KCON 2018 Japan draws 68,000 K-pop fans

The Japanese leg of this year’s KCON, an annual global Korean pop music and culture convention, drew a crowd of some 68,000 during its three-day run, organizers said Monday.

The three-day event was held at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, east of Tokyo, from Friday to Sunday, CJ E&M said.

A total of 28 artists - including Wanna One, Twice, Gugudan, Pentagon, GFriend, Momoland, Seventeen, Stray Kids and Monsta X - participated in the annual K-pop event. CJ E&M’s cable TV subsidiary, Mnet, will broadcast prerecorded footage of the event on Thursday in Korea.

First launched in 2012 in Irvine, California, KCON events are held annually in multiple countries around the world. The events have become an annual pilgrimage for K-pop fans around the globe, with more than 630,000 fans taking part throughout its seven-year run.

Yonhap