K-Pop Festival KCON Reveals New Venues and Dates for 2019
KCON is coming, and K-pop fans on the East and West Coasts should brace for major changes to the annual festival.
KCON USA founders shared exclusive details about this year's New York and Los Angeles events with Entertainment Weekly, revealing some serious shakeups that are sure to excite fans. In New York, KCON will take place July 6-7, with the festival moving to The Javitz Center for the daytime convention portion. Concerts in the evening will take place at Madison Square Garden. In LA, KCON will take place August 15-18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and STAPLES Center complex, according to the outlet.
Both conventions will feature performances from K-pop, indie and hip-hop artists, EW reported. They will also feature full day convention programming, including meet-and-greets with stars, panels, screenings of Korean television shows and films, a marketplace to purchase Korean food and beauty products, and more.
The changes are due, in part, to the rising popularity of South Korean pop music and culture in the United States. K-Pop's increased popularity is a direct result of a breakout year in 2018, according to EW, during which multiple Korean music acts performed for American audiences, growing their international fanbase.
Last year, more than 147,000 people attended KCON in Los Angeles and New York. The year before, a combined 128,000 people attended. In years prior, the crowds at both events were much smaller. Acts like BTS, TWICE, GOT7 and Red Velvet have performed at KCON USA concerts.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article erroneously referred to last year's performers as confirmed performers for 2019. This is false. We regret the error.