K-pop convention draws hundreds to St. Paul RiverCentre

No matter how Sakouna Kanyavong tried to reach her teenage daughter, the 52-year-old mother fell short: “I didn’t really know her.”

But when the teen suggested attending a K-pop concert together, Kanyavong jumped on the opportunity to bond.

“We had such a one-on-one connection that I wasn’t looking at her on her phone or in her room,” Kanyavong said. “I was so excited to take her out and do things with her, that I wanted to do more.”

That led Kanyavong and hundreds of other fans to gather Saturday for KPop MinneCon, a convention promoting the Korean pop genre and offering dance, merchandise and community fun. Organizers expected more than 2,000 for the event, said to be the first K-pop convention of its size in the Midwest.

Fans streamed through the doors of St. Paul RiverCentre into a hall lined with photo booths, panel discussions and dozens of vendors. Some bought stickers and boba tea, and many posed for photos with cutouts of characters from “KPop Demon Hunters,” one of Netflix’s highest-grossing movies ever.

Most stomped their feet and waved their hands to elaborate dance routines, stomping to a rhythm that shook the concrete floors under them.

Andrew Melendres, chief operating officer for MNKPopConnect, which organizes K-pop events in Minnesota and ran Saturday’s convention, said interest in K-pop has surged in recent years. When he and others proposed a convention in Minnesota, dozens of vendors and lots of fans responded.

One of the groups scheduled to perform was BE:MAX. But the South Korean boy band was forced to cancel their Minnesota concert and U.S. tour after officials detained them and said their visas were canceled. The reason for the cancellation was unclear; KPop MinneCon organizers said the visas had been previously approved.

Such news did not stop fans like Shirley Bridges, 78, of Rochester, who attended the St. Paul convention with her niece from Fargo, or Virginia Chavez, 39, who flew to the Twin Cities from Idaho to surprise her daughter Halo.

When Halo opened a card with two tickets for KPop MinneCon, she squealed “Wow, are you for real?” and burst into tears.

“She’s obsessed with K-pop. I don’t know anything about it, but if she loves it I love it,” Chavez said. “It’s a great community. I support her love for it. I think it’s innocent and it’s lovely all at the same time.”

K-pop fans have found a welcoming community in Minnesota, with meetups for fans of BTS, another South Korean boy band, along with events and concerts. KATSEYE, a popular K-pop group that drew thousands to a Mall of America show last year, will launch its tour in Minneapolis this November.