KCON 2022 LA highlights: Stray Kids, Itzy, Enhypen, Ateez and Kep1er share the spotlight with fans as event focuses on K-pop’s new generation
- Full of banging covers and special collabs, KCON 2022 LA felt like a generational shift, putting the spotlight on the leaders of a rising era of K-pop stars
- The ‘Dream Stage’ segment saw fans audition to join their favourite stars on stage, with some performing with Kep1er on the first night and Loona on the second
In summer 2019, it seemed unfathomable that KCON, the world’s largest Korean pop culture convention and concert, would not be back the following year.
But thanks to the coronavirus it only returned to Los Angeles this year, from August 19-21, celebrating its 10th anniversary since the first KCON back in 2012.
Its return brought a sense of normalcy for K-pop fans who had grown to rely on its regular appearance, and for the chance to see the growth of its performers.
A journey of music
The two nights of concerts on August 20 and 21 began with Ateez’s theatrical set full of swords swinging and boxers punching, and culminated in NCT Dream’s exuberant, nostalgia-infused tunes.
In between saw Stray Kids, Itzy, Kep1er, Enhypen, Loona, StayC, Nmixx, TO1, P1Harmony, Lightsum, INI, Cravity, The Boyz and WJSN (Cosmic Girls) all perform.
For some groups, it represented their first time performing internationally, or at least in North America, and brought them in contact with thousands of cheering fans, a far cry from the virtual KCON events of the previous two years.
Generational shift
Though KCON is celebrating its 10th anniversary, not a single one of the acts that performed was active before 2016.
Though past KCONs featured a wider range of talent, with both legacy acts and newer performers on stage together, KCON 2022 LA was more focused on newer generations, with those performing widely considered by fans as part of the third and fourth generations of K-pop acts.
