Before I bought tickets to KCON LA 2024, I wondered if someone like me, a grandmother, would enjoy it. Watching videos of previous KCONs, I knew that most of the convention goers would be younger than my own adult children.  But after attending KCON LA 2024, I can definitely say that even a grandmother can enjoy the experience.   Here is my KCON LA 2024 Recap – One Grandmother’s Experience.

I signed up early on for KCON emails and began following the event on Instagram but had doubts about going.  Besides being older than the normal KCON attendee, I don’t personally know many people who like Kdramas like I do.  And – KCON focuses heavily on K-pop, something I am only beginning to get into.  Then two things happened.  A friend of mine who likes both Kdramas and K-pop told me she and her sister had purchased tickets.  At the same time, I saw that two of my favorite Kdrama stars, Rowoon (Destined with You, The King’s Affection) and Kim Soo-hyun (Queen of Tears, My Love from the Stars), were scheduled to be hosts. I realized I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see these two actors in person.  With a little trepidation, I purchased my tickets.

KCON LA Kdrama Star Line-up

Then the panic set in.  I’m a grandmother.  Surely, I’m too old for this type of thing.  But the more information I saw about KCON LA 2024 and the continued reveal of artists filled me with excitement. Isaac Hong – the person who sings one of my favorite OST this year from Queen of Tears – Fallin’! Park Min-young – star of several of my favorite dramas! (Healer, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, Marry My Husband) When would I ever see these stars in person – let alone at one event – again? According to this Forbes article on KCON LA 2024 by Regina Kim – getting big Kdrama stars is part of the strategy by KCON organizer, CJ ENM, to bring in people beyond K-pop fans. It certainly worked for me!

Three-day ticket in hand (via the AXS ticket app of course), I set off for LA.  I arrived on Thursday, the day before the convention started and, having booked a hotel just half a mile away from the venue, had time to check out my route to the Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto Arena.  Thankfully, it’s a short walk. But that afternoon, the mid-day LA heat made it feel a lot longer. I could barely sleep that night thinking about all the stars I would see in person over the weekend.

KCON LA 2024 – Day 1

On Friday, I met my friends at their hotel in the morning, and we walked to the convention center to check-in.  The lines moved along quickly and before we knew it, we were in the massive convention space.  The number of booths were a little overwhelming at first, but by the third day I had thoroughly scoped them out and knew which ones I planned to revisit.  Friday is definitely the day to go for fewer crowds, shorter lines and more discount offers and specials from vendors.  By Sunday, many products are sold out.

The convention boasted everything from K-beauty products, K-pop CDs, jewelry, Korean language apps and books, Korean packaged foods, customizable photo cases with cute little charms, Line Friends stuffed animals, K-pop fashion, tech from Galaxy Samsung, and KCON logo merch. (To name a few!) I couldn’t pass up a KCON t-shirt with the M Countdown line-up on the back or the furry, little mascot key chains. I am not sure if I will brave the free samples of “volcano” ramen I received, though. I did purchase a few scents of perfume for clothes. (Because who wouldn’t want their clothes to smell like fresh linen all the time?) 

“Free items” often came with the requirement to create an account, follow the vendor on Instagram and post something before receiving the freebie. I didn’t care for the approach.  It required time which slowed the lines.  Plus – if a product is good – people will naturally gravitate to it.  By Sunday, when vendors wanted to get rid of items, I found that by saying I wanted to give the item to my daughter worked at receiving free items without the unnecessary hassle.

Line Friends and ZEROBASEONE

For most of the weekend, I resisted collecting vendor tote bags – until Sunday when I stepped into the snaking line at the Line Friends booth. I thought one of their adorable stuffed animals would be perfect for my grandson. Then my friend found out their super cute tote bags were on sale – and even included items inside.  Thinking they would make great gifts, I bought several – plus a couple for myself!  The special edition ZEROBASEONE (ZB1) tote with all the members as their Line Friends characters is adorable. I definitely plan to check out the Line Friends online store.

Meet and Greet Stage – Rowoon

The convention center included three stages:  Meet and Greet, Connecting and KCON stage.  The KCON app, Plus CON, turned out to be very helpful for building a personal schedule of artists I wanted to see. But, for the most part, I avoided the KCON stage during the weekend.  After trying it once, I realized I would rather walk around the convention center vs standing for a long period of time in the back of a crowd.  Most of the big groups were scheduled to perform at one of the concerts so I chose to see them when I could sit while doing it.  I did go to the Meet and Greet stage a lot since that is where the people I wanted to see were featured.

