KCON: Convention & Concert for K-Music, Beauty, and Culture

Once again, in the vibrant heart of Los Angeles, KCON commanded the spotlight; drawing K-pop aficionados from every corner of the globe. KCON serves as an ode to the multifaceted realm of Hallyu, encompassing music, dance, cuisine, fashion, and beyond. This year’s event transcended the boundaries of a typical music festival. It formed connections, nurtured cultural admiration, and sparked fervent passions. This time they gave fans three days of convention, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, AND concert, held at Crypto.com Arena (normally only 2 days of concerts). KCON started in 2011 and has grown into the event it has become each year. They’ve expanded from visiting one city to going to multiple all over the world. This time LA was held on August 18th through the 20th.

Convention

Just attending the convention was enough for some fans. From artists appearances to freebies, the convention itself was a packed day that some needed to schedule. The main attraction (and most crowded) was the KCON Stage where artists were scheduled for Q&A’s, games, and showcase performances.

The Convention Stages

There were 2 main stages at the convention. One side was the KCON Stage, while the opposite end included the Dance All Day stage. At the KCON stage, artists would appear every hour or so and play games, a Q&A, and some had showcase performances. During some of these Q&A’s, Jojo Wright from KIIS FM joined the artist on stage to host. On day one, WayV is the first artist to appear on this stage where they played a game to test if the members knew each other well; they definitely did not. One question to note was for Yangyang where the members had to guess his #1 bucket list item. It ended up being a WayV world tour which lead them to tell the audience they’ll be back soon!

Meanwhile, a few artists had their showcase on this stage including 8TURN who performed some of their latest music. Popular girl group, XG also had a showcase and let the crowd know they’ll be back with new music at the end of September.

The Dance All Day stage included the competitors for the Dream Stage that will take place at the concerts, as well as, artist classes. Special artists would appear on stage to show off their dance skills or teach the crowd at the stage their choreography.

The Convention Squares

KCON SQUARE and STAR SQUARE are two places where artists made special appearances.

At KCON Square, fans were able to interact more with the artists as they chose fans to play games; such as the telepathy game with VERIVERY or dance charades with JUST B.

Speaking of JUST B, they were seen every day at the Star Square. This area looked just like a red carpet where the artists let fans take their pictures and did red carpet Interviews. JUST B also played rock, paper, scissors with fans in the crowd.

CRAXY also had artist appearances at the convention squares. There they were asked who their favorite superhero is. One member answered that it’s Harry Potter which caused everyone to give her confused looks. However, her reasoning changed everyone’s mind as she said he defeated Voldemort and saved Hogwarts.

The Convention Panels and Workshops

KCON LA 2023 was more than just a show for amusement; it was an instructive and inspiring event. Industry professionals, artists, and influencers participated in lively panels and conversations that shed light on the nuances of K-pop and the broader Hallyu movement. The attendees gained insights into the perseverance, commitment, and creativity essential to creating the music and content they treasured. We heard from producers and writers like Kairos and Solid’s Jae Chong, as well as, established artists Min and Kevin Woo.

These workshops inspired and sparked the aspirations of aspiring artists and content producers. Artists such as 8TURN and Cravity joined a workshop to teach and do a dance challenge with the attendees. They did this after they learned to make & design the name tags they typically see in dance practice videos.

The Convention Booths

This year’s event was a colorful tapestry of immersive experiences with a wide variety of booths and sponsors that provided a special touch of enthusiasm to the occasion. A wide variety of interactive booths reflecting various parts of Korean culture, music, and entertainment could be found throughout the expansive space. These booths offered visitors interactive experiences and chances to learn more about the world of Hallyu. They covered everything from cosmetics and fashion to technology and gastronomy. Sponsors of the event were essential to enriching the whole experience. They enhanced attendees’ interactions and left them with enduring memories of KCON LA 2023. Not only did they contribute to the success of the event but also offered their own special touch.

Going to Skin1004 allowed you to take photos in a water room and receive a full-size bottle of sunscreen serum. Free fries and a McFlurry were available at McDonald’s to satisfy your appetite for a snack. You were given a few assignments in to complete at Olive Young that resulted in rewards like makeup samples and a bottle of tea tree toner. Fans could participate in an interactive photo booth at the Viki booth, or those who subscribed received free boba from one of our favorite locations, BOPOMOFO, which had special flavors only for KCON. After an interactive tour, the presenting sponsor, SAMSUNG Galaxy, offered transparent bags and tote bags as prizes. The large booth included more than just free bags! Convention-goers can learn about the brand-new SAMSUNG Flip, see the Stray Kids collaboration merchandise, visit photo booths, and see artists as they made special appearances.

CJ also had a closed booth where Heejun Han spoke with artists. The fans were able to catch a glimpse of the artists as they walked through the convention to get to the booth.

Concert Time!

Additionally, after every convention day came a star-studded concert. A pre-show before every concert, fans were able to see even more artists perform than they originally expected. The pre-shows were hosted by Alexandra Reid, a former member of BP Rania. For all three nights, a couple of artists were chosen for games. “CCCV(CTRL C & CTRL V)” was one game of the night where a fan was picked out of the crowd by the camera and did a move. The artist then has to copy what the audience member did. Another game was “Dance Dance” where emojis related to a KPOP song was shown on screen for the audience to guess. Once they did, the music played and the artist on stage performed that dance. Definitely a fun interaction and break for the audience.

Concert Pre-show

On the first night, the pre-show featured Kevin Woo who is a former U-KISS member and george, an R&B artist known for his OSTs. Joining these two on the first night of the pre-show is Limelight. They made an appearance in the convention earlier that day. Then it was time for 8TURN who performed their fun track, “Excel” and the crowd cheered them on.

