KCON is the annual K-pop (Korean pop) convention held by CJ E&M, Koreaboo, Mnet Media and Powerhouse Live. This year the event was presented by Toyota and spanned three days at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with about 58,000 attendees. KCON allows fans to gather and share their love of everything Hallyu (the Korean cultural Wave) through discussions such as “Shower Scenes to Wrist Grabs: The Best and Worst K-Drama Tropes” and K-pop dance lessons.
This year, KCON launched an app that provided an easy way for attendees to stay updated on all KCON-related things on social media as well as a map of the center. The highlight of the app was that it listed out all the activities, allowing users to add them to their schedule with the touch of a button.
There were performances from newer groups like Monsta X, GOT7 and Crush, as well as from longtime favorites SISTAR, Super Junior and Shinhwa. YouTube stars such as The Nutty Nomads (two sisters who love Korean pop culture), Popo (entrepreneur and music producer), Sarah Lee and Christine Chang (co-founders of Glow Recipe) and Jeff Benjamin (K-pop columnist for Billboard) were among the many guests in attendance.
New to KCON, The Try Guys from Buzzfeed held a K-pop performance for their fans and also created a five-part series called “The Try Guys Try K-Pop” in which they cook Korean food, act out scenes from K-dramas and dance to K-pop. Check out their videos on YouTube if you’re just joining the Korean Wave, or even if you’re not, just watch them be their silly selves.
If you weren’t able to attend KCON, you can see what you missed by visiting the website and YouTube for “KCON LA.”
