3 Things I’ve Learned From My First KCON

Glow Recipe. Parasite. Squid Game. Blackpink. Gangnam Style.

If you’re like me, you’re familiar with at least one Korean-based skincare brand, film, show, band or song. As a Sephora girl who LOVES Glow Recipe and thought Parasite deserved ALL of the awards, I’ll admit I’m a target for all things K. That’s why it was such a treat to attend my first KCON in Los Angeles.

For more than a decade, KCON has been the yearly hub for fans to explore all sorts of offerings from Korean culture: music, entertainment, health, food and beauty. The L.A. show wrapped up Sunday and the How to LA team took it all in (but had to soon report on the storm so this post and pod got a little delayed).

Our three main takeaways

When you step into KCON, you leave the hustle and bustle of L.A. for a minute to enter into Korea’s vibrant pop culture scene with hundreds of thousands of other fans. Everywhere we looked, there were performances, workshops, panels and interactive exhibits where you can win gifts and more. I was able to snag some earrings for the upcoming Beyoncé Renaissance concert, a face mask and cool Tiger postcard from the Korean heritage booth.

KCON attendees participate in a Korean game in order to win gifts at KCON in the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023.

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Aaricka Washington

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LAist

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At first glance, it may seem like just a cutesy, aesthetically pleasing conference at the L.A. Convention Center but, for many, KCON’s existence is so much more than what meets the eye. This is billed as the world’s largest fan celebration of Korean culture and music, after all, and it started in Southern California in 2012. Here are the top three things we learned attending our first KCON:

Understand 'hallyu,' or the Korean Wave

Vivian Yoon, the writer and host of LAist podcast K-Pop Dreaming, says hallyu is key. Hallyu refers to the global popularity of South Korea’s cultural economy, which includes pop culture, entertainment, music, food and beauty. K-pop may have boomed in the 1990s, but Korea and the United States have been transferring cultures since the 1950s when the U.S. military continued to have a base in South Korea.

Koreans have lived in L.A. since the early 1900s, but in the 1950s, a second wave of Korean immigrants settled in L.A. due to the Korean War, bringing their traditions and culture with them. Over the years, L.A. has been home to the second-largest Korean population in the world.

Listen to Yoon’s K-Pop Dreaming podcast to learn more about the history of KCON and how L.A. Uprisings in 1992 and the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis played a role in how Korean pop culture spread across L.A. and across the nation.

Korean entertainment's popularity adds to KCON's allure

In recent years, Korean entertainment has taken the U.S. by storm. Back in 2020, the drama Parasite became the first foreign film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. 

The critically acclaimed Netflix series Squid Game became the international blueprint for streaming services to look overseas for shows that had potential for global success.

In 2020, K-pop boy band BTS achieved a new Guinness World Records title for the most viewers for a live-streamed music concert. Plus, its L.A. concert injected millions into the local economy. Earlier this year, Blackpink became the first Asian all-female band to headline Coachella. 

To underscore the impact, K-Pop Dreaming’s Yoon was supposed to speak on a panel at KCON about the Korean influence in Hollywood with some other notable Asian Americans in the entertainment industry (Crazy, Rich Asians writer Adele Lim, Beef costume designer Helen Huang, Minari’s casting director Julia Kim and Elemental director Peter Sohn), but it got canceled due to stormy weather. However, Yoon got to meet with one of her idols, Sohn, at the event. For the latest How to LA episode, we sat down to talk to both of them about the growth of Korean representation in Hollywood. Listen here.

Fans can get up close and personal

KCON gives fans a way to easily access their favorite pop stars through meet-and-greets, concerts and dance tutorials. In one large area of the convention hall, popular girl band Everglow taught fans some of their dance moves in person.

K-pop fans gathered around one stage to learn a dance from the K-pop girl group Everglow at KCON LA on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023.

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Aaricka Washington

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LAist

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Amoura Monroe first learned about K-pop years ago through Instagram. She would see a lot of BTS memes.

“I was like, ‘Oh, they’re funny. I want to know who these guys are,’” Monroe says. “And then eventually I started dibbling and dabbling with their music. The first one I listened to was Mic Drop. And ever since then I fell in love with them.”

Amoura Monroe poses next to her two friends as they anticipate seeing their favorite K-pop band Ateez at KCON LA on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023.

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Aaricka Washington

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LAist

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This year, she was at KCON with her friends to see the boy band Ateez.

“Their sound is very unique,” Monroe says. “They generally love their fans as well, which is very great and overall the fandom feels like family.”

Jessica Nguyen traveled from San Diego to see her favorite K-pop girl bands ITZY and (G)I-DLE up close and personal.

“Sometimes, it’s really hard to see them in concert, so KCON is a really great way,” Nguyen says. “In concerts, you can have seats that are very far far back. Here at KCON you can see them a little closer, you can get to know them a little more.”

Jessica Nguyen came to KCON to see her favorite girl bands up close and personal at KCON LA on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023.

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Aaricka Washington

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LAist

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Nguyen says KCON is important because it preserves and promotes culture. “We've been seeing a lot of cultures and ethnicities fade away,” Nguyen says. “And I think this is a great way for them to preserve it, and also share it with other people.”