World’s biggest K-pop fest expands to fifth region

KCON, the Korean pop music and culture convention operated by Korea’s largest media conglomerate CJ ENM, will hold five editions in 2024.

This year, the world’s biggest K-pop festival will visit Hong Kong for the first time, before heading to Japan, the US, Europe and Saudi Arabia.

The Hong Kong edition will be held on 30-31 March at the AsiaWorld Expo, a 10,000-seater venue adjacent to the airport.

KCON will use the arena and conference facilities to create a multi-faceted event that features concerts and a full convention of exhibitor booths covering many aspects of Korean culture.

“Hong Kong ranks 6th in K-pop album sales and is emerging as a key location for K-pop stars to perform”

“Hong Kong ranks 6th in K-pop album sales and is emerging as a key location for K-pop stars to perform. [It is] a central hub for fans to experience KCON from more regions across Asia,” CJ ENM said.

KCON organisers say they plan to expand the scale of the K-pop festival in 2024 by reaching larger venues and building out stronger production.

The festival will take place in Japan on 10-12 May and in Los Angeles between 26–28 July, though locations haven’t been announced. Editions in Saudi Arabia and Europe will take place on unspecified dates in the second half of the year.

KCON began in US in 2012 and has since been held in Japan, United Arab Emirates, France, Mexico, Australia, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia. Over 12 years, it has amassed an attendance figure of around 1.65 million in 9 countries.

In 2023, it toured four regions: Thailand (March), Japan (May), Los Angeles (August), and Saudi Arabia (October).

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