1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:12,120
Speaker 1: M H. Welcome to strictly Business Varieties weekly podcast featuring

2
00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,880
Speaker 1: conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment.

3
00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:22,720
Speaker 1: I'm Cynthia Littleton, co editor in chief of Variety Today.

4
00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:27,560
Speaker 1: My guest is the next generation of media consumers. At least,

5
00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:32,479
Speaker 1: it is one very intriguing strain of the pop culture ecosystem.

6
00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:37,160
Speaker 1: The devotees of K pop. K com, a fan event

7
00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,840
Speaker 1: celebrating South Korean entertainment, returned to downtown Los Angeles over

8
00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,600
Speaker 1: the weekend of August nineteenth through one for the first

9
00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,320
Speaker 1: time in three years because of the pandemic. The event

10
00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:53,159
Speaker 1: features a fan convention during the day and concerts at

11
00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:57,840
Speaker 1: Crypto dot Com Arena on Saturday and Sunday night. When

12
00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,560
Speaker 1: K pop phenomens like a t ease En, hyphen and

13
00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:06,440
Speaker 1: Idsy hit the stage, the roar from the crowd probably

14
00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:10,119
Speaker 1: registered as seismic activity down the road at cal Tech,

15
00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:13,600
Speaker 1: I spent the first day of kkon wandering around and

16
00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:16,880
Speaker 1: talking to attendees. It was a crash course in K

17
00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:21,160
Speaker 1: pop from eager teachers. It was also illuminating to see

18
00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,840
Speaker 1: in action the aspects of K pop fandom that forged

19
00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,640
Speaker 1: such intensely close bonds with fans. You'll hear a lot

20
00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,880
Speaker 1: about that soon, and those trends reflect a lot of

21
00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:36,640
Speaker 1: broader trends in media, from artists having direct contact with

22
00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:41,360
Speaker 1: fans to super fans going to incredible extremes for access

23
00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:45,399
Speaker 1: to the artists they love. Even five seconds of eye

24
00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:49,400
Speaker 1: contact with a member of a group that they stand

25
00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,760
Speaker 1: is deeply meaningful to K pop kes. The Kecon crowd

26
00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:59,080
Speaker 1: was notably racially and ethnically diverse. Those boy bands and

27
00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,600
Speaker 1: girl groups are two hearts all over the country. Many

28
00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,480
Speaker 1: attendees described the experience of hearing one K pop tune

29
00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:10,359
Speaker 1: and just getting hooked. In terms of age, however, it's

30
00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,640
Speaker 1: another story. I wasn't checking I das, but I don't

31
00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:17,320
Speaker 1: think I spoke to anyone over thirty. I'll let the

32
00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:22,880
Speaker 1: rest of this story be told by Christina Casa, Savannah Cade,

33
00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:31,760
Speaker 1: Isaiah Hayden, Arra, Epiphany Mallory, Anya and more. The passionate

34
00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,040
Speaker 1: voices of CACON are coming right up after this break,

35
00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:45,960
Speaker 1: and we're back with on the ground reporting on the

36
00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,280
Speaker 1: future of media as voiced by the K pop generation.

37
00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,680
Speaker 1: Coming to CACON is a minimum investment of hundreds of

38
00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,160
Speaker 1: dollars for attendees. So the first question I asked people

39
00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:02,440
Speaker 1: was why the responses were were markably similar. They came

40
00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:06,400
Speaker 1: as fans, but they're also searching for community. Here's a

41
00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,799
Speaker 1: representative sample of thoughts, starting with Tricia, who's from Los

42
00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:16,480
Speaker 1: Angeles and is about to start cosmatology studies. That's followed

43
00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,200
Speaker 1: by Margot from Ventura who works in retail, Cade from

44
00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,640
Speaker 1: Sherman Oaks, and Christina, who works in production and lives

45
00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:26,840
Speaker 1: in North Hollywood. So the reason I came to kake

46
00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,720
Speaker 1: On this year's because I've came before, and the reason

47
00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,320
Speaker 1: I come is because it's a sense of community and

48
00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:35,760
Speaker 1: I feel like I can really be myself around people

49
00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,040
Speaker 1: who share similar interests and like CA pop. I know

50
00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,200
Speaker 1: some people think like, oh, like it's a weird like fetish.

