Photos used in this article are all courtesy of KCON LA.
KCON LA has returned yet again in 2023 with an even bigger even than its predecessor years. This year’s convention marked the first year that included a 3-night concert lineup of over twenty esteemed KPOP artists, each with their own individualities that set them apart in their genre of music.
While the convention itself grew and expanded over the years, it stayed true to its homage to Korean Culture, food, beauty, and KPOP. New to this year featured a CJ Live Studio booth, which featured a radio-show like setup that included visits by guest artists and influencers, and a KIIS FM KPOP Village stationed just outside the convention center, which included several food truck vendors, a KOCOWA+ booth, a Ferris Wheel, and the KPOP Village Stage, which hosted performances by a few of the opening acts and lineup artists.
Split into three separate days filled with a variety of activities ranging from food sampling, artist engagements, special stage performances, and a plethora of clothing, album, beauty, and miscellaneous shopping, each day only varied by the artists that were featured. Surprise visits to artist specific merch booths, Star Square, KCON Square, Dance All Day, the Samsung booth, and more were highlights for fans to look forward to. Aside from the KPOP portion itself, the convention also featured guest appearances by renowned influencers that specialized in K-beauty and content, and of course the legendary Dream stage, where many hopeful dancers competed for the chance to share the stage with their KPOP favorites.
Fans were able to watch and interact with various artists with the KCON Square and Star Square. The KCON Square featured games of charades and telepathy with visiting artists, which allowed fans to participate and win prizes like an artist-specific banner handed out by each member. Limelight were one of the few artists that visited for a game of charades that involved a set of teams competing to get the members to guess song titles using only actions and dance moves, while VERIVERY played telepathy, which allowed a select group of KCONERs the chance at guessing member-based trivia questions for a prize.
Upstairs, KCONers were able to enjoy panels, fanclubs, and workshops. The Fan Club Zone allowed artist specific fandoms to intermingle, exchange photocards, and share in their love for their favorite artists. Panels and workshops featured a variety of discussion topics and activities coordinated with different featured artists, that allowed attendees to learn things from beauty and fashion how-to’s to Korean language classes. Groups such as 8turn, CRAVITY, CRAXY, Lapillus, and Xikers could be found in these various panels and workshops. There was also a hidden KCONERs segment, which featured KEP1ER, EVERGLOW, and NMIXX, and a brief discussion on their rise to stardom with U-KISS’s Kevin Woo and miss A’s Min.
This year’s KCON Stage included an interview setup with KIIS FM’s Jojo Wright, KCON POP UP TALK, and Let’s KLASS, all of which included visits from not only the artists, but surprise dance stages from BCB and Team B.U.K. Also featured on the KCON Stage was a new feature called “SHOWCASE: NICE TO MEET U.” This segment was hosted by Kevin Woo, and featured visits from the special appearance artists, giving them a one-on-one chance to interact with the audience and perform a few songs from their set. Despite the size of the stage, the artists drew in crowds that surpassed the surrounding border into the rest of the convention.
The full concert lineup included, in alphabetical order, ATEEZ, CRAVITY, EVERGLOW, (G)-IDLE, INI, ITZY, IVE, JO1, KEP1ER, Lapillus, NMIXX, RAIN, Shownu x Hyungwon (MONSTA X), Stray Kids, TAEMIN, TAEYONG, THE BOYZ, WayV, Xikers, and ZEROBASEONE. In addition to the concert lineup, the shows also featured special appearances by 8turn, CRAXY, JUSTB, Limelight, RIIZE, VERIVERY, and XG.
Even despite the downpouring of rain and heavy winds Sunday saw, KCON LA still drew in a sold out crowd for all three nights of concerts and the convention. Every year since its inception, KCON has grown exponentially with the rise in the KPOP Hallyu wave. With this year’s event being bigger than ever before, anticipation is high for what’s to come in 2024.
To follow along on more things KCON from official SNS, visit their official website at www.kconusa.com. Make sure to also head to our Facebook page now to check out Officially Kmusic’s photos from the convention!
Written By Kortney Kendall
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