Irvine, CA: KCON

KCON... everything Hallyu.

I had a very interesting and fun time at this convention. Hallyu is not something that I really follow, but I have friends who do, and this was an opportunity to learn more.

The convention was held in Irvine, CA, at the Verizon Amphitheater, and centered around the pop culture of South Korea.  The most interesting thing about the convention, was that there were so many different types of people from different backgrounds and ethnicity.

Panels... We were able to hear a lot.  The first panel we went to were a panel of film and tv writers.  The first wrote skits for internet shorts, the second for larger TV Shows, such as 24 and Prison Break, and the third Korean TV dramas.  All were either centered around Korean culture, or were or Korean background.

The panel we were waiting for, however, was the Youtube Panel, in which KCON brought in korean/korean oriented video bloggers (vloggers), to share their experiences and perspectives on their work.  

The two at the end were the ones that I was particularly excited in seeing.  They own and run a vlog called Eat Your Kimchi, which they created in order to show their families they were alive and well as they taught in South Korea.  I ran across their blog when I began work with Korean families and churches, and had questions about their culture.  I was having a rough time understanding the way Korean's perceive Americans, while understanding how to perceive their culture myself.  The first video I watched was about being big, ugly, sweaty foreigners..... very helpful. I wasn't alone. 

The others there were Los Angeles based comedians... the first David So, the other two from Just Kidding Films.

  I'm on youtube!

At the end of the day, there was a concert... K-pop is not my music of choice, but the artists are definitely talented, and the music fun.  The concert, I believe, had the loudest audience I have ever heard, but also the calmest.  Strange. lol

And lots of randomness... some I didn't quite understand... but really, who cares?  

They are having fun.