51
00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,200
Speaker 1: I know, like it's weird, but people assume that. And

52
00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,720
Speaker 1: it's not like there's music. There's different cultures that you

53
00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,920
Speaker 1: can get into, and then other people enjoy your cultures,

54
00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:53,200
Speaker 1: Whereas so why can't we enjoy someone else's to that

55
00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,560
Speaker 1: certain extent? Make new friends. I've made a lot of friends.

56
00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:01,240
Speaker 1: Then my friends have came with me aren't particularly into

57
00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,560
Speaker 1: K pop, but they enjoy the experience as well, like

58
00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:06,520
Speaker 1: they get to find out different things. Like it's not

59
00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:10,000
Speaker 1: just like Korean music, it's like the skincare you know,

60
00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:12,760
Speaker 1: we learned different things every time we come, so like

61
00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,080
Speaker 1: every cake on is like a different experience and I

62
00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,479
Speaker 1: like that a lot. And we get to see people

63
00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:19,440
Speaker 1: that we don't normally see, like our K pop idols,

64
00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:21,360
Speaker 1: like they're halfway around the world and like this's like

65
00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:23,680
Speaker 1: the one time we get to see them besides consours

66
00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,120
Speaker 1: because the concerts tend to be really expensive and so

67
00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,279
Speaker 1: I personally have not been about concert yet. Hopefully I

68
00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:33,279
Speaker 1: will soon, but like this is my chance to see

69
00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,560
Speaker 1: the people that I adore, and like that really inspired

70
00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,680
Speaker 1: me to do better, like to just be myself. I

71
00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,200
Speaker 1: mean it's just kind of nice, like meeting a lot

72
00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,599
Speaker 1: of people who are into the same thing and just

73
00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,400
Speaker 1: kind of like finding out new things different groups. Um,

74
00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:52,359
Speaker 1: because like I feel like every day I'm finding like

75
00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:54,640
Speaker 1: a new group, like finding out about a new group.

76
00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:59,360
Speaker 1: So it's really like the environment, um seeing what kind

77
00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,120
Speaker 1: of places, like different food, different Like there's like some

78
00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,400
Speaker 1: big good stuff I want to check out. Um, there's

79
00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,880
Speaker 1: like different things that you can get. So yeah, it's

80
00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,320
Speaker 1: a variety of things, in the variety of people, get

81
00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:15,679
Speaker 1: a chance to meet your favorite people that your favorite artists,

82
00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:20,119
Speaker 1: and um, you know, it's really hard to find people

83
00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,719
Speaker 1: who like K pop in just public people. It's like

84
00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,719
Speaker 1: people really judge you for it, like it's it's really

85
00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,080
Speaker 1: you know, it's hard to find people that are similar.

86
00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:32,960
Speaker 1: So this is a great way to you know, find

87
00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,960
Speaker 1: people that are similar to you. Um. So I've been

88
00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:39,599
Speaker 1: coming to k Con since I was introduced by my

89
00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,080
Speaker 1: friend here, and um, we will love the music, we

90
00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,480
Speaker 1: love the culture, we love the movies, the dramas, the

91
00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,800
Speaker 1: beauty all out speaks of Korean culture. So we actually

92
00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,360
Speaker 1: take Korean classes and we're learning the language. So yes,

93
00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:55,960
Speaker 1: we're in our third year at the King said Jong

94
00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:59,800
Speaker 1: Institute in l A. The enthusiasm just underscores that will

95
00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,560
Speaker 1: so much of what we all experience now unfolds online.

