KCON NY 2019 Covers All of K-Pop at the Javits Center

Celebrating its fifth year in New York, KCON has now taken over two of Manhattan’s most iconic venues: Javits Center and Madison Square Garden. Previously operating from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, KCON is now an undeniable force to be reckoned with, sharing its convenient location with iconic events such as ComicCon and DragCon. Playing at Madison Square is on the bucket list for most artists, some of this year’s lineup being able to check off that dream before they even complete a year since their debut. For those performing and those experiencing it, KCON New York 2019 was unquestionably an unforgettable experience, marking another lifetime achievement in K-Pop history.

Check-out part two of our KCON New York 2019 coverage diving into the concerts!

The Convention

Photos: KCON USA

While prior convention-goers crammed in at Prudential Center’s parking lots, this year’s convention had enough space to get lost in. The massive Javits Center, located right next to Hudson Yards, was filled with enthusiastic K-Pop fans and their families both days of the convention. There were fans everywhere, and with so much to see and do, it was hard to believe that just a year ago, there was no venue for the convention itself. With panels, workshops, stages, and fan engagement opportunities, K-Pop super fans had the opportunity to experience their beloved genre throughout the day in as many ways as possible.

The workshops varied from decorating your own fansign to aegyo battles and K-Pop debates, allowing for a more hands-on experience led by other fans. The panels gathered experts from all K-Pop related areas, from YouTubers to music producers. Jun, producer Min, and Jongup headlined their own panel discussing the behind-the-scenes of music production in K-Pop. Parallel to that, super K-Pop producers David Amber (who The Kraze had to pleasure of interviewing!), Andreas Oberg, and Jakob Dorof talked about the differences between American pop and K-Pop production-wise and patterns they have seen in one but not the other. For those more interested in the strictly K-Pop side of things, panels on K-Pop comebacks and alternative K-Pop groups were the place to be! KCON NY 2019 really engaged its community through panels such as “Masculinity and Feminity in K-Pop” and “Women in Hallyu,” discussing representation and expression in K-Pop and K-Pop-related media.

If you wanted to meet other fans of your favorite group, KCON NY had you covered! Fanclubs had their own meeting time with games (and lots of prizes!) made especially for super fans. But, of course, what everyone loves most about KCON is the opportunity to see their favorites up close and personal. This year there were several opportunities, including the iconic fan engagement events and the beloved high-touches. This year’s fan engagements were held at a super private stage where only those lucky to have gotten tickets could get in. The super-secretive, ultra-private venue only made the event a touch more special for those inside. But worry not! If you didn’t win engagement tickets, you could still catch your favorite group at KCON STAGE or watch them play a game of Dance Jenga at KCON STUDIO right at the convention floor. The Kraze was lucky enough to catch ATEEZ at KCON STUDIO waving hello and goodbye to the members as they walked in and out.

Of course, we can’t forget the wonderful vendors! If you had a thousand dollars to spend, you could easily find ways. If your thing is K-Beauty, KCON NY had a whole section of their convention dedicated just for you. More interested in buying albums? Worry not! Two vendors had their finest selection of K-Pop albums, old and new, waiting for you. You have all of the albums you want already but could do with more posters. Well, guess what? They had a lot of those too! There were even options to redo your closet to look like your favorite idol’s. If buying tickets to be there was already enough money spent for you, pizza and a large variety of Korean snacks could be enjoyed for free. Toyota and McDonald’s also had their own large booths with a selection of games and free swag—great tote bags to hold all of your purchases!