Los Angeles KCON Festival, A-list celebrities watch it all at once, Korean fans spend thousands of dollars on pilgrimage

The KCON convention, the largest celebration of Korean culture and music globally, kicked off on July 26 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. K-pop fans have eagerly gathered for this event, many spending upwards of a thousand dollars to be part of the festivities before it wraps up on July 28.

Last year, KCON drew an impressive 140,000 fans, and this year’s attendance is projected to exceed that number. Ticket prices have skyrocketed, with a premium three-day pass costing $870, plus a $155 service fee—totaling over $1,000. For those traveling from afar, the costs, including flights and hotel accommodations, can easily add up to several thousand dollars. Each year, KCON creates a vibrant space for K-pop enthusiasts from all over the country to dive into a rich experience of music and cultural celebration.

Among these attendees is Tia, a young woman from Canada who is attending KCON for the first time while visiting Los Angeles. She invested over a thousand dollars in a premium three-day pass and expressed her excitement about this unique opportunity. Having previously visited Seoul, she mentioned the rising ticket prices for major K-pop performances there, which often require real-name registration, making them difficult to obtain. The opportunity to see major stars, particularly Kim Soo-hyun this year—an actor she admires after watching “The Tears of the Queen”—is a rare delight for her.

This year’s event features a range of interactive activities and showcases, with hundreds of booths dedicated to various aspects of Korean tourism, aviation, beauty, food, and lifestyle. Attendees can explore K-beauty, K-fashion, K-dance, K-music, and K-food, offering them a comprehensive glimpse into Korean culture. For instance, in the Paldo Cup Noodle area, fans can take part in challenges before entering a lottery, while the beauty zone has a variety of sample and photo stations designed to boost social media engagement. In the Korean tourism section, participants who fill out surveys by following their YouTube channel receive keychains and posters showcasing iconic landmarks from Seoul.

Additionally, for the first time, the e-commerce brand Shein is partnering with KCON LA to launch a product line inspired by K-pop aesthetics, offering on-site interactive experiences and giveaways.

In a groundbreaking announcement, CJ ENM, the event’s organizer, revealed that the main stage concert for KCON LA 2024 will be livestreamed for the first time on the CW Network on July 28 at 5 PM Pacific Time, hosted by Korean star Kim Soo-hyun. This marks a significant milestone, as it will be the first live broadcast of a K-pop music performance on a national television network during prime time in the United States.