Hundreds of fans lined up early Friday morning outside the LA Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena, eagerly waiting for wristbands to access GA or to enter the convention for Day 1 of KCON LA. Held every year in early August, KCON is the largest Korean convention in the U.S. Starting as a small 1 day event, KCON has grown to become a three day convention that brings thousands of fans to downtown LA. This year, the city of LA even officially declared August 1st as KCON Day.
From morning until evening, fans immerse themselves in Korean culture. In the day time, fans can attend panels, visit booths, attend fan meetings, or watch performances at the LA Convention Center. In the evening, fans head over to the Crypto.com Arena to see the M Countdown concert.
This year, KCON LA featured three stages for fans to enjoy throughout the convention: the X Stage, Busking Stage, and Artist Stage. The X Stage and Busking Stage showcased smaller, up-and-coming artists, giving them a platform to connect with new audiences. Strategically located in the main hall and by the food trucks, these stages were designed to maximize exposure and draw in crowds, helping rising artists gain the attention of passing by fans.
The Artist stage was placed in a different hall. Bigger or more senior artists like Hwasa, Zerobaseone (Zb1), IZNA, and Lee Young Ji performed at this stage. The Artist stage was like a short concert. Fans could watch their favorite artists perform their biggest hits in 45 minute sets. Fans can purchase different tiered tickets to get better views. Those with 1Day Plus tickets were allowed to go to the front area to see the artists perform up close.
One of the panels this year featured renowned dancers Brian Puspos, Keone Madrid, and Aaliyah Flournoy. Brian is a famous choreographer and dancer who has choreographed dances for BTS, Justin Bieber, and Chris Brown. Keone Madrid has choreographed for Jungkook, Justin Bieber, BTS, NCT, SHINee, Enhypen, etc. Aaliyah has danced and performed with Jennie, TXT, Stray Kids, and Jungkook. They talked about choreographing for K-pop artists, fun stories with K-Pop idols, and their dance journey. After their performances finished, Keone introduced Full Circle Boys and they performed on stage. After their performance, Full Circle Boys spent time with fans by taking photos with them.
After the convention completed, fans walked to the building next door to watch the M Countdown stage. This year, Crypto.com Arena had a strict bag policy. Any bags bigger than 5″ x 9″ x 1″ was not allowed in the arena. Fans must pay to store their bags outside or go back to their hotel/car to store their items.
KCON LA opened up M Countdown this year with a special guest appearance from popular actor Lee Byung-hun. Lee Byung-hun was recently in popular Netflix series, “Squid Game”. He also played the voice of Gwi-Ma (the demon king) in “KPop Demon Hunters”. Fans screamed in excitement from his surprise appearance.
Hanbin from Zerobaseone continued as the main emcee for M Countdown. M Countdown is a music program in South Korea. It allows the top popular artists in Korea to perform their songs live on stage and broadcast throughout the nation. Hanbin has been the emcee for the show since 2023.
Each night, M Countdown ended with a special stage. This special stage allowed fans to dance on stage with the headliner of the day. The headliners for each night differ each night. This year NCT 127 headlined Day 1, Monsta X headlined Day 2, and Hoshi and Woozi (HxW) of Seventeen headlined Day 3.
Other artists that performed at M Countdown include JO1, NEWBEAT, 82 Major, Way Better artists from20 and HELLO GLOOM, IVE, Aespa, IZNA, NMIXX, Baby DONT Cry, MEOVV, Jackson Wang, KEY, Roy Kim, Zerobaseone, Hwasa, and Lee Youngji. A full list of artists who attended and performed at KCON LA can be found on the official KCON site.
