K-POP Fans Flood Los Angeles for Intense Encounters with Idols at KCON Festival

A festival celebrating K-POP fans heated up a weekend in Los Angeles. The KCON festival, which honors Korean music and culture every year, kicked off on August 1 at the LA Convention Center. Started in 2012, KCON has evolved into a global Hallyu culture festival with 13 years of tradition, and this event ran for three days until August 3. On Friday evening, August 1, the first performances featured eight artists including NCT127, Zerobaseone, P1Harmony, Baby DONT Cry, Youngji, NOWZ, IS:SUE, and IVE. Actors Lee Byung-hun and Lim Si-wan, who starred in the drama “Squid Game,” made special appearances to captivate the audience. At the opening ceremony, Lee Byung-hun said, “I continue to become more immersed in K-culture, including K-POP, K-movies, K-dramas, K-beauty, and K-food,” adding that “KCON has connected artists and fans around the world for 13 years.” To mark the festival’s successful return, the LA City Hall declared August 1 as “KCON Day.” Today, KCON has grown into the world’s largest event focused on Hallyu entertainment and lifestyle. Popular Korean brands set up booths in iconic locations across LA, offering free samples of their products and food. In particular, Olive Young’s pop-up store, preparing to enter the U.S. market, occupied a large space and distributed white, pink, and green Olive Young tote bags, earning high praise from visitors. Meanwhile, Season 3 of the Netflix series “Squid Game” was released on June 27, and within two weeks of its release, it achieved 163 million views—setting a new record for the highest 10-day viewership in Netflix history—thus proving the global popularity of K-content.