A five-booth pavilion at SCAPE on 8–9 October — official partner for a second year; four company booths for Korean firms entering Southeast Asia, applications close 18 September
K-EnterTech Hub (K엔터테크허브) will build the Korea pavilion at AICON 2026 in Singapore on 8–9 October. The Seoul-based EnterTech media and platform company joins the show as lead sponsor and will construct and operate the pavilion, the Korean Content Village.
For Korean content and EnterTech companies, the route chosen is a consumer AI festival rather than a business-to-business trade fair. At AICON visitors work the tools on the floor, so buyer meetings and end-user reaction happen in the same place.
The organiser's official release of 3 September names K-EnterTech Hub among the festival's partners alongside Tesla, Singtel, Alibaba, ASUS, Design Singapore, e2i (NTUC Employment and Employability Institute) and the Artificial Intelligence International Institute.
It is the company's second year at the festival. The release says K-EnterTech Hub "returns to showcase the latest advancements in Korean content creation technology", and lists a masterclass in AI filmmaking and the "K-Global × K-EnterTech Conference @ AICON" panel among the programme highlights.
SME AI adoption in Singapore rose from 4.2% to 14.5%, and the gap by company size widened
The reason AICON positions itself as a consumer show rather than a trade fair lies in Singapore's adoption gap. TechEdgeAI reported in September, citing the Infocomm Media Development Authority's 2025 Singapore Digital Economy Report, that AI adoption among Singapore SMEs rose from 4.2% in 2023 to 14.5% in 2024, while adoption among larger firms went from 44% to 62.5% over the same period. Adoption accelerated, but the gap by company size grew with it.
Individual use runs further ahead. The same report found 73.8% of surveyed Singapore workers using AI tools at work, with 85% of users reporting gains in productivity, time saved or work quality, and 63% of AI-using firms expecting to redesign roles to embed AI more deeply. Singapore's digital economy accounted for 18.6% of GDP in 2024.
Organisational rollout is slower. In McKinsey's 2025 State of AI survey, 88% of organisations said they use AI in at least one business function, but only 7% had scaled it across the company. Singapore's National AI Impact Programme, announced for 2026, targets 10,000 enterprises over three years and is aimed at that gap. AICON 2026 is held in support of the government's Digital for Life movement and is listed on Discover, the National Youth Council's youth platform.
"Most people's first reaction to AI is still anxiety, and you cannot lecture anyone out of that," co-founder Jaze Phua said in the official release. "You hand them a tool, they make something in ten minutes, and the fear turns into curiosity." Jayce Tham, co-founder and chief executive of CreativesAtWork, said: "AI is changing the way we work and live, but many people are still unsure where to begin. AICON was created to make AI more accessible, practical and relevant."
Five booths and a networking point; four company places in total
The pavilion is designed as one space rather than a row of separate stands. A K-EnterTech Hub premier booth and shared signage sit at the entrance, with four company booths and meeting tables behind them. A networking point on one side keeps buyer meetings inside the exhibition space.
The route through the pavilion follows the K-content value chain. The premier booth at the entrance introduces the Korean content industry and the exhibitors together; moving inward, visitors pass production technology and generative AI tools, then finished content and platforms. The point is that visitors walk the pavilion as one sequence rather than picking a single stand to step into.
Korean Content Village layout concept. Source: K-EnterTech Hub
"Korean companies opening separate stands rarely make it into a local buyer's route through the floor," said Han Jung-hoon (한정훈), chief executive of K-EnterTech Hub. "We designed the visitor route and the publicity together, as one pavilion."
From construction to press distribution, with speaking places set aside for exhibitors
The company's remit goes beyond reselling booth space. It covers the pavilion layout, shared signage, booth construction and tear-down, a joint press release distributed in Korea and internationally, and Korean–English interpretation and staffing on site. Exhibitors prepare their content and their meetings.
Each booth comes with carpet flooring, power and access on both show days, together with a featured listing in the official AICON exhibitor directory and promotion on the festival's official social channels. Pavilion exhibitors also have access to the organiser's workshop and main-stage programme and to the networking lunch. Flights, accommodation, freight, customs and custom-built structures are not included.
Exhibitors do more than display. Speaking places on the main stage, at the masterclass and seats at the networking lunch are set aside for pavilion exhibitors, with formats and seat allocation agreed company by company. Participation terms are handled individually by the secretariat.
The joint press release goes to Korean trade media and, in English, to Singapore and wider Asian media. It is also published on kentertechhub.com, the Korean and English EnterTech trade publication operated by K-EnterTech Hub. After the show, K-EnterTech Hub provides a results report and follow-up introductions in Singapore at no extra cost.
A 45-minute main-stage session, a masterclass and a 25-seat lunch
Times for the Korean programme are confirmed with the organiser. The "K-Global × K-EnterTech Conference @ AICON" runs on the main stage from 11:45am to 12:30pm on 9 October as a panel discussion titled "Korea-Singapore AI Exchange: Building an AI-Ready Future".
All three are open to pavilion exhibitors; speaking formats are agreed individually.
From hosting a session in 2025 to building the pavilion in 2026
At the first edition, held on 3–4 October 2025 at BEYOND X in Singapore, K-EnterTech Hub hosted a "Future of K-Content" session with its Digital Future Institute, sponsored by EUGENE. YTN took part in the same edition as YTN World, and Ko Sam-seok (고삼석), distinguished professor at Dongguk University, gave a keynote address.
This year the company moves from running a session to building the whole Korea pavilion. Talks with broadcasters and EnterTech companies are under way and several exhibitors have confirmed. The exhibitor list will be published once applications close.
