Inside KCON 2024: NCT 127, Enhypen, Taemin and More Draw Fans to Downtown L.A. for K-Pop Festival
KCON, touted as the world’s number one “K-culture festival” celebrating Korean culture and music, returned to downtown Los Angeles for its 2024 edition over the weekend.
The K-Pop festival draws artists and fans from around the world, all converging on L.A. Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena. Upgrading from years past, the festival utilized four stages across several locations on or nearby convention center grounds: M Countdown (named after the weekly Korean music show from KCON’s parent company), KCON stage, meet and greet and showcase, which hoped to introduce L.A. fans to rookie acts who haven’t promoted heavily in the U.S.
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This year’s festival, put on by Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM, took place July 26-28 and was its biggest yet in scope. Earlier this month, KCON announced that night three of the festival’s concert portion, known as M Countdown, would be broadcast live on The CW, marking the first time a K-pop performance was shown on national TV in primetime. Actress Awkwafina made a special guest appearance, hosting solo and alongside NCT 127 members Johnny and Mark.
The L.A. Convention Center south hall floor featured several alleys of booths from companies ranging from web comics, Korean beauty brands, Korean food brands and more. Samsung Galaxy, the festival’s presenting sponsor, had a large presence, bringing acts to the convention floor to meet fans. While the festival didn’t release exact figures, KCON said 5.9 million fans from more than 170 countries took part in the festival, combining on-site attendees and those joining through digital platforms.
Check out some key moments from the three-day festival below.
ZEROBASEONE on Their KCON L.A. Experience
ZEROBASEONE (ZB1) made their KCON L.A. debut a just over month after releasing their first EP Youth in the Shade in 2023. The nine-piece boy group, formed through hit Korean music survival show Boys Planet, spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about their KCON experience, emphasizing that they wanted to give love and support back to their fans, fittingly dubbed Zerose.
“I think we are so ready to show the improved and more mature version of ourselves during this year’s KCON, as this is our second time coming back to L.A., so we are really ready to show how improved we are as a group, as artists, to all the L.A. KCON-ers and L.A. Zerose,” member Gunwook explained through a translator. The 19-year-old added: “We are really working hard to make sure we are always repaying all that love and support back to our fans.”
The group (comprising members Hanbin, Jiwoong, Zhang Hao, Matthew, Taerae, Ricky, Gyuvin, Gunwook and Yujin) performed briefly during M Countdown night one and performed a full artist set on the third night. “We are very excited to be back at KCON L.A. for the second time,” Hanbin, the group’s leader, said.
“We have a lot of expectations coming in here … we are just ready to have fun with L.A. KCON-ers and all the fans,” the 23-year-old said, adding the group prepared a special performance for the festival. The performance Hanbin is referencing, a cover of girl group Red Velvet’s viral hit “Psycho,” was a highlight of night three of M Countdown.
ZB1 was among the groups that performed during The CW broadcast. Matthew said that it was unique for the group to see each other on TV in Korea [during Boys Planet], but “now to be able to experience K-pop overseas and then be able to have that broadcasted, it definitely is an experience.” The 22-year-old made sure to add that L.A. is his fellow group member Ricky’s hometown, wondering aloud whether or not Ricky’s parents will be watching the broadcast before adding, “We’re definitely excited.”
P1Harmony on Their KCON Experience
Six-piece boy group P1Harmony, fresh off their own North American tour, kicked off the first night of M Countdown with a explosive cover of BTS’ “Fire.” The group (comprising members Keeho, Theo, Jiung, Intak, Soul and Jongseob) spoke with THR about their KCON experience, noting how excited they were to be back at the L.A. stop of the K-Pop festival after two years.
“We just did our headlining North American tour about a month ago, and we just finished it off in L.A. and we sold out the Kia Forum, and it was a dream come true,” the group’s leader Keeho explained. Born and raised in Canada, the 22-year-old acts as a translator for his fellow group members when needed.
“Coming back to L.A. just in general is just so great because now you know there’s people that are willing to wait, and there’s going to be people excited to see you, and so that feeling is so great,” Keeho added, noting the energy “was so great” for their first night performance.
The group has different favorites to perform for their fans, known collectively as P1ece. Jongseob, the group’s youngest member, says their most recent single “Killin’ It” is his favorite. “All countries, all stages … they sing along to my part,” the 18-year-old explained, referring to his rap lyric, “My root came 2005,” which has become a fan favorite. Meanwhile, Theo says their 2021 song “AYAYA” is his favorite to perform.