96
00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:08,920
Speaker 1: The most Wired People among us prize in Personal Experiences Tasia,

97
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,960
Speaker 1: who traveled from Atlanta, went so far as to liken

98
00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:16,200
Speaker 1: Kecon to a family reunion. The first thing is, you know,

99
00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,800
Speaker 1: as a K pop fan, it's like a almost sort

100
00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,159
Speaker 1: of a festival where you can come, not join not

101
00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,520
Speaker 1: only with the idol's boss with other fans, so it's

102
00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,359
Speaker 1: kind of like a family reunion in a way. And also,

103
00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,919
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm we love the idols, and it's like

104
00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,080
Speaker 1: a way to have not only fan interaction but also

105
00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:39,000
Speaker 1: the concerts which will be going on tomorrow. So it's fun.

106
00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,240
Speaker 1: It's just a it's a way to this, you know,

107
00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,800
Speaker 1: enjoy yourself, come together with other people have the same

108
00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:51,440
Speaker 1: hobby as you. Indeed, Cacon goers emphasize the warm and

109
00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:55,040
Speaker 1: fuzzy feelings that come from a sense of belonging, as

110
00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,919
Speaker 1: emphasized here by a Kecon host who presided over a

111
00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:01,520
Speaker 1: dance contest. So I feel like it is like this

112
00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:03,600
Speaker 1: are a great ways for all of us to come

113
00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,919
Speaker 1: together and enjoy the stuff the enjoy as well. And

114
00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:09,640
Speaker 1: I'm really excited to make any friends and experiences to

115
00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:15,880
Speaker 1: get at. Epiphany, who attended with her roommate Christina, said

116
00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,920
Speaker 1: she felt an instant kinship at her very first K

117
00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:24,800
Speaker 1: pop show. Meanwhile, Kayden and Kiara, who traveled from Logan, Utah,

118
00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:29,200
Speaker 1: explains that not everyone understands how the world is changing.

119
00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:31,840
Speaker 1: When I first got into it was like the second

120
00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:33,440
Speaker 1: I found out someone else liked it, it was an

121
00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:35,960
Speaker 1: instant conversation and instant friendship. And we went to our

122
00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:38,760
Speaker 1: first ever concerts. We didn't know anyone, and outside in

123
00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,320
Speaker 1: line people were dancing and singing and trading cards and

124
00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,440
Speaker 1: everyone was just so excited they were coming and just

125
00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:45,920
Speaker 1: so excited to be there the concerts. The energy of

126
00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,400
Speaker 1: the production value was so different from anything I've seen

127
00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,160
Speaker 1: from American artists, and so yeah, I think, like you

128
00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,520
Speaker 1: call for the music, the choreography, the outfits, all the

129
00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:56,520
Speaker 1: like pretty fun, sparkly stuff, and then you end up

130
00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,240
Speaker 1: staying because you make friends. And like even now, just

131
00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,400
Speaker 1: walking around the comment center, everyone's dancing, everyone's talking. We've

132
00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,160
Speaker 1: met so many people today. I would love the bashion.

133
00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:07,920
Speaker 1: I would just buys into it so hard. And it's

134
00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:09,840
Speaker 1: just so excited to be here at all that you

135
00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:11,600
Speaker 1: can't help but kind of get excited and want to

136
00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:13,720
Speaker 1: go along with it. It's just kind of realizing that

137
00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:20,880
Speaker 1: there's like someone else who's interested in something similarities. You're like, oh,

138
00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,720
Speaker 1: you like this too, And it's like not like as

139
00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,280
Speaker 1: normalized as people may seem like. It's k pop is

140
00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:29,880
Speaker 1: getting so much bigger, but a lot of people still

141
00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,480
Speaker 1: get ridiculed closening to k pop. So finding somebody who

142
00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:34,559
Speaker 1: likes it and that you can actually talk to about

143
00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:36,959
Speaker 1: it is just like a cool feeling. Yeah, when you

144
00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,120
Speaker 1: say ridiculed, is that like people will say, why do

145
00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:43,439
Speaker 1: you listen to that stuff? Like how Yeah? Yeah, minor

146
00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:48,680
Speaker 1: harassment of like school out in public, just typical racism, Yeah,

147
00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:52,920
Speaker 1: saying like oh those Chinese boys. You know there's lots

148
00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,600
Speaker 1: of racism in in those kind of when you talk

149
00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,360
Speaker 1: about K pop, like it's obvious and it's Korean because okay,

150
00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:03,839
Speaker 1: it's not C pop, but there's always that oh you

151
00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:10,160
Speaker 1: listen to those Chinese boys and yeah, so it's very hard. Look,

152
00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:14,960
Speaker 1: there's so much more to it than just look. The

153
00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:19,480
Speaker 1: connections that fans make with artists are intense. Fans fill

154
00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:22,640
Speaker 1: an obligation to support the artist who helped them through

155
00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:27,040
Speaker 1: bad times. That sentiment was repeated over and over and

156
00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:31,120
Speaker 1: that's encouraged in every way from how artists communicate with fans.

