America’s premiere festival dedicated to all things K-pop and “Hallyu” (aka Korean wave), KCON 2014 revealed that it more than doubled last year’s attendance numbers to over 42,000 attendees. According to the convention, nearly 40 percent of the turnout came from outside host state California to the downtown Los Angeles event.
KCON debuted in 2012 with 10,000 fans attending a one-day hurrah of K-pop-themed panels, workshops and artist meet-and-greets, all topped off with a concert. Last year, the convention grew to two days with a concert on the final night and grew to 20,000 attendees. This year’s fest boasted two nights of concerts along with a public marketplace and, according to KCON, 30 percent more programming.
Relive KCON 2014: Day 1 and Day 2 Recaps
KCON 2014 boasted performances from acts like Girls’ Generation, G-Dragon, CNBLUE, IU, Teen Top and more along with Korean drama stars like Lee Seung Gi, Yoo In Na and Lee Seo Jin all appearing.
“KCON has been an incredible success this year, especially with the support of the Los Angeles community,” Sang Cho, President and CEO of Asian entertainment network Mnet America, said in a press release. “We are proud to see KCON become a staple event that Korean pop culture fans look forward to every year.”
Look out for stories and video interviews with some of your favorite K-pop stars coming to Billboard’s K-Town column soon.