The MMA2026 melon music awards take the stage for the first two-day edition on Nov. in Gocheok Sky Dome—linked to the Global K Chart

Visualizing the new heartbeat of K-pop. The MMA2026 emblem unveiled by Kakao Entertainment strongly hints at the prelude to a massive solidarity that unites music fans around the world beyond Asia.

A bold move for ‘MMA2026’, the first-ever two-day edition that will engulf Gocheok Dome

The landscape of South Korea’s popular music awards is set to be reshaped completely. Kakao Entertainment’s mega music platform Melon will roll out ‘2026 Melon Music Awards (MMA2026)’ for two days, from Nov. 14 to 15, at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome. It breaks with the long-standing practice of holding the event as a single-day affair since it launched in 2005, opting for an unprecedented swing at making it two days. Organizers say the plan reflects their firm determination to stage the biggest-ever music festival—one that can accommodate the rapidly expanding global standing of K-pop, and its worldwide fandom.

A bond that transcends time and space, ‘K-pop Connect: The New Pulse’

The defining philosophy running through this year’s awards is ‘Connect’. The main slogan, ‘K-pop Connect: The New Pulse (K-POP CONNECT: The New Pulse)’, carries an ambitious vision: tearing down the physical barriers of borders and language, and synchronizing fandoms worldwide into a single, massive heartbeat. Using overwhelming first-place music-legend big data accumulated by Melon—combined with votes from global fans and sharp expert review—the ceremony plans to shine the most objective and three-dimensional spotlight possible on the year’s K-pop ecosystem.

A fusion of Korea, China and Japan data, proving authority with the new ‘Global-K Chart’

The most striking innovation is the swift launch of ‘Global-K Chart’, which ties together three Asian countries. Instead of focusing only on domestic results, the organizers will precisely integrate and compute data from the following three major mega platforms.

• ‘Korea Melon (Melon)’ : the largest domestic streaming and download indicators

• ‘China Tencent Music (Tencent Music)’ : core music consumption data across the greater China region

• ‘Japan LINE MUSIC (LINE MUSIC)’ : activity and streaming trends among K-pop fandom in the archipelago

These indicators will be reflected directly in major awards categories, fully overcoming the limits some critics have pointed out as the “frog in a well” problem of awards that look only inward. Organizers expect the measures to become the key weapon for establishing fairness as a global standard and securing overwhelming authority.