KCON 2019 LA presented by Toyota, the largest “All Things Hallyu” celebration, set a new record by drawing in 103,000 fans this past weekend to the Los Angeles Convention Center and Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles.
KCON 2019 USA closes out the summer with a combined total of 158,000 attendees for its two U.S. events – that includes Los Angeles and KCON 2019 NY, which took place over Fourth of July weekend at the Javits Center and Madison Square Garden.
The convention launched in 2012 with over 10,000 fans attending and has grown exponentially over the years. KCON is now established in Los Angeles as the annual flagship event for American fans of Hallyu and Asian pop culture, providing the largest forum for fans to directly connect with each other, as well as artists and professionals from the Korean entertainment industry. In 2017, the brand further expanded internationally, presenting KCON in Mexico and Australia as well as returning to Japan. KCON has now expanded to four days in LA filled with 243 program sessions, 245 special guests, and live musical entertainment every night.
This year’s concert featured top K-Pop artists including AB6IX, ATEEZ, IZ*ONE, LOONA, MOMOLAND, NU’EST, SF9, fromis_9, ITZY, MAMAMOO, N.Flying, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, and VERIVERY. Special guests included solo recording artists like Holland, Kevin Woo, James Lee, and Jun; music industry producers/songwriters such as LDN Noise, Matthew Tishler, and Candace Sosa; beauty gurus including Heyitsfeiii, Sunny’s Channel, Ssinnim; and many more.
KCON continuously delivers on its signature goal of bringing fans closer to their favorite artists. Newly enhanced programming gave fans several opportunities to engage and interact with the idol groups through Artist Engagements (meet & greet sessions); Star Live Talk (a live talk show on the KCON Stage); Star Square (intimate fansign and group photo event); surprise both appearances and more. New additions to the convention floor include #KCONBeauty and #KCONFoodie where stages that rivaled the popular KCON Stage were filled with daily influencer and artist appearances.
Another highpoint to the festivities was the introduction of KCON ROOKIES, a special showcase that highlighted up & coming rookies in the K-Pop scene. Through this program, fans had the opportunity to witness intimate performances by AB6IX, ATEEZ, and LOONA, learn more about each individual’s unique personality traits, and watch them go head-to-head in fan-created games to determine who will secure the coveted last performance slot to close off the show.
As K-Pop continues to gain traction here in the West, KCON will continue to soar to new heights, becoming not only a getaway for K-Pop fans, but also a serious driving force in helping new attendees navigate their way around Korean culture through K-Pop, K-Beauty, K-Food, and K-Lifestyle.