CJ’s global hansik (Korean food) brand Bibigo hosted diverse events to publicize K-food on the sidelines of KCON 2022 LA, which took place in Los Angeles from Aug. 19 to Aug. 21.
“Bibigo Food Street,” recreated to mimic Korea’s trendy food alley concept, held a tasting event for Bibigo’s U.S. mainstay products, including Bibigo mandu, chicken and Bibigo GOTCHU, a hot source reinterpreting red hot pepper paste.
About 10,000 people lined up to taste Bibigo mandu and chicken during the four-day period. An eatery studio filmed content introducing K-food in person and streamed it on SNS.
CJ operated an eatery studio targeting MZ generations in which visitors filmed images of K-food and shared them on Instagram, YouTube and other social network services.
Zach Choi, a famous Korean-American youtuber with 24.2 million followers, visited the studio on Aug. 20 and filmed the video “Bibigo mandu ASMR”, which was a sensation.
CJ Cheiljedang plans to have the brand Bibigo known to consumers across the globe by leveraging diverse culture and sports events, including KCON, LA Lakers Championship and The CJ Cup, the PGA tour regular event.
A CJ Cheiljedang official said, “The first off-line event in three years was more exciting than any time, and K-culture, including Korean food, has been engraved in the hearts of Americans.”
CJ plans to not only raise Bibigo’s standing, but also expand hansik clientele by offering a variety of products, including chicken, processed rice and K-source, the official added.
KCON 2022 LA, produced by leading entertainment company CJ ENM, wrapped up successfully in Los Angeles at Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com arena, with over 90,000 fans in attendance.
KCON 2022 LA was also live streamed worldwide in more than 176 regions, garnering a total offline and online viewership of 7.17 million. Earlier this year, KCON held ‘KCON 2022 Premiere’ in Seoul, Tokyo and the U.S. (Chicago and LA) to garner excitement for the first in-person KCON since 2019.
Celebrating its 10th year anniversary, KCON 2022 LA brought on stage both the biggest acts and rising names in K-pop to offer an unforgettable musical experience for KCON fans who have been waiting for an in-person show for three years.
The first day of the K-pop show saw performances from ATEEZ, CRAVITY, ENHYPEN, INI, ITZY, Kep1er, LIGHTSUM and Stray Kids.
The second day featured LOONA, NCT DREAM, NMIXX, P1Harmony, STAYC, THE BOYZ, TO1 AND WJSN.
KCON, known for making memorable moments through its one-of-a-kind special stages, delivered this year as well.
ATEEZ opened the first day of the show with KCON’s first ever signature song ‘POPPIA’ while Bebe Rexha made her KCON debut through a collaboration stage with ITZY to perform “Break My Heart Myself”.
The nine-member multinational girl group Kep1er danced to their debut song “WADADA” with twenty of their fans and they also paid homage to IZ*ONE, a debut group from the hit <Produce 48>, by performing their version of “La Vie en Rose”.
The Boyz opened the second day with their song “MAVERICK” while WJSN performed their song “AURA” that crowned them as the final winners of hit survival show <Queendom 2> on Mnet, a signature brand of CJ ENM’s music business.
Up-and-coming boyband leading the next generation of K-pop, TO1, performed not only their hit song “Drummin” but also delivered a crowd-pleasing performance for their Gen-Z fans through a special cover performance of Psy’s “That That.”
This year’s KCON convention also featured a variety of content encompassing everything that has to do with K-lifestyle, from movies/dramas to food, beauty, etc.
Signature KCON convention programs were upgraded to include more artist engagements and fan favorite panels/workshops.
On top of that, the convention also included new programs, such as the KCON Marketing Summit.
KCON also provided Gen-Z tailored programs where attendees could engage with various artists and personalities.
The KCON SQUARE had K-pop groups interact with their fans as well as invited visitors to participate in fun challenges related to K-pop.
It was a special opportunity for K-pop fans to discover new artists through talk sessions with INI, Kep1er, LOONA and TO1.
The KCON DANCE ALL DAY workshop returned to the convention hall where fans could take classes from top K-pop choreographers.
Also, attendees could select from a wide range of panels and workshops to learn more about KCON 2022 Japan slated for Oct. 14-16 in Tokyo.
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