KCON Lands in LA, Bringing K-Culture, K-Beauty and K-Pop to Fans
- MIXTAPE 317
- Aug 13
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 17
All things K-Culture has landed in Los Angeles! KCON LA 2025, Presented by Olive Young, returned to Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com arena. The convention, which took place over three days, was filled with Beauty, Eats, K-Drama and K-Pop, ending each night with a concert filled with a star studded lineup. Let’s break down the weekend!
Convention
Walking into the convention guests were greeted with booths such as this year’s sponsors, Olive Young and bibigo. Getting the opportunity to test out free samples and create your own school ID at “Olive Young School” and the chance to snack on newly released bibigo Mini Wontons and Beef Bibimbap had fans lining up all day. There were plentiful activities throughout each booth, with many offering free samples and gifts, the chance to win prizes and even leave messages for artists.
Photo MIXTAPE 317 / Cristal C and Rebecca R
At the booth for Survival Show BOYS II PLANET fans were able to create their own name tags and enter a photobooth to take photos with their favorite trainees. On the festival grounds PRODUCE 101 JAPAN provided fans a photo op where they could put on contestant uniforms, while also giving attendees a chance to audition for the show onsite with a one minute performance.
If you timed the day just right you could catch some artists walking the festival grounds, visiting booths to say hi to fans and even partake in activities. P1Harmony stopped at Chi Forest to craft their own drinks, which was humorously debatable if they enjoyed their own creations. Rookie group Baby DONT Cry stopped on the grounds to introduce themselves and meet fans, taking time to take photos and personally hand out small gifts.
Photo MIXTAPE 317 / Cristal C and Rebecca R
If you headed outside you could visit local vendors such as KPOP Bestie and ohwhale.co to hit up all your K-Pop needs. Even though fans were excited to check out these booths, often asking for directions to their location, at a glance they were not easy to spot and their outdoor location was not ideal.
Notably missing from this year’s setup was the fan centered photo op display of KCON’s logo.
Stages
Four stages made up this years con: Artist Stage, X Stage, Dance Stage and Busking Stage. With different activities and performances going on throughout the day, fans were given a chance to catch their favorite performers at one of the many stages.
The Artist stage was home CRAVITY, LEE YOUNGJI and izna on day one, MEOVV, ZEROBASEONE and HWASA on day two and Kep1ler, JO1, Roy Kim, and P1Harmony on day three. Artist Stage is a great way to catch your favorite acts before the M COUNTDOWN, as each artist performs for about 30 minutes- singing around five to six songs. In this intimate space artists were able to interact with the crowd, most even coming off the stage to give fans high fives, snap selfies and join in the crowd while performing.
ZEROBASEONE performed three unit stages before coming together as a group to call for a L-O-V-Emergency with "Doctor! Doctor!" and "Blue." CRAVITY hit the stage with "Underdog" and "Euphoria" before bringing out their juniors (후배) IDID. After only debuting in 2024, MEOVV showed their claws with "Hands Up" and their debut single "Meow," their laid back style paired with their grit as performers made them a standout.
Photo MIXTAPE 317 / Cristal C and Rebecca R
The X Stage provided fans a chance to get up close to artists while they chatted with fans, performing their hits and newest tracks and even some covers. Actor YIM Siwan, known for his notable roles in Squid Game, Strangers From Hell and Misaeng:Incomplete Life, graced the X Stage on Friday. The former idol talked with fans and even showed off his 제기차기 (jegichagi) skills, a game that would have offed many of us in the Squid Game. Rookies and rising artists lit up the stage with performances by Kik5o, from20 x HELLO GLOOM, 82MAJOR and more. Check out more from KCON’s rookies and rising artists HERE.
Photo MIXTAPE 317 / Cristal C and Rebecca R
Placed outside the West Hall was the Busking Stage; while this seemed like a great addition as rookie groups could be seen busking outside the con and throughout LA during and following the three day Con in previous years, what it lacked was, well, busking. Maybe we caught all the stages at the wrong time, but each set seemed to lack order and with the removal of the panels from the lineup we would love to see this idea modified as maybe a moderated Q&A with the artists. Despite the excitement for more stage time for the artists on the busking stage, the outdoor conditions of LA heat mixed with no shaded area for fans didn't provide the most glamorous addition to the festival.
M Countdown
The M Countdown stage, the most widely anticipated moment each year, bought each day of KCON to an explosive close featuring sets from some of K-Pops biggest names at the neighboring Crypto.com Arena. Among the performances were many surprises and announcements; Jackson Wang and KEY both announced upcoming tours, while aespa performed their newest single “Dirty Work” for the first time in the US. Wildly popular MONSTA X hit the stage closing out day two. Celebrating their 10 year anniversary, the group performed favorites “WHO DO YOU LOVE?” and “GAMBLER” to an overjoyed crowd of screaming fans. Each day featured special stages, a standout being LEE YOUNGJI and Sung Hanbin (ZEROBASEONE) performing a tutting dance to Billie Eilish’s “You Should See Me in a Crown,” the pair captivating the crowd with their precision throughout the edgy number. Going stupid dummy in the club was Hoshi and Woozi (HxW) of SEVENTEEN closing out the three day weekend. The pair ended KCON LA 2025 with “Stupid Idiot,” bringing the party all the way through to the very end.
Photo CJENM
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