KCON LA 2023

I’m just coming back to earth after this past week’s KCON LA at the LA Convention Center.  KCON brought the best of the Hallyu wave to over 140,000 superfans. The convention center was packed with booths sampling Korean food, K beauty and fashion, brands meet and greets with K stars, panels, and sessions with Korean content creators and scholars, all ending with 3 nights of electric performances by some of the biggest names in Kpop. My fan girl’s heart is now happy and full. 

One of the highlights of the event was a CJ ENM-hosted session with unscripted TV producer Na Young-Seok as he discusses his hit series Jinny’s Kitchen and Earth Arcade, both on Amazon Prime. Jinny’s Kitchen follows Korean celebs including V from BTS as they create a Korean street food restaurant in Mexico. In Earth Arcade, four female music stars are on a global hunt in this variety hybrid format. Hitmaker Na’s magic touch seems to be his ability to get huge stars to sign on to live a non-celebrity life in front of cameras. He uncovers their unvarnished humor and simplicity as we follow them in these decidedly unglamorous worlds. Na PD, as he is called, was the mind behind the hit format Grandpas Over Flowers which became the global hit Better Late Than Never and spawned versions in the US, Turkey, Israel, and beyond. Those lucky enough to get a ticket to this event, got to hear his behind-the-scenes stories on his current hit shows Youn’s Kitchen and Earth Arcade, as he shared stories of working with V from BTS as he becomes a restaurant waiter, and how hard Kpop stars really do work even on their days off.