DAY 1

My dad and I woke up early and drove over to the LA Memorial Sports Arena. We got there around 8 am. Already, there was a huge line. As I waited, I talked with these four girls behind me, who seemed nice. When the gates supposedly opened around 10, we slowly began to move. Huge emphasis on 'slowly.' We moved a few feet about every 10-15 minutes (or maybe that was my exhaustion screwing with my perception of time). At some point, I heard that there was only one person checking in the VIP 1 line. That was absurd. After over 3 hours of standing and barely moving, we finally reached the check-in, where they handed us our bags and scratch-off cards. We went into the shade, where they were selling more tickets, to peel the stickers off the cards. My dad and I got the exact same things. Even stranger: my dream predicted my artist engagement result. We got 2AM signing, EXO viewing, and a 'sorry' for the Red Carpet. I took my dad's cards and decided that we'd try to trade them. I began to call out that I had an extra 2AM signing and EXO viewing. Almost immediately, a girl who was volunteering ran up to me and said that she'd trade her G-Dragon viewing for my EXO viewing. I agreed, and she ran off to get her card for me. When she returned, she gave me a big thank you and gave me a hug.

My dad and I were hot and hungry, so we decided to get some food. We got buns from one of the food trucks and sat down at the tables by the convention stage. I watched the talent show, which was pretty impressive. Then, I went into the panel about Asian-Americans and YouTube. Jun Sung Ahn is really cute! Anyway, I thought the panel was very interesting and informative. I told my dad to try to get rid of the extra 2AM scratcher and I think he did (I can't remember right now). I left the panel early, though, to get in line for the 2AM signing. My dad, who also bought P6 tickets in case the floor was awful, got the other scratchers, which happened to be EXO viewing (I think for both). I was trying to trade one of them, and this girl approached me saying that she'd be willing to trade her Dynamic Duo card. I told her, "I don't really listen to them... but I'll give it to you anyway." She said, "For free?!" and her face lit up immediately as I handed her the card. 

I was in the back of the line for the signing, but I didn't mind that. That meant I could stare at their faces longer. When it was my turn to get my album signed, I managed to squeak out a warm 'hi' to everyone. I wanted to fill the (what I felt was awkward) silence with a 'how are you' or something, but I was unsure of their fluency in English. I just ended up saying 'thank you' after each member signed my album. They're really good-looking and I think most, if not all of them, have dimples. They were very smiley and seemed very sweet and friendly. Afterwards, my dad and I hung out for a little, and then I went to the GD panel. The staff tried to get us into the back, but of course, being 4'11", I couldn't see . I moved to the side, but still couldn't really get a good view of his face. I wanted to see Bekah and have her sign my KCon shirt, but the line was really long. I gave up on that, so my dad and I left to go to Lotus, that sushi/hookah place nearby. We returned in time for the dance party. Unfortunately, I didn't join in because my spicy tuna roll was hurting my stomach a little and I'm a noob when it comes to K-pop dances. I was really impressed by the fans who danced. 

DAY 2 + CONCERT

My dad and I got there around 8:30ish, so we decided to kill time and visit USC first. There were actually people lining up for the concert already, which wouldn't start until 7 pm. We talked to a staff member, who said that they'd get rid of the line eventually and form another line later, so they were waiting for nothing. We returned a little while later and ended up in a long line once again. After entering once again, I went to the K-pop siblings panel. Jackie and Jennifer seem like such nice, friendly people that are fun to be around. Jackie was cracking jokes and telling us embarrassing Amber stories. I see Amber in a whole new light now. XD 

When that panel was over, I got some lunch and then I tried to get in line early for EXO. There was already a huge line, which was insane. To pass the time, I talked to this girl and her friend, who was holding an umbrella. We were dying in the heat. It was much hotter than the day before. We were waiting for over an hour before they finally moved us over to the artist engagement line-up area. Then, we waited some more until we finally got down there. Once again, I was in the back. I tried to raise my phone and look up at the camera to see, but it was no use. There was also a girl holding a balloon, who someone told a few times to lower it. She didn't. I asked the girl next to me to take a few photos of EXO for me, and she happily complied. I thanked her and gave up trying to see, since I was being squished, and I ran off to the side. It was a bad angle, but I could see Tao, Baekhyun, and Xiumin. If I bent down and looked under the monitor/TV screen, I could just barely see D.O.