157
00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,760
Speaker 1: Two in person opportunities like k coom. We'll here here

158
00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,920
Speaker 1: from Whitney who came from Chicago, Tasha and Anya, a

159
00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,520
Speaker 1: student from Truckee, California. I came to kcon because I

160
00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:46,440
Speaker 1: want to support a t s and In hype In,

161
00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:47,960
Speaker 1: and I thought it would be a lot of fun

162
00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,720
Speaker 1: as a long time K pop fan to be around

163
00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,760
Speaker 1: other K poppers and um to get to do high

164
00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:56,480
Speaker 1: touch with a T S and a hypen. I've learned

165
00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:58,880
Speaker 1: that the high touches when you go up when they

166
00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:02,480
Speaker 1: all go down the line. Yeah, so it's usually like

167
00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:04,920
Speaker 1: a high five or you know, spend a little time

168
00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:06,800
Speaker 1: talking to them, but I think this time it's more

169
00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,120
Speaker 1: like a high wave where you just go along and

170
00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:10,840
Speaker 1: you wave at them. But I mean to get that

171
00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,800
Speaker 1: little five seconds of eye contact is totally worth it

172
00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,360
Speaker 1: for us anyway, the other people, it sounds crazy, but

173
00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:20,679
Speaker 1: it's definitely worth it for us. Emotion, passion and like

174
00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,040
Speaker 1: effort that they put in because they do this for years,

175
00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,360
Speaker 1: and like when you do something like you put your

176
00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:29,280
Speaker 1: dedicated to it, it shows and results. And like most

177
00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,400
Speaker 1: of the groups that I do stand, they show a

178
00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:33,440
Speaker 1: lot and they put a lot and they like suffered

179
00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:37,480
Speaker 1: a lot to like make us happy. And that's pretty

180
00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:41,800
Speaker 1: much it for me. Like you've seen the commitment, like

181
00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:45,320
Speaker 1: things that make us happy, like why we're in a

182
00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,000
Speaker 1: sad moment that we could turn to them to look

183
00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:51,000
Speaker 1: at it that's like the dedication that they put in

184
00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,280
Speaker 1: for us to receive us to travel this far to

185
00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,679
Speaker 1: also they get it in Live eighties. In my opinion,

186
00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:03,160
Speaker 1: UM have done so much to help me through um Tho.

187
00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,040
Speaker 1: They've been there for me more than most people would

188
00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,840
Speaker 1: ever think. They're at my comfort zone. So I'm very

189
00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:14,360
Speaker 1: appreciative every day, So anything to help them and all that. Again,

190
00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,120
Speaker 1: the level of commitment that fans show to their favorite

191
00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:22,240
Speaker 1: artist is astounding. Kikon attendees told me it's common for

192
00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,800
Speaker 1: fans to make up their own trading cards and placards

193
00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:29,400
Speaker 1: to wave a concerts and fan events. The more fan

194
00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,960
Speaker 1: made placards that wave in the crowd, the more artists

195
00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,480
Speaker 1: feel the love and it becomes competitive among the different

196
00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:40,520
Speaker 1: fan bases for different acts. Here, Chiara shows me a

197
00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:45,320
Speaker 1: professionally printed placard and explains the dynamics the concerts have.

198
00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:50,720
Speaker 1: UM like, certain groups will have certain fan a fan base,

199
00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:54,520
Speaker 1: and it's like that fan base will usually put something on,

200
00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,800
Speaker 1: whether it's like cup sleeve or they give out polaroids

201
00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,679
Speaker 1: or giving out like a little banners to show the fans.

