'K-pop gets closer to US mainstream'

Fans cheer during a K-pop concert held as part of the KCON convention at the Staples Center in downtown LA, Sunday. / Courtesy of CJ

By Park Si-soo

LOS ANGELES ― A crowd of youngsters in their teens or 20s flocked to the Staples Center, an iconic sports arena with more than 20,000 seats Saturday evening (local time).

Screams of joy and excitement were heard from a distance, reflecting the heated atmosphere. Given the location, passersby without information about what was happening might have mistaken it for a special up-close event featuring famous American sports stars such as Kobe Bryant.

Up close, however, things defied expectations.

Many screamed while watching photos or video clips of K-pop stars saved on their smartphones. Many others had their eyes glued to Korean TV dramas playing on tablet PC screens, talking with friends about their favorite actors or episodes, and giggling at the comical scenes.

These were snapshots of the 2016 KCON convention in Los Angeles, one of the largest overseas Korean music and culture festivals.

Fans gather for a K-pop concert held as part of the KCON convention at the Staples Center in downtown LA, Sunday. / Courtesy of CJ

Korea’s food, beverage and entertainment behemoth CJ Group has hosted the event annually since 2012, offering visitors an opportunity to see their “beloved” Korean pop stars up close and personal and have first-hand experiences of Korean food and beverages and other cultural products.

Several K-pop stars, including SHINee, I.O.I, and Block B, featured in M Countdown concerts held on the sidelines of the convention. This year, KCON ran for three days from Friday, drawing nearly 76,000 visitors.

This event is considered a key part of the company’s long-held mission of making Korean culture a global mainstream. Including LA, the company hosted the KCON convention in seven cities this year, including Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, Paris and New York. CJ plans to make KCON a “global festival” that will be held in 10 major cities by 2020.

K-pop girl band GFriend performs during the K-pop concert at the Staples Center in downtown LA, Sunday. Other K-pop singers included Turbo, SHINee, I.O.I, and Block B. / Courtesy of CJ

‘K-pop is flourishing’

It was this reporter’s second on-site coverage of KCON in LA ― the first was in 2013. Comparing the two, KCON seems to have made big strides when it comes to the diversity of audiences. While the majority in 2013, the second KCON here, was Korean-American or those with any links with Korean society, most for this year were much more diverse in looks. This proved that K-pop and Korea’s other cultural products have broadened their fan base here.

Jeff Benjamin, a feature editor of Fuse TV and a columnist for music magazine Billboard, echoed the view, saying, “K-pop is getting closer to the mainstream.”

He was among an estimated 190 foreign journalists registered to cover the 2016 KCON in LA. Benjamin, who travels between LA and New York frequently, said K-pop seems to have a bigger presence on the West Coast but is also gaining popularity in eastern parts of the U.S.

“It’s flourishing on its own,” Benjamin said. Recollecting his coverage in New York, he said, “When I was invited to a show featuring K-pop singers, there were reporters from The New York Times and other major news outlets. It means a lot to K-pop.”

He said those interested in K-pop used the shows to expand their curiosity into Korean food and language.

K-pop boy band SHINee performs during the K-pop concert at the Staples Center. / Courtesy of CJ

CJ goes global

CJ Group vice president Kim Hyun-joon speaks about the company’s globalization plan at the Sofitel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills, Sunday. / Courtesy of CJ

CJ is trying to globalize its core businesses by taking advantage of the growing clout of Korean pop culture. The group’s broadcasting business unit CJ E&M and cinema chain affiliate CJ CGV will lead the drive.

CJ Group Vice President Kim Hyun-joon said the two affiliates were committed to finding ways to generate more than half of their sales overseas by 2020, up from 16 percent on average in 2015.

“We will play a key role in globalizing Korean food and culture,” he said. “We will make it real with tailored strategies for each market.”

For its part, CJ E&M has expanded its partnership with broadcasters in China and Southeast Asian countries. The company exported its self-created travel-reality show “Grandpas Over Flowers” to U.S. broadcaster NBC this year, the first export of this kind.

Based on the format, the American TV station has produced “Never Late Than Never,” featuring American celebrities William Shatner, Henry Winkler, George Foreman and Terry Bradshaw.

CJ CGV plans to take over cinema chains in the U.S. and expand into India and Latin America with an ambitious goal of having 10,000 screens worldwide by 2020. The plan, if successful, will make Korea’s leading multiplex company the world’s largest cinema chain that will attract an estimated 700 million moviegoers a year.

As of July, CJ CGV is the world’s fifth-biggest cinema chain with 2,679 screens in 347 theaters in Korea, Turkey, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and the U.S.

CEO Seo Jung said in November that CGV was seeking “aggressive expansion” in the U.S. He said CGV was also interested in “emerging countries” such as Argentina, Brazil and India.