KCON, one of the biggest K-Pop events to happen outside of Korea finally lands in the US on October 13 in the Los Angeles metro of California. It is slated to be an all-day event that celebrates the love fans have for K-Pop, k-dramas and Korean movies.

KCON is produced by MNET, a youth entertainment brand that helps bring the gap between Asian and international fans.  The event promises to be highly interactive - including an autograph signing session, celebrity panels, workshops, contests, and a star-studded closing ceremony via a K-Pop concert, where Hallyu stars 4minute, G.NA, NU'EST, EXO-M, VIXX, B.A.P and Danny Im are anticipated to appear.

The celebrity panels also include reputable personalities such as the EATYOURKIMCHI blogging team Simon and Martina Stawski, choreographers Aimee Lee Lucas (YG), Rino Nakasone (SM), Kyle Hanagami (Pledis - After School, NU'EST and Jo Kwon), Ellen Kim (All Star Fridays); comic artists PK Kim from World Famous Laugh Factory, David So, and Just Kidding Films , artist Chad Future, songwriters Drew Ryan Scott and JD Relic and fashion leaders David Yi (fashion blogger), Sena Yang and Jen (Head to Toe Beauty).

With the guest list being so high profile, K-Pop fans all over the US who don't live in California are scrambling to figure out a way to get to the LA metro. Stories of fans that have been stretching their resources, participating in contests in hopes of winning coveted prizes such as a round trip ticket to the event among many other things, and creatively thinking of other alternatives to get to the concert (i.e. selling goods, doing errands for other people, are common). Such ways to attend and obtain a pass, no matter how creative and earned through hard work, can take its toll on friendships and relationships.     

The  process of working hard towards getting K-Pop event golden tickets repeated itself quite some time over the course of the year, with 2012 proving to be the year when K-Pop went Stateside and intends to take the world by storm. Multiple act events such as SMTOWN, Google Korean Wave concert, the upcoming KCON, and the twice postponed SBS K-Pop Super Concert are being a norm, on top of solo artist concerts.  Interestingly enough, fans in the USA sell out the VIP and most expensive tickets first for any K-Pop event.  This is typical because those VIP seats offer the greatest interaction and proximity with the artist that the fans travel far and wide to see.  Thus, we see a pattern emerging - fans pay top dollar for the best and closest experience. 

Just what is the price they pay for K-Pop opportunities?  Money-wise, a lot - what with concert tickets, travel expenses on top of having to buy official merchandises and albums.  But, people-wise, the personal stories show that there is much to gain also. Attending K-Pop concerts has become a way to meet new people and to create friendships, bonded by a common love.  Nonetheless, the efforts that fans and concertgoers go through prove that even if K-Pop has crossed the shores to get to the US, it still feels so near yet so far.