I had a chance to experience something that not many people get to do in their Hallyu lifetime. I was able to attend both Kcons (NY & LA) and speak on a panel about being a kpop fan over the age of 30. When the events were first announced, of course I had wanted to go. I went to KCon LA 2014 and while there were many issues with the event (long lines, too hot, no enough seated areas) it was overall, enjoyable. Hoon and Vanessa of the KCon Live Chats assured fans that things would be better. The ticket prices were the same as last year but they created a platinum level that was supposed to have all the extras a true kpop fan dreams about. At the price of $800, I was curious to see if it was worth it. I spoke to someone who did buy the tickets but didn’t seem pleased about what her money got her.

After lots of work finding cheap flights, lodging and getting an extra job to pay for everything, I was off to LA. This year the registration process was a lot better. They opened the convention a day earlier so people could check-in and pick up their tickets. The Los Angeles Convention Center is a huge area that is 99% indoors which means no one was passing out due to heat exhaustion this year. This year KCon was also 3 days with 2 nights of concerts. There were more panels, workshops and events that kept a fan going. In addition to that, if you were unable to attend the Los Angeles KCon, you could attend the smaller version of it in New York (it was really in NJ).

The LA concerts had ten acts, five each day, that performed to thousands. Day 1 consisted of Got7, Monsta X, Roy Kim, Super Junior and Sistar. Day 2 consisted of Zion T & Crush, AoA, Red Velvet, Block B, and Shinhwa. Both nights were exciting and being a HUGE Zion.T fan, I am not ashamed to say, I lost my voice that night. The New York KCon was a much smaller event and definitely rough around the edges. Mostly everything was outside, which meant if you didn’t have water or a way to stay cool, you were in trouble. Vendors were selling water but at an astronomical amount of $5.

The panels in LA were plentiful and covered every area of Hallyu from Youtube reaction stars to Fanfiction (eww) to Life As a K-pop Fan over 30. There were workshops on how to wear a hanbok to how to properly pronounce the Korean alphabet. New York, as I said, was a bit rough around the edges. This was the first year it has been on the East Coast, so there is bound to be some hang ups. There was one tent for panels and one for workshops. The majority of the workshops were for Korean beauty which was a huge success.

It was so damn hot. I said that though, right?

Overall the experience was amazing and I strongly encourage every Korean culture fan to attend KCon at least once if you can afford it. So let me know in the comments, did you attend either coast’s convention? Which did you enjoy more? Any changes you would suggest? I know that KCon is already making plans for 2016’s KCon and yes I have already started saving for it.