KCON USA Slammed Over Multiple “Unprofessional” Practices

Fans are demanding answers from the company.
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Koreaboo

K-Pop fans are slamming KCON USA over what they consider “unprofessional” practices.

Besides the years affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, KCON has taken place in the United States each year since 2012 and has expanded to many other countries since. KCON gathers popular and rising music acts and, over a few days, holds concerts and fan meetings during a convention.

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| KCON USA

This year, KCON LA changed from previous years, first announcing that it would now take place in July rather than August.

Initially, this was a welcomed change, as KCON would likely conflict with other festivals like Head In The Clouds LA, as in previous years, and the upcoming WATERBOMB LA event.

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KCON LA 2022 and Head In The Clouds LA 2022 took place at the same time.

However, this changed as the announced dates of July 26-28 approached, and there was no word on ticketing or the line-up. May 31 brought the first information about ticketing, announcing the ability to purchase pre-sale access.

The first and only line-up hint was given on June 2, revealing that at least 25 artists would be attending. Presale access went on sale shortly after. The first official lineup was shared the same day, with a second coming just one day before presales began.

With the second line-up including the phrase “and more,” many waited to see the next announced artists. However, no more artists were announced before presales took place.

Based on the hints given, many fans assumed that NCT 127 would be among the artists announced for the festival, with some fans reporting that they had received push messages from the Mnet+ app confirming this. NCT‘s Haechan later confirmed the group’s attendance during a video call with a fan.

In an article by Forbes, the media outlet mentioned that KCON was expecting to release more artists in the coming weeks, including one major K-Pop act. With the festival less than two months away, fans have been left upset by the short notice given, and the implication that even shorter notice will be given for other acts.

Many are angry that sales took place without the full line-up being available.

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| @kconusa/Instagram

To make matters worse for fans, an issue with the Meet and Greet passes has left many feeling scammed.

On June 7, presales took place for both the concert tickets and meet and greet experiences. Like last year, KCON’s meet and greets include a mini-fan meeting and the chance to have a “hi-wave” up close with the specified artists.

Presales for the meet and greets began at 6 PM PDT, with many expressing excitement over successfully securing their passes. However, around five hours later, many began receiving notifications that their ZEROBASEONE meet and greet would be refunded due to overselling.

As part of the presale access, fans were able to purchase one ticket and one meet and greet with their codes, which were not usable after this refund occurred. The package that included this presale code was 85 USD, and many are demanding refunds following this mistake.

From today’s date, June 8, there are about 48 days until day one of KCON begins and hopefully things will go more smoothly for those hoping to attend.

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