If you like Hallyu or KPOP and live in the East coast, last weekend was a huge weekend as KCONNY2016 brought together fans and KPOP acts in a two day celebration of Hallyu. Spanning two days, KCONNY2016 offered a ton of interactive panels, the opportunity to purchase goods and have fun dancing to your favorite KPOP songs.
For me, a Hallyu newcomer, I was happy to learn about the fundamentals of each act as well as various things that would interest a fan of Hallyu which included Korean food, Korean beauty and skin care from companies like SOKOGLAM and Glow Recipe, and how important looks and choreography can be to an act. Granted if you’re not in your teens and like boy bands, it might be a bit of a stretch to enjoy but all in all you really got a good experience. Plus, the outside events were open to the public.
The problems I had with the show was the convention experience as a whole. I found the concert portion of the show lacking as often times, lines and times weren’t either followed. Without representatives and some sort of crowd control, the event felt like chaos to get into the Prudential Center. If you got your tickets and checked out the panels on Friday, Saturday just felt like a repeat of Friday, which for convention attendees just felt like a wasted day as you waited for the next performance section of the show.
The show itself was well produced but I’m still unsure about the ticket price. The evening portion was produced in conjuction with M Countdown, a KPOP music show that promotes KPOP acts. Along with the sponsors and local community support, the event featured quite a few acts who performed and dazzled the crowd. The highlight of the show was both Ailee, a local from the NY/NJ area and Eric Nam who odd and weird quality made a ton of fans. Other acts like Day6, Dynamic Duo, B to B, and Seventeen did great as they changed wardrobes and did collaborations as well.
Would I go to this event again? Yes, but I would actually consider going to the LA event which features more KPOP acts and an extra day which seems to be the bigger of the two shows. Did you go to KCONNY2016? What did you think about it? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!
