oct 15–17 | Beauty Industry |
| 2026 Daejeon Content Fair | DCC Hall 2, Daejeon | Oct 16–18 | Games / Webtoons / Characters |
The Events, One by One
Baby Shark Secret Invitation: Becoming Shark (아기상어 비밀 초대장: 비커밍 샤크)
DDP Museum B2, Exhibition Hall 2 | Jun 18 – Dec 19, 2026
This isn’t just a branded character showcase. The exhibition traces how Baby Shark was designed — the creative process, not just the finished product — and puts kids at the centre of the experience through interactive zones built around their sight lines and movement speed. It’s genuinely well-considered for families with young children, and if you’re interested in exhibition design, watching how the space balances the attention spans of a four-year-old and a thirty-four-year-old at the same time is worth the visit on its own. Running through December, so no rush — but pairing it with the Thiebaud show upstairs on the same day makes the most of your DDP trip.
Hyundai Card Culture Project 31 — Wayne Thiebaud: The Order of Things (웨인 티보 전)
DDP Museum, Exhibition Hall 1 | Sep 19, 2026 – Feb 21, 2027
Wayne Thiebaud painted cakes, lipstick, gumball machines, and diner counters with a precision and colour palette that makes them feel both intensely familiar and slightly unreal. This retrospective gives you the full range of that vision under one roof, and Hyundai Card’s culture projects tend to get the curation right. October is a good window before winter crowds pick up, and the long run date means you can plan without stress. Combine it with the Baby Shark show downstairs if you’re coming with kids, or treat it as a solo afternoon if you want to take your time with each canvas.
Smart Life Week 2026 (스마트라이프위크 2026)
COEX Hall A & B | October 6–8, 2026
The pitch here is ICT applied to real life — smart homes, urban mobility, environmental systems — rather than raw technology demos. The most interesting part, design-wise, is how the experience zones try to show you a scene from daily life rather than a spec sheet. Whether they pull that off is worth judging for yourself. Recommended for anyone working in tech, urban planning, or public sector roles, and genuinely worth attending alongside AI Festa next door.
AI Festa 2026 (인공지능 페스타 2026)
COEX Hall C | October 6–8, 2026
Generative AI, industrial AI solutions, and software services, all in one hall. If you’re a developer, researcher, or work at a company actively integrating AI tools, this gives you a concentrated look at where Korean AI implementation is heading. The challenge with any AI expo is that there’s a lot to explain and not much to look at — the better booths solve this by letting you interact before you read anything. Watch for which exhibitors lead with the demo and which ones lead with the wall of text. Running simultaneously with Smart Life Week, so you can compare how the same underlying technology gets packaged for different audiences.
FLY ASIA 2026 — Asia Startup Expo (아시아창업엑스포 FLY ASIA 2026)
BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1, Halls 1 & 2A, Busan | October 7–8, 2026
This one’s in Busan, which means a KTX trip — factor that in. FLY ASIA runs startup competitions, investor consultations, and open innovation sessions, and it’s genuinely a networking event as much as an exhibition. If you’re building something or looking for funding connections in the Korean market, two days here could be more valuable than a week of cold emails. The space design question worth watching: how well does the layout separate the pitch stage from the consultation booths, and do people actually find each other, or does it dissolve into general noise?
KOBE Baby Fair & Early Childhood Education Expo (코베 베이비페어&유아교육전)
KINTEX Exhibition Hall 2, Hall 10, Gyeonggi | October 8–11, 2026
Korea’s established baby and parenting trade show covers everything from prams and car seats to educational toys and infant nutrition. If you’re a new or expecting parent, the main draw is being able to physically compare large-format products side by side before spending serious money on them. Consultation times run long here — bring patience and comfortable shoes. Conveniently, GOCAF starts the following day in the same building complex, so if your household has one partner who wants strollers and one who wants camping gear, KINTEX over October 9–11 covers both.
GOCAF: The Final Season Part 1 — International Outdoor Camping & Leisure Sports Festival (국제아웃도어캠핑&레포츠페스티벌 고카프)
KINTEX Exhibition Hall 2, Halls 7 & 8, Gyeonggi | October 9–11, 2026
GOCAF has been Korea’s flagship camping expo for years, and “The Final Season” branding suggests this iteration carries some weight. The format works because camping gear is big, tactile, and needs to be seen at full scale — tents pitched, car camping setups assembled, cooking systems laid out as if someone actually lives in them. You’re not browsing a catalogue, you’re walking through a functional camp. If you’re planning any outdoor trips before winter or thinking about upgrading your setup, this is the right place to handle everything before committing. Check KINTEX access details below.
