K-Pop Festival KCON Announces 2025 L.A. Return
KCON, the world’s no. 1 K-pop festival, is slated to return to Los Angeles in summer 2025, Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM announced on Jan. 23.
The festival, which visits cities around the world, will kick off the 2025 season in Chiba for KCON Japan from May 9-11. It will then head to Southern California for KCON L.A. from Aug. 1-3.
Exact venue details have yet to be released, but KCON L.A. has historically taken place at the L.A. Convention Center for daytime programming and the Crypto.com Arena for its nighttime concerts.
For the 2025 event, the K-pop festival promises “to present more content and be more immersive opportunities offered to fans both onsite and online,” according to a release. The artist lineup will also be released at a later date. Last year’s artists at KCON L.A. included NCT 127, Enhypen, BoyNextDoor, TWS, NMIXX, P1Harmony and more.
Last year’s festival, put on by CJ ENM, took place July 26-28 and was its biggest yet in scope. The festival’s final concert portion, known as M Countdown, was broadcast live on The CW, marking the first time a K-pop performance was shown on national TV in primetime. Actress Awkwafina made a special guest appearance, hosting solo and alongside NCT 127 members Johnny and Mark.
The K-pop festival held its first-ever KCON in 2012 at the now-demolished Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California. The modern iteration of KCON allows attendees to “experience every aspect of Korean culture,” according to a release. Since 2012, the ever-expanding live event has also been held in Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, United Arab Emirates, France, Mexico, Australia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
