KCON 2012

KCON
Artists on stage at KCON 2012
Genre	Korean pop
Dates	(dates vary)
Frequency	Annual
Location(s)	United States: Irvine, California Los Angeles Newark, New Jersey Other: Saitama, Japan Jeju, South Korea Abu Dhabi, UAE Chiba, Japan Paris, France Mexico City, Mexico Sydney, Australia
Inaugurated	2012
Next event	2017
Organized by	CJ E&M Koreaboo Mnet Media Powerhouse Live
Website
kconusa.com

KCON is an annual Korean wave convention held in different locations across the world, organized by Powerhouse Live, Mnet Media, CJ E&M and Koreaboo. It started in 2012 and is based in Southern California but expanded to the East Coast and Japan in 2015. Koreaboo broke news that in 2016, KCON would be expanding into Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with the date set for March 25, 2016 and in Paris, France on June 2, 2016 for first time ever. In 2017, KCON announced that they will be hosting their first KCON Mexico at the Mexico City Arena on March 17 and 18, 2017. Koreaboo again broke news that KCON would be expanding to Australia for the first time, making it the 7th expansion country since KCON launched in 2012.

KCON is produced by Powerhouse Live and organized by the South Korean music label and entertainment agency Mnet America. It was created in 2012 by K-Pop media company, Koreaboo in partnership with Mnet America and CJ E&M. KCON's aim is to establish an annual flagship event that will improve the experiences of American fans by providing them with an affordable way to connect with each other, as well as with artists and professionals from the K-pop music industry. During KCON ‘12, Mnet Media's Ted Kim was interviewed by journalist Michael Holmes from CNN to discuss about the rise of K-Pop in the United States.

On June 21, 2016, Euny Hong reported in the Wall Street Journal that the North American KCONs, although very popular, were in a break-even financially. CJ E&M's American CEO Angela Killoren said they are more interested in a long term goal of raising Korea's brand value than short-term gain. Also, in a June press conference, Shin Hyung-kwan, president of CJ E&M’s Mnet contents business, said, "KCON, which has been held in Abu Dhabi in March, Japan in April, and Paris early this month, is not just about making money. Numbers are important but what matters more is the potentials created by the event for the next five, 10 and 20 years." Shin added that the company goals were increasing the growth of products and services to the global market by expanding partnerships with Korean small and medium enterprises.