KES 2026 — Korea Electronics Show (한국전자전)
COEX Hall A & B | October 13–16, 2026
One of Korea’s largest and longest-running electronics industry events. Smart appliances, autonomous vehicles, robotics, semiconductors — the scope is broad enough that without a plan you’ll spend the first hour just orienting yourself. The interesting observation point here is the contrast between major Korean conglomerate booths (Samsung, LG, and their supplier networks) and smaller specialist exhibitors. The big players compete on spectacle; the smaller companies have to fight harder to communicate a clear message in less space. Both approaches are worth watching.
K-Beauty Expo Korea (K-뷰티엑스포 코리아)
KINTEX Exhibition Hall 1, Halls 3, 4 & 5, Gyeonggi | October 15–17, 2026
Cosmetics, aesthetics, nails, hair — the full commercial beauty industry in one venue. This runs as both a trade event for buyers and a general-admission expo, so the atmosphere shifts depending on which section you’re in. For international visitors interested in sourcing Korean beauty products or understanding where the industry is heading, the B2B consultation zones are the real draw. For everyone else, sampling new products under the lighting brands use to sell them is at least an honest way to test whether something works for your skin. Pay attention to how each brand sequences the experience: test product → see yourself in mirror → talk to someone → buy. The good booths make that feel effortless.
2026 Daejeon Content Fair (2026 대전콘텐츠페어)
DCC Exhibition Hall 2, Daejeon | October 16–18, 2026
Games, webtoons, characters, cosplay, and e-sports under one roof in Daejeon. This is the outlier on the list — less industry event, more celebration of Korean pop culture content. If you’re into webtoons or want to see where Korean gaming and character IP is heading at a grassroots level, the author programmes and interactive zones here are worth the trip. Daejeon is about 50 minutes from Seoul on KTX, making it an easy day trip. Expect crowd energy to be high and sound bleed between the stage programmes and exhibition areas — navigate accordingly.
Dates, Hours & Getting There
Venue details and transit:
- DDP (Dongdaemun Design Plaza, 동대문디자인플라자) — Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station, Lines 2, 4, and 5
- COEX — Samseong Station, Line 2 (exit 5 or 6)
- KINTEX (Goyang) — Take the GTX-A to Daegok, then transfer to the Gyeongui-Jungang Line to Neunggok, then shuttle bus — or take a direct shuttle from Seoul Station / Hongdae Station area on event days
- BEXCO (Busan) — Centum City Station, Line 2
- DCC (Daejeon Convention Center) — Government Complex-Daejeon Station, Line 1
Hours vary by event. Always verify on the official event website before heading out — last-day hours sometimes differ from the general schedule.
Tickets & How to Book
Pricing for each event varies significantly:
- Baby Shark / Wayne Thiebaud (DDP): Ticketed separately; check DDP’s official site or Naver Booking (네이버 예약)
- Smart Life Week / AI Festa / KES: Registration via each event’s official website; some days may be free with pre-registration
- FLY ASIA: Register on the official FLY ASIA site; startup competition entries have separate deadlines
- KOBE Baby Fair: Ticketed at the door or via Interpark / Yes24
- GOCAF: Ticketed; check the official GOCAF site for early-bird pricing
- K-Beauty Expo: Trade visitor and general admission tickets available separately
- Daejeon Content Fair: Check the official DCC programme page
For industry expos in particular, pre-registering online almost always gets you in faster and occasionally free.
Insider Tips
Stack your COEX days on October 6–8. Smart Life Week and AI Festa run simultaneously in adjacent halls. One admission trip gets you two different takes on technology exhibition — one zoomed out to city infrastructure, one zoomed into software and services. This is the best double-header of the month.
KINTEX over October 9–11 is the family combo. KOBE Baby Fair and GOCAF overlap on those three days, both in KINTEX Hall 2. If you’re travelling with a partner who has different interests, split up and meet for lunch — the halls aren’t far apart and the complex has food options to regroup at.
For DDP, go on a weekday if you can. Both the Baby Shark exhibition and the Thiebaud retrospective run long enough that weekend crowds aren’t unavoidable. Weekday afternoons give you more space with the interactive elements in the Baby Shark show, and more room to stand in front of the paintings without someone’s shoulder in your eyeline.