Overview KCON LA is CJ ENM's three-day K-pop convention and concert in downtown Los Angeles, with a convention floor at the LA Convention Center by day and headline shows at Crypto.com Arena at night, and BTS played it in 2014, TWICE in 2016 and Stray Kids in 2018. It began in 2012 as a one-day show in Irvine and has since been taken to Japan, France, Abu Dhabi, Mexico, Australia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Germany. CJ ENM is a Korean entertainment company working across film, TV, music, events and digital platforms, and it owns Mnet, the channel behind the M COUNTDOWN music show. On site The 2026 edition ran August 14 to 16 across the Convention Center's South Hall and Kentia Hall and Crypto.com Arena, under the theme Walk in SOUL CITY. The convention floor mixes artist performances, meet and greets, panels, K-beauty and K-food booths and a red carpet, and fans can hi-wave with artists. At night the arena runs the M COUNTDOWN stage; in 2026 the headliners played hour-long sets instead of short ones, and a second stage, Showcase on X, introduced five rising acts. The concerts stream worldwide on KCON's official channels and Mnet K-POP on YouTube, and on TVING in Korea. Audience Fans come to take part, and two of the programs put them on stage themselves: the Relay Dance Battle and the Dream Stage. The audience reaches well past the room. CJ ENM counted 2.8 million concert livestream viewers in 2025 across Amazon Music, Prime Video, Twitch and YouTube, and in 2014 close to 40% of the crowd came from outside California. Talent and Influencers NCT 127, TXT and ZEROBASEONE headlined 2026 on a bill of 16 main-stage acts that also carried Anderson .Paak, Wanna One, TREASURE, P1Harmony, ILLIT, MEOVV, ALLDAY PROJECT and RESCENE. The 2025 lineup had SEVENTEEN's HxW unit, NCT 127, MONSTA X, IVE, aespa, Jackson Wang, i-dle and ZEROBASEONE. G-DRAGON played KCON in 2013, ATEEZ in 2019, ENHYPEN in 2022 and KATSEYE in 2024. The first show, in 2012, had 4Minute, B.A.P, EXO-M, NU'EST, VIXX and G.NA. Track record Attendance: 10,000-plus in 2012, 42,000 in 2014, 58,000 in 2015, and 125,000-plus in 2025 by CJ ENM's count. Los Angeles declared August 1, 2025 KCON Day. In 2024 the CW simulcast the Sunday show, the first time KCON LA aired live on American television. Brand presence Most of the brand inventory runs through fan programming. A partner can present the Dream Stage or the Relay Dance Battle, take over a stage, bring an artist to its booth for a visit, commission branded content shot with Mnet and M2 studio properties, or run on the Crypto.com Arena screens during the concerts. Red Phoenix Entertainment sells the partnerships.