KCON is a convention and concert that takes place at locations all around the world, such as Los Angeles (LA), New York, Mexico, Japan, and Thailand. The convention and concert revolve around K-Pop and other aspects of Korean entertainment. KCON recently wrapped up its annual LA event at the LA Convention Center and Staples Center. It was attended by famous K-Pop artists like TWICE, Wanna One, Seventeen, Ailee, and Momoland. The convention and concert gave attendees the chance to interact with their favorite K-Pop idols, see the artists perform, and participate in activities involving Korean culture.

KCON attendees have the choice of going to the convention or the concert, or even both! The concert and convention both require tickets and are sold separately. At this year’s KCON in Los Angeles, a 3-day convention pass cost $30 and also included the option of adding an artist engagement package which ranged from $40 to $155.

There were two days of concerts, so attendees had the option of attending one night of the concert or both. Depending on the desired seat location, concert tickets for one night started at $60 and went up to $200, while combo concert tickets for both nights cost between $100 to $360. For those willing to pay higher prices, there were also all-access Diamond and Platinum packages available which cost $900 and $1,700, respectively.

At the convention, I was able to visit different booths and some of the exhibitors even gave free items! There were multiple booths that sold K-Pop albums and merchandise, while other booths focused more on Korean beauty and skincare trends. Sponsors of KCON, such as Kakao Friends, McDonald’s, and Innisfree, had booths at the conventions and held giveaways for tickets. Thanks to these giveaways, I had the chance to attend Dreamcatcher’s fansign in the convention and get their autographs. Throughout the day, artists would also visit and participate in different aspects of the convention, which included Q&A sessions and live performances. This gave people that didn’t plan on attending the concert the opportunity to see the artists perform. When popular K-Pop stars entered and exited the convention, the halls would become super hectic due to the mass amount of fans surrounding the area.

Both nights of the concert were similar in terms of the artist line-up distribution. It was quite difficult to get into Staples Center since the lines were unorganized and the security didn’t do much when it came down to controlling the crowd. The doors opened around 6:00 p.m. and the concert started at 7:30 p.m., so there wasn’t much time for everyone to get inside the arena. During the concert, artists performed around two to four songs each and hyped up the crowd by playing audience games. The audience was extremely excited when iconic songs like “Likey” by TWICE and “Bboom Bboom” by Momoland were performed. In my own experience at the concert, I stood up most of the time and everyone in my section sang along to the songs. It was pretty amazing to see K-Pop fans gather and appreciate the music, even if they weren’t familiar with the artist.

After attending the convention and both nights of the concert myself, I can definitely say that I had a lot of fun. Was it worth the money? It wasn’t worth the original prices, but the resale prices I purchased them for were worth it! Because I have been a fan of K-Pop music for a long time, I had a blast being able to interact with artists and see them perform. If you are contemplating whether or not to go to KCON, just go! It’s a great experience regardless if you only attend the concert or the convention. When KCON LA rolls around again next year, make sure to check it out!