"Skill-Up Festa 2026," an exhibition and conference exploring changes in how people work, drew 8,392 visitors over three days at COEX Magok, running from Thursday, July 2 through Saturday, July 4. Hosted by The PMD and Gigomanjang, the event was themed "Work, Re:design — Questioning the Essence of Work," built around rethinking how and why we work amid a changing environment — a question central to the broader future of work conversation.
This year's event grew in scale, with 142 companies exhibiting across 305 booths. Exhibition categories spanned AI work systems, AX (AI transformation) and workflow tools, marketing and sales automation, organizational culture and collaboration solutions, career-growth platforms, smart office devices, and even office stationery and desk decor brands — bringing together software that boosts productivity and products that shape the physical workspace under one roof.
The conference lineup was substantial. Opening day, July 2, featured the "Work Trends Conference," covering AI agents, AI-native work systems, and enterprise AI strategy. From the same day through the next, the "In(人)Sight Forum" ran sessions on HR, leadership, organizational culture, and changing work styles. On July 3, "GOV:Tech 2026" focused on AI and AX transformation in the public sector, extending the conversation about the future of work beyond the private sector.
Hands-on zones drew attention too, including a "Team Lead Mode ON! Template Special Zone," a "Keyboard Zone," an "MBTI for Working People Zone," a "Bamboo Grove" confessional space, a "Library for Skilled Workers," a healing/relaxation zone, and a "Skilled Workers' Market" — adding participatory, emotionally engaging content on top of the standard exhibits and conference sessions. The event was supported by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and several industry associations, with sponsors including FASTFIVE, ASUS, Desker, Incruit, and Korea Financial Planning.
From a marketing standpoint, it's significant that "AX," "workflow automation," and "marketing and sales automation" have become their own dedicated exhibition categories. That's a signal that AI-driven work transformation is no longer a topic confined to IT and engineering teams — it has become an everyday concern for marketing and sales practitioners as well, part of the same shift visible in efforts to redesign onboarding as a retention program and to treat organizations as communities. The choice to place playful, emotionally engaging zones like "Bamboo Grove," "MBTI," and the healing zone alongside serious B2B exhibits is also worth studying as an offline marketing tactic — one that designs for visitor emotion and enjoyment to extend dwell time and build brand affinity, even at an industry-focused trade show.
Organizers announced that "Skill-Up Festa 2027" will follow at COEX Magok from June 30 through July 2, 2027. As AI transformation, organizational culture, and workplace design continue to expand as themes, companies offering related solutions should consider this kind of offline touchpoint as a lead-generation and marketing channel worth planning for in advance. For help with event and offline marketing strategy, see Best Partner's services.
It was a three-day exhibition and conference at COEX Magok exploring changes in how people work, themed 'Work, Re:design — Questioning the Essence of Work,' running July 2–4, 2026.
142 companies exhibited across 305 booths, and the event drew 8,392 visitors over three days.
The Work Trends Conference covered AI agents and enterprise AI strategy, the In(人)Sight Forum covered HR, leadership, and organizational culture, and GOV:Tech 2026 covered AI transformation in the public sector.
Marketing and sales automation was featured as its own dedicated exhibition category, signaling that AI-driven work transformation has become a mainstream concern for marketing teams, not just IT and engineering.
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