South Korean bands AOA, TWICE and 2PM will headline KCON Japan, that country’s edition of the world’s largest convention on all things “hallyu,” or the worldwide popularity of Korean culture, organizers said Friday.
This year’s KCON Japan will consist of a convention displaying merchandise related to Korean culture, a meet-and-greet with select stars, a red carpet event and a concert that night, CJ E&M said.
The lineup for Saturday’s “KCON 2016 Japan X M Countdown” concert includes AOA, INFINITE’s Kim Sung-gyu and MONSTA X.
On Sunday, 2PM, Block B, BOYFRIEND, TWICE and four other K-pop artists will come on stage to wrap up the two-day event.
KCON 2016 Japan is the second of its kind in the country. CJ E&M, South Korea’s content and entertainment giant, said it had chosen Japan as the first KCON location in Asia because it’s the world’s second-largest entertainment market and South Korea’s largest patron in that industry.
The convention side of the event will host 53 small and medium-sized businesses from South Korea to help them attract international buyers.
KCON was started in Irvine, California in 2012, with the number of visitors almost doubling each year, according to CJ E&M. It has been held in Los Angeles, California every year since then and branched out to Japan, New York and South Korea’s Jeju Island last year.
This year, it was held for the first time in the Middle East in the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi.
KCON 2016 Japan runs from Saturday to Sunday at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo. (Yonhap)
