On the 16th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency announced the launch of the 'Global Leap Support for SME Agencies' program to help small and mid-sized labels enter overseas markets.
Debuting this year to fuel sustainable K-pop growth, the program will select 10 capable SME agencies annually and provide up to about 300 million won per year for up to three years. Grabbing headlines, the first cohort includes five-member group RISENNE, who exploded in popularity with the viral "Geoje Yahoo!" meme.
Also selected were xikers, TUNEX, KIRAS, Can't Be Blue, 82MAJOR, Big Ocean, YOUSPHERE, X:IN, and 8TURN—ten groups in total—each gearing up for diverse overseas promotions.
RISENNE will focus on Japan and the United States, with appearances slated for KCON JAPAN and KCON LA. xikers will target Japan with a new mini-album and a unit project, while TUNEX is eyeing a push into India. KIRAS plans to center activities in Asian markets such as Malaysia, and Can't Be Blue aims to build its fandom through solo overseas concerts and promotions.
Choi Sung-hee, Director-General for the Content and Media Industry at the ministry, said, "For K-pop to grow sustainably, the industry's backbone—small and mid-sized agencies—must thrive. We hope this new initiative sparks another 'miracle of SMEs' to drive the future of K-pop."
Meanwhile, RISENNE is a five-member group that debuted in 2024 and has recently been making major waves thanks to member Woni's personal YouTube channel.