202
00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:08,840
Speaker 1: It's usually something that we like to do other and

203
00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:13,320
Speaker 1: so he was this morning, and so at panel one

204
00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,400
Speaker 1: and so a fan went around handing these out made Yeah,

205
00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:21,880
Speaker 1: it's completely fan made her factors, that says Kevin Wood,

206
00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:26,199
Speaker 1: celebrating five years since your kate Con debut on and

207
00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,319
Speaker 1: then it just has his name on it. And you

208
00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:33,719
Speaker 1: would hold these like at concerts or like at the

209
00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:36,199
Speaker 1: high touches that we mentioned earlier, or even just at

210
00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,160
Speaker 1: the panels here at kakon Um. Kevin took a picture

211
00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,439
Speaker 1: with the fans earlier and he specifically requested that we

212
00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,720
Speaker 1: all held these. H So it's just something to like

213
00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:50,920
Speaker 1: show support for idols, and then fans will take these home.

214
00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:52,920
Speaker 1: I like to hang them on my walls because then

215
00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,360
Speaker 1: it shows where I've been and who I've seen. So

216
00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:57,200
Speaker 1: it's kind of fun to see back the memories just

217
00:12:57,240 --> 00:12:59,720
Speaker 1: from a little piece of paper that somebody put together

218
00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,760
Speaker 1: and just handed out for Brianna to just hundreds or

219
00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:10,720
Speaker 1: thousands of people. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back

220
00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:22,160
Speaker 1: with more reporting from KKON and we're back with more

221
00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:28,720
Speaker 1: insights from young consumers attending kkno. I also asked Kekon

222
00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,880
Speaker 1: goers to step back and reflect on what first got

223
00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:35,559
Speaker 1: them interested in this music. Here we hear from Katie,

224
00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:38,920
Speaker 1: who lives in Koreatown and works for Bill to Bear Workshop,

225
00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,600
Speaker 1: and Mallory, who lives in Ventura and works in retail.

226
00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,000
Speaker 1: I was actually the first one that dove in, so

227
00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:48,640
Speaker 1: I was, um, just scrolling through Instagram and I saw

228
00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:51,360
Speaker 1: something about the Grammys and bts at the Grammys, and

229
00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:55,400
Speaker 1: I had heard Dynamite and I was like, I had

230
00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:57,320
Speaker 1: had that song on my phone for a while because

231
00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,000
Speaker 1: it's so it was so good and so catchy and

232
00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,160
Speaker 1: very uplifting. And then I realized that there were seven

233
00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:03,559
Speaker 1: of them, and I was like, Oh, my goodness, is

234
00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:07,480
Speaker 1: this a normal thing? So I dove into them because

235
00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,319
Speaker 1: I was like I wanted to know more simply because

236
00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:11,800
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, wow, this is really cool that

237
00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:14,920
Speaker 1: they were nominated for a Grammy. And then I watched

238
00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,560
Speaker 1: again like James Gordon's Collar Pool Karaoke, and that's what

239
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,560
Speaker 1: really got me. So what I would say, what really

240
00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:24,200
Speaker 1: really really draws you in is their personalities is because

241
00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,000
Speaker 1: they like the thing about ka pop is everyone does

242
00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:31,120
Speaker 1: have a personality, and it's like they feel so genuine

243
00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,680
Speaker 1: and so real. And not only that, but they allot

244
00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:37,720
Speaker 1: of them do spread positivity and they do spread like

245
00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:42,040
Speaker 1: love and acceptance, and like just their music itself is

246
00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,760
Speaker 1: so uplifting, not just BTS, but a lot of other

247
00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,760
Speaker 1: groups as well. Like and that's what drew me in personally.

248
00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:51,960
Speaker 1: It's like it makes me want to be a better person.

