3 popular trends to look out for at the HallyuCon Korean culture festival

Forget the airfare – South Korea’s biggest trends are right here in Singapore with fresh new twists at an event this weekend.

K-trends – from beauty and fashion to collectables – will feature at the upcoming HallyuCon. The free event will run from 12pm to 8pm on March 7 and 8 at Suntec Convention Hall 404.

This marks the second HallyuCon in Singapore, after the first edition in August 2025.

Hallyu – meaning Korean Wave – refers to the country’s cultural exports, including K-Pop, K-dramas, K-beauty, K-fashion and more. 

Said Ms Kar Men Chen, 26, assistant events and operations manager of Hitcheed, the team behind the free event: “HallyuCon started off with the intention to be the ultimate event for these K-trend lovers to gather and experience these cultural favourites.”

The event is expected to draw more than 8,000 attendees across both days.

TLDR looks at the top three trends visitors can look forward to at the event.

1. K-Pop dance challenges – Random play dances

This dance trend started in 2020 with K-pop idols promoting their new releases with iconic dance choreographies on social media platforms like TikTok.

This sparked the trend of “random play dances”, where groups of people dance in public to popular K-pop songs played in a random order.

Once the music’s introductory bars begin playing, those who know the specific choreography for that song will step forward and dance together. 

Ms Qiang Kaixin, a 19-year-old self-taught dancer, has been a regular attendee of random play dances in Singapore since July 2025.

These dance challenges usually take place at public areas like Scape and Sentosa.

There are multiple such K-Pop dance communities, which allow for dancers of any background to join in the fun and bond together, Ms Qiang added. 

She looks forward to these events, as she “gets to dance with other people and make new friends with the same interests”.

At HallyuCon, visitors can participate in four sessions of random play dance segments across the two days. Selected songs will be grouped by the different generations of K-Pop.

There will also be a HallyuCon IDOL competition, featuring a two-day line-up of K-Pop performances by local dance crews and acts, as well as prizes for the winners determined through live voting. 

2. K-skincare products with salmon DNA and ingredients like caffeine and matcha

While East Asian beauty and skincare products have long been popular in Singapore, some new micro-trends have emerged in 2026.

PDRN, a skincare ingredient derived from salmon DNA, has been gaining popularity in recent months, said Mrs Sabrina Abdullah, 28, chief executive of K-skincare distributor Angelhaven. 

PDRN helps with skin elasticity and is touted for its anti-ageing effects.

Ms Boo Zhi Xuan, 19, who regularly buys K-beauty products, has noticed PDRN being marketed on social media. She said she tried such products and found them effective. 

Mr Raiyan Ilyasa Suria Armanshah, the 30-year-old co-founder of Angelhaven, which will have a booth at HallyuCon, said that other trending ingredients include caffeine and matcha. 

Facial mists are also growing increasingly popular due to the humidity of Singapore, he added.

3. K-pop merchandise: Keychains with keycaps and mini lightsticks

As a fan and collector, nothing rivals the feeling of completing a collection of your favourite idol’s photocards and merchandise, said Ms Huang Linxuan, 26. 

Ms Huang, senior project manager of commerce brand ArtisynX, which distributes K-Pop merchandise and organises pop-up stores for these collectables, said the K-pop merchandise industry has been growing in recent years.

“It was much harder to get (merchandise) during the pandemic.” Today, collecting is made much easier with e-commerce and pop-up shops in Singapore, she added.

Other than the usual popular collectables such as idol photocards, recent trends increasing in popularity are blind boxes of idol characters, as well as keycap keychains, Ms Huang said. 

She also noted the recent trend in K-pop groups releasing miniature versions of their fandom lightsticks as keychains. “People can use them to show that they’re a fan, and other people can recognise them,” said Ms Huang.

For more information, go to https://hallyucon.sg