KCON annual attendees know that every year the world’s largest K-Pop fan and artist festival likes to mix up their offerings. This annual convention and concert event, designed to celebrate Korean culture, and of course K-Pop, was held over the course of three days at the Los Angeles Convention Center on July 26 to 28. With record breaking attendance with over 5.9 million fans watching on and offline, attendees experienced a myriad of Korean offerings for shopping, food and tourism, and panels. The event remains a huge pull for new and veteran K-Pop fans with interactions that would not be possible anywhere else. To keep the event fresh, there are always some surprises, and this year, many fans said those changes were the highlights that made KCON 2024 stand out.

The three huge changes to KCON this year involved the meet-and-greet, KCON Stage, and the live stream. The meet-and-greet in early years involved getting a physical scratch-off card that led to a frenzy of trading and buying.  Though somewhat chaotic, it was actually fun as the exchange promoted an activity to meet other fans and a reason to make connections. With the progression of KCON, scratch-offs disappeared and it became an add-on to be purchased online. This year, though, there were options for levels of access: everyone who had a convention ticket could view the coveted stage and even the red carpet. With A-List actors Rowoon, Park Minyoung, Kim Soohyun, and some of the of the most popular groups now making appearances on that stage including ZEROBASEONE, Kep1er, P1Harmony, JEON SOMI, and STAYC, the all-access made the experience less exclusive and integrated better with the overall convention. Not having to stand in crazy lines outside the main convention room allowed con-goers to enjoy the convention more, and the big OMG is that they allowed you to record the hi-touch.

The other highlight this year was the KCON STAGE. This was a mini concert for every artist that was featured. Here you could experience more performances by featured artists than the concert itself, be closer (high-fives were not uncommon) and see some great artists not featured on the M!COUNTDOWN concert including A.C.E, AleXa, LØREN, and the surprise appearance by rap legend Tiger JK. As one fan Kathy, who has been attending KCON for over a decade, put it: “The best part was the KCON Stage! Each artist performed more songs than they did at the concert and had a more intimate interaction with their fans.” Another KCON veteran Diane noted: “I enjoyed the different stages. I haven't been to KCON since the pandemic so a lot has changed since I've been. I like that we're not having to run all over the place to get to the next event. Everything is close by so you can enjoy it all.”

For the convention hall, sponsor booths, especially Samsung, were still highlights. Samsung had many of the most popular acts including BOYNEXTDOOR, ENHYPEN, and ZICO, who went around to promote, but who also gave ample fan service. Makeup and goodies were still everywhere, some booths you could even get a makeover, with Olive Young’s lime green bags everywhere (especially on NCT 127 day). TIR TIR and SHEIN had some of the best giveaways and the LINE FRIENDS, KIIS-FM, and KOCCA sponsored booths were so much fun. Though we missed McDonald’s fries, there was still Bibigo and MILKIS. Company booths included CRAXY, APOKI, POW, and the most popular, BEAT INTERACTIVE. If you stopped by here you might have had the chance to chat with the producer who helped select their newest group. He told me that he had a soft spot for A.C.E, who he’s supported from inception, and gushed on Forestella’s crazy work ethic. Buying a photocard gave you a chance for a ticket to see A.C.E’s stage even closer. There were still panels, but to a lesser extent, but there were many artists you could catch at the panels and dance events as well. And finally, the Connecting Stage, albeit a bit too close to meet-and-greet area for sound, was also a fabulous way to see the artists play some of the KCON games that defined KCON in the early years.

But not everything can be perfect at all times. Where the scale tips up on one side, the other takes a dip. In this case, the biggest disappointment may have been the outside zone.  With the heat, having the dancers outside in the sun without shade was rather rough. Also, there was a feeling that the food truck offerings were weaker than in years past and monitoring of fan sites using banned equipment seemed lax. The KCON premium stage area felt too big as the gap was apparent between that and the GA area. The final gripe that was heard was one that can't be helped when you have too much of a good thing. There were too many artists that overlapped. In actuality, the scheduling may not have been different from years past, but as the meet-and-greet was available to everyone in the main hall, you really felt like you were missing out when choosing one over another. In years past, you wouldn't have noticed as much as this part of the programming was excluded to most.

But overall opinions weighted on the positive. The south hall felt less cramped and lines were so much better. The new meet-and-greet setup was fantastic, but nothing beat the KCON Stage. That was clearly the highlight for K-Pop music lovers. KCON definitely got it right there as the thing that fans love most are the artists and the music. The live stream allowed those who didn’t manage to get a ticket to KCON or who lived too far away to experience the final night right on their TVs on the CW Network Broadcast. Though the effect on that might have been missed by those at KCON, having a public broadcast definitely allowed those outside the KCON realm to easily access the events of the final night. Though there’s definitely much to be said of the fabulous M!COUNTDOWN show, which will be shared as well, for many who caught both said at least this time around, if you had to choose only one, KCON the convention was the place to be.

Check out more images from KCON LA’s Convention below and we hope to see you at a KCON soon!