For night two, Berklee University’s dance team BCB performed their dance medley titled “dear KPOP with love”. Following this, VERIVERY and CRAXY performed on stage after appearing earlier in the day at the convention as special showcase artists.

During the final night, the pre-show consisted of dance covers by Lalary before eSna performed one of her tracks after being the main Meet & Greet MC all weekend. Next was JUST B who performed as just 5 members for the showcase and concert despite there being 6 members earlier in the day (Sangwoo was missing).

Finally, new SM Entertainment boy group held their first official performances on the KCON stage in LA. They performed their pre-release track “Memories” which is now officially released to the public.

Concert: 1

Finally, it was time for the main event. The concert began with WayV performing the track “Poppia”. This was said to be the LA 2023 version. The MC for the night was Wonyoung of the South Korean girl group IVE.

Throughout the night, various artists performed such as NMIXX, Cravity, Taeyong of NCT, WayV, IVE, Monsta X – Shownu and Hyungwon unit, and the headliner Taemin of SHINee. WayV performed English versions of two of their tracks including the popular “Love Talk” and the audience was heard yelling every word. They also mentioned they’ll be releasing a new album this year. As a special performance, NCT’s Ten and Taeyong performed their single “Baby Don’t Stop” before NMIXX performed the GenZ Stage with their rendition of TWICE’s “The Feels”.

Something special KCON has brought to LA is the chance for talented dancers to dance on stage with an idol group. As mentioned, during the convention at the Dance All Day stage, fans competed and were selected for the ‘Dream stage’. During the first night, the chosen dancers performed “I Am” with IVE.

Night 1 Finale

The night ended with SHINee’s Taemin performing some of his hit tracks such as “Move” before all artists came on stage to say good bye and to make sure all KCONers come back the next day.

Concert: 2

On the next night, the concert included popular girl group XG who covered 2NE1’s “I Am The Best” as a special performance. Likewise, Xikers, KQ Entertainment’s newest boy group performed BTS’s “Fire”. The specials weren’t over. ATEEZ also performed their Road To Kingdom track, “Symphony No.9: From The Wonderland” where Jongho showcased his incredible high notes. KEP1ER also covered “Mr. Mr.” by Girls Generation (SNSD) for the Gen Z stage.

The main MC was Rain who came to the stage to kick off the event. This night included INI as well as KEP1ER who were created from various survival shows. They performed tracks like “Fanfare (Korean Version)” while KEP1ER sang their track “Giddy”.

ZEROBASEONE (ZB1) members served as special MCs as well as ATEEZ members. Popular girl group XG returned to the stage to perform “TGIF” and “GRL GVNG” which are their newest tracks at the time of the event. The fans were excited to see the girls.

Xikers also return to the stage for a short rap performance and their new song “Homeboy”. It wasn’t over because they also sang “Do or Die”. ZB1 performed in the United States for the first time with their songs “In Bloom” and more. They also revealed a short video for a November 2023 comeback teaser.

Legendary pop star, Rain performed several tracks including “Rainism”, “Domestic” and “La Song”. He even took off his jacket to reveal his shirtless body. While some of the crowd was hyped, other fans didn’t show much excitement for his set.

For the Dream Stage, ZB1 performed “Here I Am” from the show with the dancers who got through from the Dance All Day event.

Night 2 Finale

Night 2’s finale was ATEEZ who earned endless screams as they perform “Bouncy”, as well as their debut track “Pirate King” among other tracks. The also played CCCV with the fans. The 2nd night of the concert was very eventful!

Concert: 3

It was the final day of concerts which had many girl groups on the lineup, but also some exciting performances by popular boy groups. EverglowxLapillus kicked off the concert with a BoA cover while 2 members came out to play the electric guitar. MC was none other than Bangchan of Stray Kids.

Japanese boy group JO1 was introduced as the first official artist and they performed a few tracks, including “Trigger”. Then Lapillus came out in their awesome red outfits and performed a couple songs, like “Who’s Next”.

The Boyz unit stage for “Passion Fruit” was introduced by (G)I-DLE members. Soon after, pop star Destiny Rogers makes a special appearance to perform her song “Tomboy”.

This night marked EVERGLOW’s return with their epic performance of “Slay” their newest track as well as “Dun Dun” and “Ladida”. Their popularity showed as the fanchants were spot on.

JYP Entertainment’s girl group, ITZY came to the stage for their newest releases “Cake” as well as “None Of My Business” as well as “Sneakers”. Then it was finally time for The Boyz who also performed their newest release “Lip Gloss”. It was revealed that this was Eric’s first time performing in Los Angeles after 8 years. He missed their tour and any other time the group performed in his hometown. They played Dance Dance with the audience and performed “Thrill Ride” which included a dance break.

The Gen Z Stage for this night was a cover of Seventeen’s “Super” by JO1. Popular girl group (G)I-DLE followed soon after with their hit track, “Queencard”, “My Bag” and “Tomboy”. These all garnered loud cheers from the thousands of people in the audience. ITZY returned for the dream stage and performed “Wannabe” with the winners.

Night 3 Finale

Of course, the finale was Stray Kids. It was clear that majority of the audience were there for them. Their insanely amazing performances included “S-Class”, and their debut “District 9”. Also, “Super Bowl” and “Gods Menu” were on the setlist. You may think this was the end, but it was not. Stray Kids made sure to perform their popular track, “Topline” which originally includes Tiger JK. They ran into the crowd from all sides. Stray Kids truly ended KCON on an unforgettable note.