249
00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:55,080
Speaker 1: I don't know if that makes sense. Well, I got

250
00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:58,560
Speaker 1: into ka pop maybe three years ago to three years ago,

251
00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:00,760
Speaker 1: and kind of what brought me to It's like the

252
00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:04,880
Speaker 1: production value is amazing and the messages are amazing. Uh,

253
00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:07,600
Speaker 1: they're super talented. I mean everybody it can kind of

254
00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:12,680
Speaker 1: do everything. Amazing singers, danzers, rappers, um and just the

255
00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,480
Speaker 1: effort they put into it, and like the connection they

256
00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:17,840
Speaker 1: make with the fans. I think it's like a huge

257
00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,360
Speaker 1: part of what connects people to it, especially international annal.

258
00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:25,119
Speaker 1: It's so clear that what makes K pop so compelling

259
00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,280
Speaker 1: is that it's something of a lifestyle. Fans are also

260
00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:34,280
Speaker 1: intrigued by Korean foods, cultural traditions. Fans were also quick

261
00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:37,040
Speaker 1: to point out things that they like about K pop

262
00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,040
Speaker 1: and the ethos among those artists that they think are

263
00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:45,080
Speaker 1: missing from Western acts. Here's Savannah, who came from Vegas,

264
00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:49,440
Speaker 1: followed by Cade Christina Karina, who is from Los Angeles,

265
00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:53,520
Speaker 1: Anya and Epiphany. One thing that K pop has is

266
00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:55,800
Speaker 1: like it has a lot of the stuff that I

267
00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,840
Speaker 1: guess you would say American artists no longer do, like

268
00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,680
Speaker 1: where it's the performances and the you know, dances to

269
00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:04,760
Speaker 1: go with the song. It's not many American artists that

270
00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:09,720
Speaker 1: have that anymore. And it's just something that's like it

271
00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,440
Speaker 1: reminds you, like it's kind of like nostalogic in a way,

272
00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,320
Speaker 1: like compared to you know, nineties artists where they had

273
00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,720
Speaker 1: a dance for every song and choreography for every song

274
00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:20,840
Speaker 1: and big grand performances. So it's like kind of a

275
00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,240
Speaker 1: way to relive our childhood, but through a different culture. Yeah,

276
00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:28,600
Speaker 1: the shows, the movies, the food, the just the way

277
00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:33,800
Speaker 1: how different everyday life is. The the manners. You know,

278
00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:38,200
Speaker 1: it's very sophisticated and it's very respectful, and I think

279
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,000
Speaker 1: that's something that we should all we can all use,

280
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:44,960
Speaker 1: especially here in the United States of America. Um, I

281
00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:46,720
Speaker 1: don't know, it's just it's it's very I just think

282
00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:48,600
Speaker 1: it's really cool, you know what I mean. It's it's

283
00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,760
Speaker 1: really fun. And what originally got me was just like

284
00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,640
Speaker 1: the fan culture surrounded it by it because like people

285
00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:56,480
Speaker 1: treatch other like a family, and you know, there's always

286
00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,560
Speaker 1: free days and events. It's very much like it feels

287
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:01,720
Speaker 1: like family because like you you love the members, they

288
00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:03,800
Speaker 1: love you know, they show love to the fans, but

289
00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:07,720
Speaker 1: also like the fans themselves all like rally around something

290
00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,200
Speaker 1: that we all love and we're all passionate about. Um. Yeah,

291
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:12,560
Speaker 1: it's like actually really interesting to learn about their culture

292
00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:15,040
Speaker 1: and like how K pop is like a really big

293
00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:17,760
Speaker 1: thing too over there as well, and that's like becoming

294
00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:19,800
Speaker 1: like a normal thing here as well. So it's like

295
00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:22,320
Speaker 1: really cool to like see people really interested in the

296
00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:25,199
Speaker 1: culture that like, you know, it's like I don't know,

297
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,200
Speaker 1: like so it's like something new basically, so I really

298
00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,160
Speaker 1: like it. Um it's different type of music from Western

299
00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:36,119
Speaker 1: music in America. UM. Definitely something new and beautiful. It

300
00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:40,159
Speaker 1: has its own um culture and everything. It's just beautiful around.

