It’s been about two weeks and I am finally getting down to write about KCON NY 2018. My goodness, what a whirlwind. First, let me say that if you saw me or the fanboy, stopped to talk or take a picture with us, thank you. You made our time in New Jersey so enjoyable! I have been going to KCON NY since the beginning (2015). I have been very blessed not to have missed a year. I’ll be honest though, I was worried that I wouldn’t get invited. Being an older k-pop fan and someone who doesn’t do Youtube on a regular, I didn’t think I was popular enough to go. Just like k-pop is over-saturated it’s about the same with k-pop Youtubers and bloggers. So when I signed my contract, I let out a small scream of happiness. This year would be extra special because I would be taking my fanboy. HE was super excited because it was his first time going and he wanted to experience everything.

Day 0: Early Check-In

We went down to early check-in, as we usually do, to see what was going on. Early check-in is great because you get to see the fans get super excited about their artist engagements. This year seemed especially crazy fans were out in full force bartering and/or selling their engagements for the ones that they wanted. I did a half-hearted attempt to buy a Heize hi-touch but didn’t luck out. That was unfortunate because I really like her but I didn’t want to spend $50 on it. I read somewhere that people were just throwing the groups they didn’t like (Gold Child, fromis_9 & Heize) on the ground. I really hope that wasn’t true.

Anyway, we ran into a bunch of friends and colleagues and had lots of laughs and fun hanging out and just enjoying the energy. People were there in cosplay and dancing to their favorite songs. I really want to learn some dance moves so that I can take part in the random dance play they have.

All too quickly it was time for us to return home and get ready for another day. If we weren’t excited for KCON before, we definitely were now.

Day 1

Day 1 was yet another whirlwind. Checking in as a special guest as well as press wasn’t daunting but I wanted to be sure that even though I was working, fanboy would have a great time. Since my panel/workshop Hallyu Fans Over 30 wasn’t until Sunday, we had the day to take photos and check out some of the other guests. Fanboy was so excited to meet TerryTV and to see JRE again. He wanted to go to all their panels. We even got to do an interview with Channel 12 New Jersey, which I thought was really cool. I’m usually behind the camera so it was nice to be in front of it for a change. Even fanboy was able to get in on the action.

Before we knew it, it was time for the concert. My goodness, our seats were amazing. So amazing, in fact, that we ended up sitting next to Alex Reid. She was super sweet, even though I might have been a tad bit cringy, lol. All acts were amazing and even though I wasn’t that familiar with Stray Kids and Pentagon, I found myself chair dancing along to their music. Fanboy was on his feet dancing because he’s a pretty big fan of Pentagon’s song Shine. Unfortunately, I ended up with a migraine (too much partying I guess) so we had to leave quickly after the last song so I could take some medicine and sleep it off.

Day 2

Day 2 already! I couldn’t believe it was the last day already. Fanboy and I got there a bit earlier than normal because I had some interviews to do and to get ready for my panel/workshop. This was the first time Hallyu Over 30 was to be done as a workshop and I was worried how it would be received. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I was thankful. Amy from @the_ahjummas was great as a co moderator and I believed everyone had fun and met some like-minded people to hang out with and feel comfortable around.

The concert this night was the best because I LOVE NCT127 and EXID. I’m not one to stand during my concert but I had to that night. I didn’t even take as many pictures because I just wanted to enjoy the music.

 

So! If you made it this far, thanks for listening to me ramble, lol. What was your highlights of KCON NY 2018? Favorite panels? Favorite artist? Let me know on social media and/or in the comments below! And be sure to check out my Youtube channel in the next week. I plan on uploading the workshop and clips of video I took once I get done editing them.