KCON drops Hong Kong lineup with aespa, Ateez

Artist lineup for KCON Hong Kong 2024 [CJ ENM]

K-pop bands Ateez, aespa, BoyNextDoor and more will hit the stage at the KCON 2024 Hong Kong edition set to take place next month.

KCON organizing company CJ ENM announced the final lineup for this year’s festival in Hong Kong on Thursday. The festival will take place on March 30 and March 31 at the AsiaWorld-Expo, marking KCON's first stop at the arena.

K-pop duo Sistar19, fresh out of an 11-year hiatus with its comeback single “No More (Ma Boy),” and pop rock band DAY6 known for hits “You Were Beautiful” (2017) and “Time of our Life” (2019) will perform at the festival.

So-called fourth-generation K-pop groups aespa and Ateez will also grace the KCON Hong Kong stage. Boy band Ateez released its second full-length album “The World Ep.Fin : Will” in December, which topped the Billboard 200 chart upon its release, and recently wrapped up the Japan leg of its “Towards the Light: Will to Power” world tour. Girl group aespa dominated music charts with hits “Better Things,” “Spicy” and “Drama” in 2023.

The festival in Hong Kong will also mark rookie boy bands BoyNextDoor, ZeroBaseOne, TWS and JO1’s first times performing in mainland China.

This year’s KCON will also stop in Japan from May 10 to May 12, in Los Angeles from July 26 to 28, and in Europe and Saudi Arabia in the latter half of the year. Specific locations have yet to be disclosed for the remaining KCON festivals, and dates were not specified for Europe and Saudi Arabia.

The festival started in 2012 in the United States, introducing Korean culture such as K-pop, food fashion, beauty and more to overseas audiences.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]