After exploring the convention in the morning and early afternoon, I made it back to my hotel for a much-needed rest.  On the way, I picked up some lunch. The Korean food at the festival looked good, but like most food trucks, ran on the expensive side. My feet ready for more walking, I hurried back for the Red Carpet at the Meet and Greet stage, excited to see Rowoon.  While I didn’t get a position as close to the stage as I would’ve liked, just being able to see him in person for the first time felt like a dream.  And yes, he looks as good in person as he does in dramas!  After that, it was off to M Countdown concert number one.

M Countdown – Friday

Friday’s M Countdown featured ZEROBASEONE, BOYSNEXTDOOR, Kep1er, INI, Bibi, P1Harmony, and Taemin.  I knew the performances would be filled with a lot of energy, but seeing these K-pop idols in person is an experience I will never forget.  The choreography, vocals and overall stage presence by these artists is next level.  These are people who have dedicated themselves to their craft and perform with precision and enthusiasm – not to mention a whole lot of talent.

I had never heard of Taemin, but he is a phenomenal dancer and performer!  Girls group, Kep1er, also came as a big surprise and turned out to be my favorite girl’s group of the entire weekend.  I loved their music and choreography, plus how they showed their individual personalities.

MC Rowoon

The highlight of Friday’s concert for me was, of course the MC – Rowoon.  As he did on the Meet and Greet stage, he showed how well he speaks English and with very little accent.  On the Meet and Greet stage when asked what about the first thing he did when he came to LA, he said he ate In-N-Out Burger. That’s a man after my own heart. Before In-N-Out Burger came to Denver it was always the first place our family went to eat when visiting California.

At one point in the concert, Rowoon stood up in the audience to do his presentation. Had I been on the exact opposite side of the arena from where I sat, he would have been right next to me! Lucky for me, at the end of the concert before the final goodbyes, Rowoon stood in the section directly in front of me as he waited to go up the stairs.

Later, when he went around the stage, I captured a moment on video when he looked directly into my camera.  Needless to say, I left the concert a happy camper.

KCON LA 2024 Day 2

Saturday morning, my friends and I decided to skip the convention center and head to K-Town to experience more Korean goods and foods.  I expected something a little more like Chinatown in San Francisco but even so, I enjoyed seeing the different shops and restaurants within K-Town and having authentic Korean food for lunch.  I also practiced my Korean a bit and was told that I speak it well and with no accent.  Thank you, Korean with Ina!

After resting back at hotel, I headed to the convention center for the Meet and Greet with Park Min-young.  I knew of her English fluency, but she still blew me away by answering all questions in perfect English.  She is as beautiful and personable as she appears in Kdramas.  Dressed for the Red Carpet, Park Min-young also made a special appearance at the concert that night.

M Countdown – Saturday

Where Friday’s M Countdown exuded a high level of energy the entire show, Saturday’s concert took on more of an ebb and flow feeling.  Some of the early groups did not generate as much audience attention as on Friday. Then g.o.d came on stage and the energy in the building skyrocketed with their electric performance.  To my surprise, the actor who appeared as the lead in the very first drama I ever watched, Kiss Sixth Sense, appeared – Yoon Kye-sang.  I had no idea of his K-pop roots. 

After g.o.d, Enhypen returned to the stage and gave one of the best performances of the weekend, singing several of their hits including my personal favorite, Fatal Trouble.

Clear Stadium Bag and Light Sticks

Speaking of attending M Countdown. Per this PLNCWIFI.com article, Literally Everything You Need to Know About KCON LA 2023 KCON (which was super helpful in planning out a visit to this year’s convention) I purchased the small, clear stadium bag from Amazon ahead of time. It worked well for the entire convention, holding just the right amount of stuff including my phone and a small personal fan. It would not hold a light stick though. Being new to K-pop, I didn’t have one. It seemed reasonable that light sticks for the performing artists would be available to purchase at KCON. But that was not the case. This made it even more impressive that so many KCON goer’s brought light sticks with them from home. (Often more than one!) I loved the sight of all the glowing light sticks for the different groups filling the arena.

KCON LA 2024 Day 3

My friend, and I returned to the convention center on Sunday to make our rounds to booths we hadn’t been able to go to before due to the long lines. This day also brought two of the events I had eagerly waited for.  The first featuring Isaac Hong at the Meet and Greet stage. Hearing his mind-blowing vocals live – blew my mind.  He started with a bang, singing Close Your Eyes, from the Uncanny Counter OST.  Sadly, I had a recording error and missed capturing it. (But my mind remembers it well.)  He later followed this with a beautiful cover of IUs, Love Wins All. (Recording success this time.)   

And to the happiness of all (but especially me), he sang his OST from Queen of Tears – Fallin’.  Naturally, I sang right along with him.  My friend and I had managed to snag a location right up against the general admission fence to watch him so had an uninterrupted view.  Then, after a brief, 10-minute wait, the “King of Tears” himself appeared: Kim Soo-hyun.