301
00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:42,720
Speaker 1: I think kapop is meant to be consumed differently than

302
00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:44,679
Speaker 1: most of the music. Normally, listen to a song and

303
00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,280
Speaker 1: that's would get you. K pop is like the combination

304
00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,399
Speaker 1: of the visual and listening. So the music video is

305
00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:53,240
Speaker 1: half of the fun of the song. The outfit changes

306
00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,040
Speaker 1: the choreography the huge thing here. As you notice everyone's

307
00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:58,280
Speaker 1: dancing all the time. All the fans learned the choreography

308
00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,439
Speaker 1: do it back. I think the visual asp is just

309
00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:02,480
Speaker 1: as important as the music aspect when it comes to

310
00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,919
Speaker 1: gapop because the language barrier, and like the visual aspect,

311
00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,840
Speaker 1: I think helps bridge that a little bit. I'm always

312
00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:12,280
Speaker 1: curious about how people discover content in this day and age.

313
00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:17,080
Speaker 1: I quickly learned that YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, and Instagram are

314
00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,639
Speaker 1: the pillars of K pop distribution in the US. Here's

315
00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:23,440
Speaker 1: a sampling of where people find the content they can't

316
00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,880
Speaker 1: live without, starting with Nini, a pharmacology student from Anaheim,

317
00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:33,600
Speaker 1: followed by Isaiah, Karina and Whitney. I do it on YouTube,

318
00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,040
Speaker 1: all the music platforms as well. I have Apple Music, Spotify.

319
00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,000
Speaker 1: I kind of do whatever I can to help screen

320
00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:43,640
Speaker 1: for my favorite groups as well. UM Instagram's a great place. UM.

321
00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:45,320
Speaker 1: I know some people used to talk a lot to

322
00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:47,720
Speaker 1: do that because they always like take music out of

323
00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,639
Speaker 1: different songs and then put them in their videos. I

324
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:55,159
Speaker 1: don't use tick talk, but yeah, people do that. Twitter.

325
00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:57,879
Speaker 1: I don't use it are either, but people use that

326
00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:00,240
Speaker 1: a lot, and then just YouTube. They have all the

327
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:04,600
Speaker 1: YouTube music videos on there, but I you mainly use

328
00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,240
Speaker 1: Instagram to to find stuff because I always post things

329
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:12,359
Speaker 1: about K pop shows and whatnot. There's a bunch of

330
00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:14,600
Speaker 1: different things on there. I usually find stuff through like

331
00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:17,159
Speaker 1: TikTok so like I have like a fan account and

332
00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:19,119
Speaker 1: usually like people post like, oh, like this is my

333
00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,600
Speaker 1: favorite section of this song, So then usually I would

334
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:22,960
Speaker 1: go check out the song, and then that's how I

335
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:25,119
Speaker 1: end up like liking things, and then that's how I

336
00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:28,679
Speaker 1: get more into like other artists music. I go to YouTube.

337
00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:34,160
Speaker 1: YouTube is very helpful. There are several broadcast channels that

338
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:36,919
Speaker 1: showcase a lot of different groups, so all the different

339
00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:39,720
Speaker 1: groups that are having comeback who usually go to one

340
00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:42,840
Speaker 1: of a few different stages and they'll do their comeback there,

341
00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:47,520
Speaker 1: and um, I go to YouTube and the Spotify too

342
00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:51,040
Speaker 1: is also so they have like how you k pop

343
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,840
Speaker 1: playlists and a bunch of K pop playlists that I

344
00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,480
Speaker 1: make sure that I check out at least once a week.

345
00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,600
Speaker 1: A lot of K pop fans, not surprisingly, have sampled

346
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,440
Speaker 1: the growing number of Korean dramas that are available now

347
00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:06,240
Speaker 1: via streaming. The appeal of k dramas is similar to

348
00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,600
Speaker 1: K pop as Mallory explains, and she wasn't the only

349
00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:14,040
Speaker 1: one to cite the series Extraordinary Attorney Woo as a

350
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,879
Speaker 1: hot property on Netflix these days, you know, much like

351
00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:18,479
Speaker 1: on on Netflix s I have, it's kind of really

352
00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:22,000
Speaker 1: good dramas, Like, um, Extordinary Attorney Woo is the one

