Hallyu convention planned in LA

Members of K-pop girl group 4minute wave to fans in this file photo after performing at the inaugural KCON festival held at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California. / Courtesy of CJ E&M

By Kim Ji-soo

It’s a desired destination, an enigma and the largest music and cultural market. “It” is the U.S. market for K-pop and Korean popular cultural content sector.

“The U.S. market is distinctive and different from the Asian market where the popularity of ‘hallyu’ or Korean wave is established,” said Kim Hyun-soo, general manager of the CJ E&M’s Global Festival Business.

“Fans in the United States like to aggressively seek to find answers to what they are interested in, and we’ve decided that a convention was the key to responding to these fans,” he said.

The company will be hosting the second edition of KCON in downtown Los Angeles Aug. 24-25 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

Different from last year where the convention was held for a day in Irvine, California, the convention will be held for two days and far more number of programs.

“We want to provide a total “hallyu gift set,” so that the visitors who mainly like K-pop will enjoy not only the music but other parts of Korean culture such as food, fashion, beauty and lifestyle,” Kim said. “In addition, it will be more about Korea, it will be a platform to enjoy the cultures of Korea and more largely,” he added.

Rookie group B.A.P members perform on stage in this 2002 file photo at the first KCON festival held in Irvine, California

At the inaugural edition, 30 programs including learning K-pop dance moves, experience Korean food and beauty and style and fan booths were offered.

This year, the organizers are in the last minutes of finalizing around 40 to 45 programs where teaching K-pop dance moves have been fortified. Aimee Lee Lucas who has taught dance moves to Big Bang and 2NE1 will be attending this year. Food trucks will be hauled in this year to satisfy the palates of those attending the convention.

They will also host the popular music program “M COUNTDOWN” for the first time in the United States. The music program is about one and half-hours long, the line-up of which will be announced around mid-July.

“This M COUNTDOWN will be a special version, in terms of line-up but also there will be collaboration works with Mnet America,” Kim said.

The organizers are currently talking with the entertainment agencies, and the final line-up is expected to be announced mid-July.

Fans of K-pop throng the KCON venue held in October 2012 in Irvine, California.

On KCON’s Facebook page, fans are already requesting organizers bring their favorite K-pop stars such as EXO, Infinite, B1A4, just to mention of few.

The organizers are currently talking with 15 to 20 fan clubs, so that they can take participate fully in the convention. The fans will be allowed to decorate and take initiative in putting up what they like in the booths.

The other programs include Q&A sessions with artists, programs that will explain the behind-the-scenes stories in making Korea dramas.

Addressing skepticism about whether the K-pop industry or Korean culture must necessarily make inroads into the United States, Kim acknowledged that he had been asked those questions so many times, but the American market is hard to ignore. “Personally, I take a lot of pride in ‘exporting’ Korean content,” Kim said.

Other Asian countries that have held conventions in the United States include Japan that has held “Anime” expos.

The first edition of KCON saw about 10,000 visitors last year. Kim said that they are expecting around 20,000 to attend the convention.

Asked what would be the key link to sustaining the popularity of K-pop and Korean content, Kim said “Localization.”