Meet and Greet – Kim Soo-hyun

What can I say except that Mr. “Why did I have to be so cute?” Kim Soo-hyun is as handsome and adorable as you can imagine. Just like in videos of his fan meetings, he showed off his charming personality. Focusing on interacting with his fans, he missed several of the interviewer’s questions which, of course made the audience love him even more.

He did not sing his OST from Queen of Tears, Way Home, as I hoped he might.  But getting to see him – and to take my picture with him (my friend and I are in the red circle) – was an unforgettable experience.

M Countdown – Sunday

After that, I made my way back to my hotel for a much-needed rest.  Favoring time off my feet, I skipped the Red Carpet for that evening’s M Countdown and a second chance to see Kim Soo-hyun.   Due to the live broadcast of Sunday’s concert, it began earlier than the other concerts.  Because of this, the concert featured several “commercial breaks” where concertgoers were shown videos about K-pop, including K-pop history that turned out to be very interesting.

While waiting for the show to start, I met a couple of young women sitting behind me who were fellow Kdrama fans.  One is working on developing her own Kdrama related clothing line- hoping to create clothes with a Kdrama theme that can be worn to the office.  What a cool idea!  I also learned that the mother and daughter who had been sitting next to me each night were from a north Denver, CO suburb! Practically my neighbors!

Before the live broadcast, Isaac Hong came out and sang two songs, giving me the chance to hear Fallin’ live all over again.  The control, power and gravelliness of his voice hits me every time.

Concert “host” Kim Soo Hyun (who apparently insisted he was not the MC), put in only a single appearance but charmed the audience, nonetheless.

Special Appearances Down the Aisle

When security blocked our aisle, we learned a performer would be coming down it. I had the wild hope that Kim Soo-hyun would appear, but that was not to be. What we did get is a super energetic Zico!

I spotted myself (in red circle) on a video later as shown in this screen shot. I have no idea why my camera light is on.

If that wasn’t enough, Jungwoo of NCT 127 graced us with his presence down the aisle at the start of his group’s performance.

The energy for the third concert remained consistently high with P1Harmony, Zico, ZEROBASEONE, Jeon Somi, and NCT 127 in particular giving stellar performances. I left the concert filled with memories, but also ready to go home after an eventful three days.

KCON LA 2024 Recap – One Grandmothers Experience

During the weekend, I learned a lot about K-pop both from the convention and from my friend who loves K-pop. (In particular, the group Seventeen!)  I discovered new Korean products, dove further into Korean culture and experienced authentic Korean food.

I also realized that age is just a number.  It doesn’t matter what age you are if there’s something you enjoy.  I talked to young girls who were there to see their favorite idols.  Watched the three boys sitting in front of me at M Countdown each night enthusiastically stand-up for every girl K-pop group. There were older concert goers – possibly drawn to see the idols they grew up with like Taemin and g.o.d.  Attendees consisted of mothers and daughters, families with young children, friend groups in all shapes and sizes, and even other “grandmothers”.  All were there to express their love and support of K-pop, Kdramas and Korean culture.

KCON LA 2024 Final Thoughts

I brought home many memories of KCON LA 2024, lots of neat products and, unfortunately, Covid. (Which hit me for the first time since the outbreak.)  Regardless, this grandmother is glad to have experienced KCON especially knowing how unlikely it is I’ll have another chance to see some of those actors and artists in person again. 

Will I go to a future KCON?   I won’t rule it out. I don’t think it will be a yearly trek, though. There were times when it could be a little overwhelming, especially on Sunday with so many people.  If I did go again, I would try to venture into the fan space which included fan art and panels on things like choreography and the making of music videos. Catching more performances at the KCON stage would also be on the list. And I would do a little more K-pop homework.

After returning home, I binge watched Boys Planet (what else to do when stuck at home with Covid?) – the show that formed ZEROBASEONE.  (Catch it on on Viki.) Watching the journey of the trainees was a blast and I think I would have appreciated seeing ZB1 more if I had seen the show first. But it’s never too late to become a Zerose! (Now, where can I find Enhypen’s, creation show, I-Land, to watch?) I also found out about D’FESTA LA, an immersive experience featuring K-pop.  And the fact that Rowoon made an appearance there on Friday.  Rats.  It’s for the best that I didn’t know that ahead of time. Really. . .

A Sign on the Road Home?

As my husband drove me home from the airport, I saw this license plate that read “HAJIMA”, meaning “Don’t do it – stop!” in Korean. I had to laugh at the fact that my Korean experience at KCON had followed me home.

To learn some of the fun things that happened behind the scenes at KCON, check out this Billboard article by Jeff Benjimin – KCON LA 2024 Things You Didn’t See Backstage.