353
00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,720
Speaker 1: I'm I'm watching right now, and it's kind of the

354
00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:28,399
Speaker 1: same thing. It's like, it's it's very like it's not

355
00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,439
Speaker 1: too like crude or anything. They kind of like, I

356
00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:33,800
Speaker 1: think the thing I like about it is that it's

357
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,520
Speaker 1: just really relatable, you know what I mean, And it's

358
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,520
Speaker 1: kind of like not so much like innocent. That's not

359
00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,119
Speaker 1: the right word, but it just makes it easy to

360
00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:44,159
Speaker 1: relate to and just kind of like gets down to

361
00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:47,080
Speaker 1: like the bare bones of the human experience to me

362
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,200
Speaker 1: and talks about like real issues. And honestly, k dramas

363
00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,200
Speaker 1: are fun because a lot of them are romance face right,

364
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,639
Speaker 1: So I'm the softiest. I love romance, so yeah, and

365
00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:58,600
Speaker 1: Malory is not the only one who's a softie. Over

366
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:02,200
Speaker 1: and over, Kate pops gush that they love their idols

367
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,800
Speaker 1: because they're good people who help them through hard times

368
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:08,879
Speaker 1: and make them want to be the best people that

369
00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:14,160
Speaker 1: they can be. Here's some comments from Cade, followed by Marissa.

370
00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:16,400
Speaker 1: It's a very it's a very great way to meet

371
00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,480
Speaker 1: friends and find a sense of camaraderie within people because

372
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,320
Speaker 1: you know, it's mostly you know, dancing and stuff. It's

373
00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:26,120
Speaker 1: a great way to physically connect with people. And it's

374
00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:28,280
Speaker 1: it's music, you know what I mean. Music brings everyone together.

375
00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:30,600
Speaker 1: Like it doesn't matter what language it is or you

376
00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:34,400
Speaker 1: know what culture, but music brings everyone together. I think

377
00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:38,280
Speaker 1: it's really important that we can all find each other

378
00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:41,399
Speaker 1: and the music and love each other for it. I

379
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,240
Speaker 1: reason I got into K pop. I was in a

380
00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:48,560
Speaker 1: dark place basically, and I just came across BTS. At first,

381
00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:50,880
Speaker 1: I didn't know K pop and I was like, oh,

382
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:53,440
Speaker 1: what is this? I don't know the understand but it's

383
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,760
Speaker 1: it sounds good, Like you can feel the music, you

384
00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,360
Speaker 1: can feel the rhythm, like like you don't really need

385
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,560
Speaker 1: to understand something. You can learn to understand something, But

386
00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,560
Speaker 1: if you cant filly without understanding, that's that's that's a

387
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,199
Speaker 1: basically deeper meaning for me. Like so much of the

388
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,240
Speaker 1: currents that are roiling the entertainment market right now are

389
00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,119
Speaker 1: found in what's going on in the K pop community,

390
00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:20,240
Speaker 1: direct fan connections, tradeables, collectibles, working to gain all kinds

391
00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:23,399
Speaker 1: of access. It's a very different way for artists to

392
00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:28,280
Speaker 1: build careers and relationships with fans. It's certainly part of

393
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:32,120
Speaker 1: the larger online and social media dynamics that are changing

394
00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:36,320
Speaker 1: the expectations that fans have about the relationships that they

395
00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:39,639
Speaker 1: will have with artists. I hope you have enjoyed this

396
00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,360
Speaker 1: brief tour of the future as much as I enjoyed

397
00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:46,240
Speaker 1: reporting it. My thanks to the thirty or so attendees

398
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,639
Speaker 1: who stopped on the k con convention floor to share

399
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:53,640
Speaker 1: their thoughts. Thank you for listening. Be sure to leave

400
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,720
Speaker 1: us a review at Apple Podcasts. We love to hear

401
00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:00,400
Speaker 1: from listeners. Please go to Variety dot com and sign

402
00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,960
Speaker 1: up for the free Strictly Business newsletter, and don't forget

403
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,720
Speaker 1: to tune in next week for another episode of Strictly Business.