When asked what their song of the summer has been, each member has a different genre they seem to gravitate towards. “I’m really into ‘Paradise City’ by Guns N’ Roses,” Jiung said. Intak pulled out his phone to confirm the song title of his summer anthem (Brent Faiyaz’s “Best Time”), explaining it’s probably his most played song on Spotify. Soul shared that Billie Eilish’s “No Time To Die” is his song of the summer.
NCT 127 Dazzles Crypto.com Arena Crowd
NCT 127, a sub-group of SM Entertainment’s mega boy group NCT, might not have been on the initial lineup for the festival, but they certainly managed to dazzle the crowd at the festival’s final M Countdown of the weekend. Billed as a special lineup, the boy group kicked off The CW broadcast and closed out the night’s concert with a set featuring their new single “Walk” and hits like “2 Baddies” and “Fact Check.” Their signature green light stick could be seen in nearly every corner of the arena.
M Countdown Night One
The evening portion of KCON L.A., M Countdown at the Crypto.com Arena, kicked off with a bang on night one. The night’s lineup of performers included BIBI, BoyNextDoor, INI, Kep1er, P1Harmony and Taemin, along with a special performance from ZEROBASEONE.
BIBI, a soloist, showed the crowd the full scope of her range as a performer, going from the soft, melodic song “Bam Yang Gang” to the hip track “Sugar Rush.” BoyNextDoor, meanwhile, emerged as a standout of the night. The six-piece boy group not only delivered energetic performances but also managed to charm the crowd with select members chipping in as hosts throughout the night.
Kep1er, the girl group formed by music survival show Girls Planet 999, performed as a seven member group for the first time at KCON L.A. The girl group wowed the crowd with a selection of their songs, along with a strong cover of Stray Kids’ “Back Door.”
“We always prepare special stages with great excitement because it is a chance to show the sides we haven’t been able to share before,” Kep1er’s Chaehyun told THR. “We all worked very hard with the responsibility to cover good songs by our senior artists, and we wanted to present a cool performance with our own color.”
Member Youngeun added: “Kep1er has always done special stages at KCON L.A., and we prepared a song by a male group for the first time at this year’s KCON. The 19-year-old shared that the group was nervous and felt pressure in preparing for the performance but said: “I believe we were able to pour all our energy onto the stage because seven of us practiced and worked hard together. Also, we were very happy to receive such positive reactions and love from many fans for our cover stage.”
Unsurprisingly, the crowd went wild for Taemin, the youngest member of the K-Pop group SHINee. The 31-year-old singer closed out the Friday night show with four songs including his recent hit “Guilty” and a mesmerizing rendition of his song “Criminal.”
M Countdown Night Two
Night two of M Countdown was just as jam-packed as the first, with a lineup that included Enhypen, god, Jo Yuri, ME:I, NMIXX and TWS, along with a special performance from P1Harmony.
NMIXX, the six-piece girl group from JYP Entertainment, kicked off the night was a performance of their single “Dash.” The group took the stage again later in the evening to deliver several high energy performances, including their songs “Run For Roses” and “Dice.”
TWS, the newly debuted group from Hybe’s Pledis Entertainment, brought their selections of fun, youthful songs to U.S. crowds for the first time. Three of the members even performed a special cover of BTS member Jungkook’s hit solo song “3D.” Newly debuted Japanese girl group ME:I performed their upcoming single “Hi-Five,” a catchy summer tune that had the crowd bopping along.
Jo Yu-ri, a soloist and former member of girl group Iz*One, performed a refreshing set, including a cover of Taylor Swift’s hit single “Cruel Summer.” The 22-year-old has been announced as a cast member in the upcoming season of Netflix’s Emmy-winning show Squid Game, which the concert highlighted before her performance.
Seven-piece boy group Enhypen, fresh off the release of their new album, closed out the Saturday night show, drawing much fanfare from an excited audience. The crowd went wild, singing along loudly, when the group performed their latest single “XO (Only If You Say Yes).”
M Countdown Night Three
Broadcast live on The CW, night three of M Countdown was an early affair — the preshow began at 4:30 p.m. PT — wrapping up while the sun was still up. The night’s lineup, the largest of all three nights, included Jeon Somi, NCT 127, STAYC, ZEROBASEONE and Zico, along with special performances by BIBI, Hyolyn, INI, ME:I and TWS. Awkwafina was also on hand, hosting a portion of the live broadcast.