I tried to see Henry's panel, but that was crowded and the staff wasn't letting us go anywhere. I ate some fries as a snack and made a plan with my dad. So far, we heard that a line would be forming around 4 at the south gate. Throughout the day, I saw people loitering around that area, but eventually they were sent away too. We decided to keep watch and sit in our rental car in the AC until we saw anything interesting. Around 3:40, people suddenly began to crowd the area, so we jumped out of the car and sprinted over there. We all stood there for a few minutes, until we all broke out into a frenzy again. We sprinted and claimed a spot towards the front of line. Bless my legs for fast, really short-distance running skills! By this time, it wasn't even 4 yet, but we began to form lines early anyway. VIP was in the sun for a while, until they moved us all into the shade. We sat down, waiting for the doors to open at 6. However, there were several people who cut in line just to join their friends in the front, pushing us farther back. My dad got really annoyed, so when six girls cut in front of us, he flipped and told them off. He told a security guard too, who did absolutely nothing because they said that they had been there. A lot of other people chimed in and agreed with us, but nothing was done. One girl started giving my dad an attitude and a dirty look, claiming that 'cutting happens all the time and I've been seeing it happen all day.' I decided to speak up for once, saying 'People get murdered every day but just because that's a frequent thing, that doesn't mean it's okay to kill people. Cutting in line isn't okay either.' I doubt she heard me or was listening to me, but I was really pissed. I got really overwhelmed and started crying, so I told my dad to just calm down and give it up, because fighting with those girls was useless. When the gates opened, we pushed ahead of them and got in before they did. We jogged/ran/speed-walked to the floor as fast as we could to claim a spot. We got lucky and found an open spot facing the front, but then my dad ran over to the right, where we could see the main stage and the extension perfectly. For once, I was finally in front of the crowd.

We waited for 40 minutes for the concert to start. I heard some girl freak out a little because she saw Kris walking by behind the curtain. I thought she was just seeing the staff, but she was proven right when I saw a figure that looked like D.O heading backstage. I am certain that it was him! He had the same haircut, and was sharply-dressed like in the performance, and he was pretty short. 

The opening acts were pretty awesome. Chad Future is a very talented group of dancers. However, I was distracted by the many pairs of legs I saw behind the big MCountdown sign blocking the main stage. I saw movement and noticed that EXO was dancing to Chad Future's act. Someone was popping (it was probably Lay), and I saw Sehun getting his groove on. Next to them was Teen Top, and then beside them was 2AM. f(x) began the show with Electric Shock, then they sang Rum Pum Pum Pum, and then Hot Summer. Then, Dynamic Duo performed and all I can say is wow. I wasn't a fan of them until now. Their stage presence is incredibly powerful, just like how seasoned performers should be. Those bikers... damn. I believe 2AM performed afterward (I'll just try to list the groups in order by memory, but it won't be 100% accurate). I'm not much of a ballad person, but they sang very well. Yu Seung Woo and Heejun Han sang a duet together, which was amazing. Then, Heejun left and Seung Woo performed Hello. I can now say that I've seen Crayon Pop and I'm not a fan. I looked them up later, and they're like 22-25 years old. I almost found their overly cutesy image and songs embarrassing for them, since they're so much older than they seem. Teen Top was awesome. My dad's a fanboy now!  EXO was great as usual. Missy Elliot was amazing. She killed the stage! I can't believe she's in her 40s now, because she exudes so much charisma and energy. I enjoyed GD's performance as well, especially when he and Missy performed Niliria. They pretty much made the whole concert for me! 

I was really sad that the time passed by so fast! Everyone is really thin in person, and a few people are definitely lying about their heights! Apparently, Missy Elliot is only 5'2", and unless she was wearing lifts or wedge sneakers, then GD only has a few inches on her! Also, everyone's voices seem a lot higher in person as well. Usually their voices sound lower in English, but maybe it was a mix of being hyper and where I was standing. I was a little surprised that Amber's voice wasn't as deep as it sounds when she speaks Korean. She actually has a more feminine, sweet-sounding voice, similar to her sister's. Luhan kind of sounded like he was on helium! I don't know, I guess he was pumped up or something. Same with Kris and Chanyeol. They were probably just excited because I was wondering what happened to their deep as hell voices. Everyone is so good looking too! I was in awe! 

OVERVIEW

The organization for the convention was y, and it was pretty clear that communication was poor among the personnel. However, the panels were interesting, and the concert was awesome. I also met a few nice people, so I had a good time at KCON.

EDIT: Ok so apparently the sound at the concert was f-ed up so that's why everyone sounded like they were on helium.