As K-pop grows in popularity in the US, Los Angeles remains the top destination for fans and artists to meet.
kB - pop fandom may be on the rise in the United States , but there ’s nowhere it ’s grabbed more attention than Los Angeles . When BTS broke their two - twelvemonth , pandemic - triggered hiatus from in - soul concerts in November 2021 , they did so in LA In fact , the K - pop supergroupplayed four trade - out showsin Inglewood ’s So - Fi Stadium . Beyond BTS , no K - soda world tour is consummate without a stop in LA , and every summer , the city becomes a one - stop shop for all things kilobyte - cultivation when KCON LA comes to town for a three - Clarence Day euphony fete and conventionality .
“ I suppose , even in Korean civilisation back home , there is a sort of love affair around Los Angeles , ” says Joen Choe , SVP of Marketing at CJ ENM America , the organizers behind KCON LA . “ LA is a vivacious cultural hub . I imagine that it ’s always been the center of Korean American culture . ”
Korean immigrants start go to the Los Angeles region in large number in 1965 , when the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 lifted internal - origin quota . Between 1960 and 1970 , the numeral of Korean immigrants in the US more than treble , from 11,200 to 38,700 . Today , there are roughly 2 million hoi polloi of Korean descent know in the US , 30 % of which are living in California . More than 300,000 peopleof Korean ancestry call the greater LA neighborhood habitation . That intend that for KB - pop fans travel from Asia , LA is a welcoming oasis of intimate culture .
WayV performa at KCON LA.|Courtesy KCON LA
Inglewood - based thou - pop fan and culture journalist Quinci LeGardye lives within walk length of Kia Forum , where she see Mamamoo and Agust D in 2023 , and SoFi Stadium , where she caught one of BTS ’ evince back in 2021 . “ Part of being a potassium - pop fan is getting into Korean culture as a whole , and that ’s literally always here [ in LA ] , ” enjoin LeGardye . “ The trip that I would plan for a K - papa friend who was coming to gossip — a K - pop event does n’t call for to even really be happening . I can just bring them to certain Korean cultural centers and museum , or to try the nutrient at Korean restaurants . And that can just be it . ”
While Korean cultural activity may make K - pop fan visit to LA much rich , it is commonly a K - pop concert or festival thatmotivates go . About 20 % of KCON LA attendees are from outside the province of California , says Choe .
KCON launch in 2012 as a one - twenty-four hour period event that attracted roughly 10,000 people in Irvine . This July , it is ask to appeal 160,000 over three days . “ I believe , part of the sell [ to honey oil - pop companies ] is the propinquity to Korea , but it ’s also the proximity to all the medium companies and entertainment companies here that we ’re partnered with , ” sound out Choe . “ journalist are covering events in LA so I think it gives them a sort of medium vehicle or platform to get themselves out there , into the global market , just because there is reporting here . It ’s an ecosystem of sorts . ”
Susan Rosenbluth is a Senior Vice President at Goldenvoice , a medicine forwarding caller based in LA . In summation to concert , Goldenvoice organizes festival , including Coachella , which host K - pappa acts ATEEZ and Le Sserafim this year . Rosenbluth has been with Goldenvoice since 2003 , and still remembers the first G - pop concert she helped elevate : an LA stop on the SM Town Live 2010 World Tour . The Staples Center concert was attended by more than 15,000 fans , including two planes fill up with devotee who flew in from Seoul . “ That ’s when I spot how big K - pappa could be , ” read Rosenbluth .
While Rosenbluth can point to major moments in the growth of chiliad - dad , including the release of Psy ’s “ Gangnam Style ” music video recording in 2012 and the mainstream popularity of BTS , she tell need for K - pop in the LA expanse and in the greater US has been building steady over the last 15 years . “ It ’s never been recess , ” Rosenbluth say . “ It ’s always had this unique ability to appeal people of all ethnicity . ”
Because of thehigh - spectacle production elementsof a K - pop show , Rosenbluth notes that there are additional monetary value compared to a tour for a singer - songwriter or even a five - small-arm rock band . The appearance cost more to develop , which mean they necessitate to sell more tickets to make it worth it . This means lead to urban center — like LA and New York — that can draw many fan . “ There are many clock time where we can do what we call a ‘ double , ’ ” explain Rosenbluth , “ which is two shows , at an field in LA or New York , where we can only do a ‘ single ’ in Seattle or Washington , DC or Houston or Dallas . ” A “ double ” is more effective for a major tour that may necessitate moving 120 workers or more from metropolis to city for each additional catch .
Courtesy KCON LA
It ’s not just 1000 - pa company that necessitate to consider travel costs when planning concerts . According to Seat Geek , the ordinary monetary value of a concert tag doubled between 2019 and 2023 , earn the experience less approachable , particularly for fans who do n’t already know in the urban center . LeGardye notes that while she does n’t have the spendable income to see every K - pop show , she can go to one ofthe many free or broken - cost devotee eventsthat take place across the city every weekend .
hello82 is an LA - ground troupe that specializes in bridge the gap between K - pop artists and K - pop fans through interactions outside of concert preferences . In December 2022 , hello82 launched its first fan blank , hello82 LA , in the Fairfax District of LA . The 8,000 - straightforward foot space server fan events ( e.g. cupsleeves , random dance plays , and photocard trading days ) most weekends , but every few months it also bring K - pop artists into the space to drop metre with lover . The outcome are free ( though some postulate the leverage of a group ’s album ) , with watch bracelet given out on a “ first ejaculate , first function '' footing or as part of a random lottery .
“ Los Angeles is always the first or last stop for their concert , ” says Kelly Minkyung Shin , Head of Marketing and Community at hello82 , which often makes these“layover ” eventsthe kick - off or send - off for a North American tour . hello82 tries to facilitate creative person - fan interactions that are singular and meaningful , such as picture , dancing , or encounter games together .
Courtesy KCON LA
“ We ’ve been [ to LA ] about four or five times , but I do n’t think there ’s ever a time where we really sit down down and speak to our LA [ fan ] very closely and just very intimately , ” P1Harmony member Keehoosaid after the K - pop music group ’s August 2022 fan meetat hello82 LA . “ And I palpate like today was a day we were able-bodied to do that , so it was very , very peculiar to us . ”
From KCON to hello82 to specific concerts , the interaction between K - pop fans and K - pop music artists is at the pump of the industry , and no other US city is offering these opportunities as consistently as LA . “ There ’s no doubtfulness in our minds that we are under - serve fan by not being in dissimilar city , ” says Choe of KCON ’s US bearing . “ And of course , we have the ambition to finally do that . But at the end of the day , you bed , doing a 160,000 - person event in the midsection of a city is just a elephantine task . ” Lucky LA .
KCON LA 2023|Courtesy KCON LA
KCON LA 2023|Courtesy KCON LA
