Daejeon City is hosting the “2026 Daejeon Contents Fair” for a three-day run from October 16 to 18 at the Daejeon Convention Center (DCC) Exhibition Center 2.

Organized by Daejeon City and co-hosted by the Daejeon Tourism Organization and the Daejeon Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency, this year’s event showcases a wide array of exhibitions, experiences, performances, and business programs centered around public characters, serious games, and subcultures.

This year’s scale has expanded significantly compared to last year (96 companies and 200 booths), with 149 companies and institutions participating across 298 booths. The city expects approximately 12,000 visitors during the event period.

At the opening ceremony held on the 16th, key VIPs including Daejeon City Deputy Mayor for Political and Scientific Affairs Ji Young-han and contents industry stakeholders numbering 65 in total attended to celebrate the opening and toured major exhibition and experience booths.

The signature program, the “Korea Local Government & Public Character Festival,” features 92 types of public characters from across the nation. The public online voting saw 958,942 votes—a 2.5-fold increase from last year. An awards ceremony for the 20 winning characters will be held at 1:00 PM on the 17th, followed at 2:00 PM by a public character parade stretching all the way to the Daejeon Bakery Festival venue.

The “Korea Serious Games Fair,” introduced for the first time this year, allows visitors to directly experience 27 types of serious games across various fields such as education, school violence prevention, senior care, and accessibility. Industry exchange programs are also being operated, including the “2nd Adaptive Esports Summit” featuring domestic and international experts, character IP consulting, and business matching.

Subculture programs are equally abundant. On the 17th, events will feature a costume parade, a fan signing event with popular cosplayers, and a cosplay runway featuring 24 teams from across the country. On the 18th, an anime song festival and a DJ performance will follow, alongside an itasha (anime-wrapped) vehicle exhibition and various family experience programs throughout the event period.

In particular, Daejeon City plans to expand visitor influx and create synergies between events by connecting viewing routes with the “2026 Daejeon Bakery Festival,” held at the Mulbit Square near DCC on October 17–18, and linking with the PUBG Mobile Pro Series (PMPS) finals taking place at the Daejeon Esports Arena.

For visitor convenience, shuttle buses operating between Daejeon Station's East Square and DCC are available. On October 17–18, they will run at 30-minute intervals for a fare of 1,000 won. Detailed information can be found on the official website (www.dcfair.co.kr).

Daejeon City Deputy Mayor for Political and Scientific Affairs Ji Young-han stated, “I hope this Daejeon Contents Fair provides citizens with joy and fresh experiences, while offering companies and creators opportunities for exchange and cooperation,” adding, “We will continue to actively support local contents companies and creators so they can enhance their competitiveness and take on new market challenges.”

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