KCON LA 2026: Recap & Review

This was my tenth year attending KCON LA, and as usual I want to offer some thoughts on the experience. If you’re interested in previous recaps, click here: 2016 // 2017 // 2018 // 2019 // 2022 Pt.1 // 2022 Pt.2 // 2023 // 2024 // 2025 Positives 1. I like how they had two floors for the convention this year, especially since the top floor was mostly just advertising for their main sponsor Olive Young (and thus, very skippable for me). 2. For the first time in my ten years attending KCON, I had general admission tickets for one of the main stage concerts. I was worried about this because of all the standing (after a full day of standing already), but the experience was fantastic. The stage is elevated enough that you get a great view from any spot and the admission process is so much easier than the seated tickets (and no, you don’t need to camp out or even queue early). 3. I don’t know if this is a “positive” safety-wise, but security felt more laidback and quicker than usual. This was a small mercy after the madness of the check-in lines. Negatives 1. Every time the convention moves into the South Hall (there are two sides to the LA Convention Center), organization seems to collap...