KCON LA 2024 crowd at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California
CJ ENM
With 2026 set to be a milestone year, judging by Korea’s packed music release calendar for the year, KCON wanted to ensure fans could plan and take part in its annual celebrations of all things K-culture.
Revealed via KCON’s official social media, the world’s biggest K-pop festival announced it will return to Japan from May 8-10, while hitting Los Angeles on August 14-16 in 2026.
As shared in its captions, KCON promises “a next-level, immersive K-experience awaits” leaving many fans eager to see how the festival will level itself up once again after big moves like bringing more than 30 artists to LA last year.
A reported 110,000 attendees came through KCON Japan 2025 last year, hitting an attendance milestone of more than two million since its Japanese debut in 2015. Held at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, KCON 2025 Japan hosted more than 20 artists across its convention and M Countdown stages through the weekend. BIGBANG’s Daesung, JO1, BOYNEXTDOOR, CRAVITY, DXTEEN, EVNNE, HIGHLIGHT, INI, IS:SUE, izna, Jo Yuri, Kep1er, KickFlip, KiiiKiii, ME:I, P1Harmony, QWER, Taemin, tripleS, TWS, Yena, and ZEROBASEONE all attended the Japanese event.
Meanwhile, the 2025 Los Angeles date held at the Crypto.com Arena and LA Convention Center took place from August 1-3, bringing more than 30 K-pop acts to the West Coast. Those performers included aespa, Jackson Wang, Choi Hojong, CRAVITY, from20, Hello Gloom, HITGS, Hwasa, i-dle’s YUQI, ifeye, IS:SUE, IVE, izna, JO1, Kang Yunchan, Kep1er, Kik5o, Lee Young-ji, Lim Sejun, MEOVV, Monsta X, NCT 127, NEWBEAT, NMIXX, NOWZ, P1Harmony, RIIZE, Roy Kim, SEVENTEEN’s HxW, SHINee’s KEY, So Soo Bin, ZEROBASEONE, and 82MAJOR.
Despite the massive musical star power, CJ ENM’s Head of Music Entertainment, Harry H.K. Shin, spoke in 2025 about how KCON aims to share all areas of Korean culture through a fun, fan-focused experience.
“We’re continuing to redefine and recreate what a K-pop festival can be,” Shin said in a press statement. “KCON isn’t just another K-pop festival – it’s the only global platform that brings together every aspect of Korean culture, while creating a truly immersive fan experience. What makes KCON unique is our holistic approach to K-culture. We’ve built an ecosystem where fans can fully immerse themselves in K-pop, K-food, K-beauty, while providing a global stage not only for K-pop artists but also for innovative small and mid-sized businesses.”
Further KCON 2026 details, including the 2026 artist lineup, venues, and ticket sale dates, will be announced soon to help fans prepare for this milestone year.