August 24-25, 2013
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Exclusive special events for Hallyu(Korean Wave) fans in North America!!
Marking a turning point as new wave worldwide beyond Asia!!
CJ E&M presents various special booths for Korean music, food, and fashion!!
K-POP fans are growing rapidly interested in <M COUNTDOWN What’s up LA> featuring fantastic lineup!!
Launched in 2012, CJ E&M’s first ever large-scale K-Culture convention ‘KCON’ (Official Homepage http://www.kconusa.com) is to mark a turning point as new Korean wave around the world beyond Asia.
Organized by Asia’s leading entertainment content company CJ E&M, KCON is North America’s first and largest Korean pop culture convention to take place on August 24 and 25 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. It is an exclusive event for fans who are interested in Korean pop culture in North America. Combining convention and concert, KCON presents various cultural events where the fans can experience current K-POP trends as well as K-Culture itself. Most notably, the concert will also be the first ever U.S. taping of the #1 K-Pop countdown show, ‘M COUNTDOWN.’ Numerous cultural contents of recent Korean culture such as music, film, food, fashion, and beauty will be shown to the audience. It is going to be assorted gift sets for Hallyu that expands the opportunities for fans participating and seeing their K-Pop heartthrobs in person.
At the numerous booths around the arena, there are going to be various Hallyu events for two whole days including <M COUNTDOWN What’s up LA> on August 25, 19:00(PDT). <M COUNTDOWN What’s up LA> featuring fantastic lineup such as worldly famed rapper Missy Elliott, G-Dragon, 2AM, f(x), Dynamic Duo, EXO, TEEN TOP, Yu Seung Woo, and DJ KOO is to rock the city of angels.
The United States has traditionally been referred to as a “melting pot,” welcoming people from many different countries, races, and religions. As many people witnessed Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ syndrome worldwide, the U.S. has been a major window to stardom as the center of global pop culture. With a strategy that incorporates active interaction between fans and artists and customized cultural events exclusively for fans in North America, <KCON 2013> achieved substantial growth as a larger scale convention with diverse events compared to last year.
Kim Hyun-soo, General Manager of CJ E&M’s Global Festive Business, notes, “Starting with Korean dramas, Korean wave (Hallyu) gradually moves to K-pop in recent years. Now, K-Culture is rapidly growing as the new global trend in culture.” He said, “This time around, KCON is expected to play an important role in expanding Hallyu content and business worldwide.
KCON as a new bridgehead to lead the creative business and exports of K-Content
Empowered by CJ E&M and produced by Mnet America, KCON is the first ever large-scale convention dedicated to ‘All Things Hallyu.’ The convention was launched in October 2012 to establish an annual flagship event that will improve the American K-Pop and Hallyu fan experience by providing a way for fans to connect with each other as well as artists and professionals in the K-pop industry. KCON 2012 surpassed expectations in all aspects including the achievement of over 10,000 fans attending the convention, 6.5 million people reached on Facebook, and ranking in the top 10 Twitter trending topics worldwide. The number of non-Korean audience was almost 70 percent of the total visitors, meaning it had become a stepping stone for Hallyu to expand worldwide beyond Asia. KCON got much spotlight from hundreds of major media outlets such as CNN, Billboard, and Insider.
Experts note such high interest in KCON explains Korean wave (Hallyu) for music and drama in the past gradually spread overall Korean culture that fans can see, hear, and feel in person whereas they had no choice but to watch it on TV or via Internet before.
Seeing last year’s successful hit, Korean media and companies looking to expand its global business in America show high interest in KCON 2013. KCON has become a new platform to lead global creative business and exports of K-Contents worldwide.
A two-day festival filled with various special events for fan engagement
Compared to last year, KCON 2013 expanded one more day with numerous special events where fans can get their moment with high-profile Korean artists and experience K-Culture in various ways. Distinguished from any other previous Hallyu events, KCON 2013 continues to win fans with a festival focusing on fan engagement activities.
Renowned 1st generation of Hallyu star DJ KOO is to perform at <M COUNTDOWN What’s up LA> as well as to show up at “DANCE ALL DAY” to testify all things about K-Pop dance. At “Vintage K-POP” he and 1TYM’s Danny are going to talk about K-Pop in the 90s to those who are not familiar with the origin of K-Pop. Big Bang, 2NE1 choreographer Aimee Lee Lucas will also appear at KCON 2013 following last year.
<American Idol> season 11 constant Heejun Han shows up with Yu Seung Woo who appeared on the fourth season of the famed Korean television talent show series <Superstar K4>. At “Audition Star,” they are going to share stories of their personal experiences while they were filming the show in the U.S. and Korea respectively.
Local R&B singer-songwriter Jeff Bernat is also to perform and speak at KCON 2013. He will talk about success stories of Asian American stars on YouTube. Jeff Bernat released his first album “The Gentleman Approach” online and within hours his album was in the high ranks of various online music charts. He has become famous on YouTube and SNS ever since. He is expected to perform at KCON 2013 as well.
Meanwhile, at the booth for CJ O Shopping, worldly renowned fashion designers like Choi Bumsuk and Ko Tae Yong talk about K-Fashion. They will tell current trends in K-Fashion and the prospects of the next season. Korea’s top-notch makeup artist Woo Hyun Jeung is to teach cover makeup for K-Pop artists at ‘Get It Beauty’ booth. In addition, various cultural events are set up such as cooking class for ‘Bibimbap,’ K-Pop composing sessions and more.
Kim Hyun-soo, General Manager of CJ E&M’s Global Festive Business, notes “KCON 2013 is assorted gift sets for K-Culture, so to speak. It would be a best chance for the audience to see, hear, and feel the full spectrum of Korean pop culture which they were vaguely familiar with in the past.”
The first ever U.S. taping of the #1 K-Pop countdown show, M COUNTDOWN! Headlining acts include Missy Elliott, GD, 2AM, f(x), and EXO and more!
Korea’s renowned music chart show Mnet <M COUNTDOWN> visits LA for the first time to present <M COUNTDOWN What’s up LA> on August 25, 19:00(PDT), the second day of KCON. K-Pop fans are growing rapidly interested in <M COUNTDOWN What’s up LA> featuring fantastic lineup that has led K-Pop wave worldwide, to enchant the convention crowd. The lineup includes G-Dragon, EXO, f(x), 2AM, Dynamic Duo, TEEN TOP, Yu Seung Woo, and DJ KOO.
Korea’s renowned music channel Mnet introduces global tour of M COUNTDOWN since last year featuring outstanding lineup. It has become one of the most anticipated music festivals for a long time among those music fans throughout Asia for its advanced skills in stage and production management. Harmonizing both Korean and American pop culture, <M COUNTDOWN What’s up LA> is expected to show a music extravaganza with tremendously popular artists worldwide and their special performances in LA, the heart of the global entertainment industry.
Yoon Shin Hye, Chief Producer of <M COUNTDOWN What’s up LA> notes, “My team is very excited and awaited for this M COUNTDOWN since it is the first time visiting the US. With Mnet’s exceptional skills in stage, production management, and unique collaboration performances, we are planning to make <M COUNTDOWN What’s up LA> as a global music extravaganza for all music fans around the world.”
K-Connect! 