50-plus workshops and talks over two days, as the format shifts from talks to hands-on
AICON is a consumer artificial intelligence festival first held in Singapore in 2025, described by its organiser as Asia's human-first AI festival. The official release says the inaugural edition drew more than 5,000 attendees from over 10 countries. The 2026 edition carries more than 100 speakers and creators, 50-plus workshops and talks, and six or more immersive zones.
What changed in year two is the format rather than the size of the room. Where 2025 centred on talks and showcases, 2026 is built so that visitors sit down at a screen, use the tools and leave with something they co-create with AI. Four pillars run through both days — Learn, Create, Connect and Play.
The workshop line-up is hands-on: vibe coding with Gemini, AI filmmaking with Singapore Polytechnic, JSON prompting for designers, building creative AI agents, and using AI in music with the Singapore International Soundtrack Festival. Ngee Ann Polytechnic runs a 60-minute Mindful AI session in which participants listen to soundscapes generated from the bioelectrical activity of living plants. Workshop places are limited, allocated first come first served, and registered separately from the festival ticket.
Day one's main stage is given over to the Artificial Intelligence International Institute's AI for Humanity Impact Forum. The official programme opens the ceremony at 10:30am, followed by the keynote "AI for Humanity as Blue Ocean Strategy" and the opening panel "Global AI Impact: Urgencies & Priorities", then sessions across four pillars — technology, commercialisation, governance and impact. Creator Jam Night and the WonderClip x GenTube AI Film Festival award ceremony run from 6:30pm.
Day two is the AI for Everyone Forum. After a 10:15am opening keynote come a design programme supported by the DesignSingapore Council, the K-Global × K-EnterTech Conference, and sessions on "AI for SMEs", "Designing with AI", "The age of agency" and "AI for the next generation". An Ask Me Anything panel pairs three youth leaders with three AI experts before a closing session, "The future is everyone's to build", and an afterparty at 6pm.
Beyond the Main Stage and the Exhibit & Stage area, the show is divided into an AI Passport track for workshops, an AI Original Contest, a "Man vs Machine" hackathon and night programmes. The exhibition area holding the company booths sits inside that route.
Partners span mobility, telecoms, cloud and public agencies
The partner list is not concentrated in one sector. Tesla returns after the 2025 edition, Singtel covers telecoms, Alibaba cloud and ASUS hardware. On the public side, NTUC's e2i, Design Singapore and the Action Community for Entrepreneurship take part, and SCAPE, which operates the venue, is the venue partner. Three institutes of higher learning join: Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic. K-EnterTech Hub is the only Korean company on the list.
Corporate partners bring their own programmes. Singtel's SIM Academy runs AI productivity training on the afternoon of day two, in which mid-career professionals work on real tasks from their own sectors, while e2i operates an Emerging Skills, Emerging Jobs Zone as a conversation-led learning space. The responsible-AI thread runs across both days under the Artificial Intelligence International Institute's AI for Humanity framework.
The institute brings its AI for Humanity Impact Forum to the main stage on 8 October. An independent think tank founded in 2017 by Dr James Ong, who is also an AICON co-founder, it was executive organiser of a July forum on sustainable computing at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, co-organised with the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.
SCAPE: a youth creative space on Orchard Road with 440,000 monthly visitors
The show is held at SCAPE, in Singapore's Orchard Road shopping district. The Singapore government set it up in 2004 to support young people's creative work; it is run by SCAPE Co Ltd, a non-profit, a registered charity and an Institution of a Public Character. The five-storey building opened in June 2010 with a gross floor area of 13,103 sqm and hexagonal cladding designed by RSP Architects, and stands beside Somerset MRT station. The Ground Theatre on level 2 covers 963 sqm with more than 450 seats, and the outdoor Playspace holds 4,000. Wikipedia records footfall of about 440,000 visitors a month as of 2014.
The Somerset area around SCAPE is Singapore's youth culture district. Orchard Road is the city's main retail and tourism belt, and malls including 313@Somerset and Orchard Central sit next to Somerset MRT station. SCAPE describes itself as standing "right in the heart of Somerset", where "youth culture in Singapore is shaped, celebrated, and amplified". Somerset Youth Park and the skate park in front of the building are also hireable spaces.
The pavilion's side programmes run in the same building. Nuldam Space (눌담 스페이스), the venue for the networking lunch, is a Korean cafe space at #02-14/15 on level 2. Commune, where the masterclass is held, is a 200 sqm full-glass unit at the level 1 entrance facing the Grange Road and Somerset Road junction.
Applications close 18 September
The pavilion is open to EnterTech and generative AI content companies, broadcasters and media companies, local governments and promotion agencies, and startups and SMEs entering Southeast Asia. Applications close on 18 September, though with only four company booths places may close earlier. Booths are confirmed in order of application, and booth and press materials are due by 25 September.
Singapore hosts the regional headquarters of Southeast Asian media and telecom operators, including Mediacorp (미디어콥) and Singtel. Because AICON is a consumer show rather than a trade fair, exhibitors see end-user reaction first hand.
Companies wishing to take part can contact K-EnterTech Hub at existen75@kentertechhub.com. Korean companies planning to attend the festival can also request a discount code from K-EnterTech Hub.
Two-day passes from SGD 48; workshops registered separately
General admission two-day passes cost SGD 48 and VIP two-day passes SGD 98, with VIP access to keynote sessions, workshops and talks. Workshop places are limited and allocated on a first-come basis, and each must be registered separately in addition to a festival ticket. Early-bird pricing runs until 30 September. Tickets are on sale at aicon.show.
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