KCON Event
KCON had its very first convention this past Saturday. The tickets started at $40, which is a very reasonable price for a convention. The Korean community had concerts for their pop stars and even had their dramas in film festivals; but never a full-on convention. There were 14 panels featured like: Youtube Idols, K-Pop Fashion, and The Rise of Foreign Influence in K-Pop. The goal of the KCON event was to bring the K-Pop artists closer to their american fans. The whole event was put together by Mnet America. Mnet is an entertainment company in South Korea that has their own tv channel that plays K-Pop, also featuring artists such as Kim Jong Wook and T-ara. KCON also had a concert starring artists like Nu’est, VIXX, BAP, G.N.A., EXO-M, and 4minute. They were having autograph signings before and after the concerts, to connect with their fans.
(4minute)
The event was huge, and lots of K-Pop fans showed up. There was Korean food and american food trucks selling various delicious things to the hungry fans. There must have been close to 4,000 people attending, so they will probably have a second convention the following year. It was a lot of fun seeing fellow attendees compete in a K-Pop sing and dance contest for tickets and posters of their favorite artists. There were screenings for new movies coming out like “Sunny” and “A Werewolf Boy” at the media booth. There were fangirls abound their booths, representing their favorite groups and talking about how to get your fan group recognized by your favorite star (s).
(K-Pop Fans)
I attended the event as a volunteer, which is way different than a regular attendee. The downside to working an event such as KCON is the crazy fangirls. I was working the artist signing booth where all the artists in the concert were set up to meet with fans, and my job was to hold back the line so people wouldn’t swarm in. The closer it got to EXO-M coming, the crazier the fans got. One girl was sobbing so badly that she had to be carried away. I admire the dedication of these girls to their artist but I felt really bad for the girls that were squashed in the middle, being pushed and flung about. Other than that I think KCON was quite enjoyable and the food was awesome. If they do decide to have another convention, and you are a big K-Pop fan, I recommend coming down to see all the action for yourself. I would definitely attend next time, as a regular attendee of course, so I can get a better picture of Hyuna. She is one beautiful girl.
(Me And Some Fellow Volunteers)