Jeon Somi had the crowd singing loudly to her viral 2023 single “Fast Forward,” meanwhile Zico had the crowd dancing along to his recent single “Spot,” which features Blackpink’s Jennie. BIBI and former SISTAR Hyolyn performed a special collaboration.
Girl group STAYC debuted their first U.S. performance of “Cheeky Icy Thing,” their recently released single. The audience also sang along loudly to their 2021 hit “ASAP.” Meanwhile, ZEROBASEONE surprised the crowd with a big screen announcement of their next album and NCT 127 closed out the Sunday night show.
The Return of K-Pop Legends
One of the most unique draws to KCON L.A. 2024 was the inclusion of K-Pop acts ranging from first generation to fifth generation (artists are often grouped into “generations” based on when they debuted). Representing the first generation, god, a legendary group within the K-Pop space, captivated the M Countdown night two audience. Member Joon Park, an L.A. native, told the Saturday night crowd he was worried the audience wouldn’t know the group, calling him and the group “the older guys.”
“Man, you guys proved me otherwise,” he told concertgoers. The group had the entire crowd on their feet, clapping along to god’s music, in what was a heartfelt highlight of the entire weekend.
Fans Get Unique Experience with “Dream Stage”
A modern KCON tradition, the “Dream Stage” allows fans to submit videos of themselves performing key choreography from one (per night) of the artists attending the festival. Following the initial round, selected fans are invited to live audition at KCON, with finalists getting the chance to dance with their idol on stage. This year, Taemin, Enhypen and Zico all welcomed fans to join them for perfectly executed performances. The dancers even got to take an onstage group photo with the artist.
K-Drama Joins the Fold
Actors Park Min-Young and Kim Soo-Hyun, both wildly popular, also attended this year’s KCON L.A. The festival put on special fan meetings at the Meet and Greet stage, where attendees had a chance to get to know the actors and their work. For Park’s fan meeting, the actress answered questions in between clips of the Korean series “Marry My Husband,” which she starred in. The series, based on a web comic, became a hit both in Korea and globally.
Katseye Makes a Dynamic Live Debut
Unfortunately for those watching at home on The CW, the M Countdown preshow wasn’t included in the live broadcast, meaning only those at the Crypto.com Arena had the chance to see the first live performance from new global girl group Katseye. Formed through the audition program The Debut: Dream Academy, which streamed on YouTube and Japanese streaming channel Abema, the girl group released their first single “Debut” last month and their second single “Touch” last Friday.
Katseye, formed through a partnership with Geffen Records and K-Pop giant Hybe, were dynamic on stage, despite the fact it was the group’s official first time in front of a live audience. Their debut EP, SIS (Soft Is Strong), is expected to be released on Aug. 16. The group is also slated to be featured in Hybe’s upcoming Grammy Museum exhibit.
Goodies Galore Thanks to K-Beauty Street and Vendor Booths
Convention-goers scored freebies from several brands, many offering incentives for following them on social media. Olive Young — a Korean health and beauty superstore akin to Sephora and owned by CJ ENM’s parent company CJ Group — had a hard to miss presence on the convention floor. A majority of attendees carried around their free Olive Young tote bags (scored by signing up for the store’s email list) in the brand’s signature green to fill with goodies from the convention’s “K-Beauty Street.” TIRTIR, a Korean cushion foundation that has gained viral attention on TikTok and makeup company colorgram were among some of the beauty booths at the convention with long lines.
Shein also had a large presence at the festival. Their Y2K-inspired booth allowed guests to make their own photocard holder, a key element of K-Pop culture for fans, even bringing artists like girl group STAYC to meet fans. The company also seemingly sponsored the Meet and Greet stage.
Festival Programming Introduces Fresh Faces to New Fans
KCON has made a name for itself in introducing new talent to U.S. audiences. Among that pool of fresh faces was POW, a five-member boy group under GRID Entertainment. On Sunday afternoon, the group could be found teaching fans the choreography to their song “Valentine” at the outdoor Dance All Day section of the festival. The group performed on a showcase stage and during one of the M Countdown preshows.
BINI, an eight-piece Filipino girl group, made their KCON debut. The recent release of their infectious bubblegum pop single “Cherry On Top” has been gaining global attention online. The group performed the single during M Countdown night two’s preshow and held a panel introducing themselves to attendees.
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