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On Friday, August 18, KCON LA 2023 held the first show of its three-day music festival, which includes mini-concerts from K-pop groups, soloists, and units, followed by a meet-and-greet event. Given that KCON is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year, many K-pop fans bagged their tickets for the same and eagerly awaited its rollout.
However, many fans were disappointed with their Day 1 experiences and accused KCON LA 2023 of false advertising. While the meet and greet event was promised to be 'Hi Touch,' where fans and artists can engage one-on-one, it ended up being 'Hi Wave,' with plexiglass separating the fans from the artists. Fans were outraged since that went contrary to what KCON advertised.
Attendees frustrated following KCON LA 2023 false advertisement and mismanagement of events
The 'Hi Touch' event at KCON, which is also a meet-and-greet, has long been a tradition where fans can physically interact with the artists by hugging or shaking hands. However, this took a pause and was reimagined as 'Hi Wave' after the pandemic, which demanded strict regard to the COVID-19 regulations.
This event was still technically a meet-and-greet, but there was a plexiglass wall placed between the fans and artists to ensure social distancing and avoid contributing to the spread of the virus.
Given that the COVID-19 regulations have been weakened recently following the reduction of cases, KCON LA 2023 announced that they'll be holding a 'Hi Touch' event this year instead of a 'Hi Wave.'
For this very reason, many fans bagged tickets for the event. However, this wasn't the case, and many fans were shocked to see the plexiglass being placed in front of the artists with no prior information from the organization. Many expressed how they were extremely upset and felt like they were scammed at the event.
Also, fans' concerns kicked in even before the start of the show. A day before KCON LA 2023, it was announced that the entrance into the convention center, where the meet and greet and other events will be held, will restrict the number of attendees once the venue reaches maximum capacity.
The fact that one must pay for both the show and the convention while purchasing tickets for the music festival frustrated many fans. Many others felt that it was unfair to be told that even though they had paid for the convention, they might not be able to enter it. Furthermore, more problems mounted for the attendees after the convention events kicked off.
Given that the attendees had to stand in a queue to enter the convention center, many expressed that the line was extremely long, and some had to wait for more than two hours in order to enter the venue. It pointed, as fans expressed, to KCON LA 2023's lack of proper management since an early check-in or multi-day pass would've made the process much smoother and easier on the fans.
With the several problems and obstacles that came fans' way as they experienced the first day of KCON LA 2023, many expressed their displeasure with the music festival and have also been demanding a refund for the same.
