The biggest K-Pop celebration in the country is back in LA

Ask anyone working in the K-Pop industry about the secret ingredient of the music? They'll most likely tell you it's the fandom.

And KCON, the vanguard event that has made K-POP fandom its singular focus for more than a decade in the U.S., is returning to the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The bash, which ends Sunday, brings together fans of the music and the culture for three days of panels, meet-and-greets, swag, merch, live performances at both the convention building and at Crypto.com Arena, and so much more.

"We're always looking to expand the experience," said Shaney Hwang, KCON's marketing coordinator.

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That means five stages at the convention building for local cover teams as well as rookie K-Pop acts to strut their stuff.

A performance by the K-POP group INI at KCON 2024.

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A fan meet and greet event at KCON 2024.

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" It's going to feel super up close and personal. I think that's what's unique about KCON to regular artist tours," Hwang said.

Last year's KCON saw nearly 6 million fans participating, both in person and online. For the first time, Amazon Music will livestream the more than two dozen K-POP groups performing at Crypto.com this year — including aespa, Monsta X and Zerobaseone.

Not bad for an event that started almost on a whim 13 years ago in Irvine.

" We only had about 10,000 attendees at the time. At the time we were thrilled to see such interest in K-Pop, and it's only scaled up from there," Hwang said.

• Read about the history of KCON: How a K-Pop Festival Celebrating All Things Korean Started in SoCal
• Listen to LAist's Josie Huang reports from the first KCON in 2012: K-Pop fans from near and far descend on KCON in Irvine

KCON 2024.

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Courtesy KCON

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KCON 2024.

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K-Pop has steadily grown since the now-legendary Seo Taiji and Boys caught fire in 1992 in South Korea with a fresh sound, a new style and choreographed dance moves informed by American hip-hop. Over the next decades, the music known as K-Pop has come to dominate many parts of the world, almost under the nose of the U.S. mainstream.

That is until groups like BTS and Blackpink made everyone take note around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

" The fans themselves — I always maintain that they've always been here in the tens of millions, if not more," said Sang Cho, an industry veteran and co-founder of hello82, a K-Pop music label, distributor and concert promoter based in Los Angeles.

K-pop boy band BTS members RM (L) and V salute for fans and members of the press at an outdoor sporting facility in Chuncheon on June 10, 2025, after their release from 18 months of South Korean military service.

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K-pop band BTS's members Jungkook (L) and Jimin (R) are discharged from a mandatory military service on June 11, 2025 in Yeoncheon-gun, South Korea.

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" I think what's changed is that the industry is finally catching up to the market size and the the strength of the fandom," he continued.

Blackpink is currently in the European leg of their world tour, and each member has launched successful solo endeavors on the side.

Members of supergroup BTS are set to reunite for new music after having recently completed their 18-month mandatory military service in South Korea.

" I think a lot of fans were kind of nervous to see how K-Pop is going to do in BTS’ absence," said Hwang, who's been a fan of the music for years before joining KCON.

Lisa, Jennie, Rosé, and Jisoo (L-R) of BLACKPINK perform at the Coachella Stage during the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 22, 2023 in Indio, California.

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But, she said, the fandom has only grown.

" I've seen so many artists rise in that short span of time," Hwang said. "It really goes to show that it's not about just one artist, it's about how well K-Pop engages with fans."

And there's no better place stateside to be a fan than in Los Angeles.

" In L.A. we have so many cool fan opportunities," she said, from smaller fan gatherings at Boba shops to K-Pop dance flash mobs at places like the Santa Monica Pier. "It's something very unique to Los Angeles and I'm sure everyone in the U.S. is jealous of that access."