![associate_pic](https://realkpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/NISI20230612_0001287907_web.jpg)
‘2023 Weverse Con Festival’. 23.06.12. (Photo = Provided by Hive Labels) photo@newsis.com *Resale and DB prohibited
Reporter Lee Jae-hoon = HYBE kicked off a sustainable K-pop festival with the ‘Weverse Corn Festival’, which has just taken its first step.
According to the K-pop industry on the 13th, the ‘Weverse Corn Festival’ held by Hive on the 10th and 11th at Case Po Dome and 88 Lawn Yard in Seoul Olympic Park, unlike general music festivals, succeeded in differentiating itself by considering the K-pop fandom culture. I’m hearing reviews saying it did.
In particular, the fact that the experience of the global fandom platform ‘Weverse’ was implemented offline and the convenience was improved by using the service is attracting attention.
The service that received the greatest response from fans at the scene was the ‘Wait on Weverse’ service. In the past, in the K-pop fandom culture, it was a natural practice to stand in long lines to enter concert halls and product stores. However, this ‘Weverse Corn Festival’ solved many of these difficulties through the ‘Weverse Queue’ service. Just like the waiting line application system for a restaurant, you can apply for a queue for each booth you want to visit at the festival and efficiently manage the flow and order of visits yourself.
Louis, a Japanese woman in her 20s who visited Korea for BTS’s 10th anniversary Festa and Weverse Corn festival, said, “Thanks to not having to stand in line, I was able to look around the Olympic Park.”
![associate_pic](https://realkpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/NISI20230610_0001286608_web.jpg)
Weverse Corn Festival. 2023.06.10. (Photo = Provided by Hive) photo@newsis.com *Resale and DB prohibited
In addition, at the site of the Weverse Corn Festival, a ‘Fan Art Gallery’ was created to display works created by fans on the theme of artists, such as caricatures, calligraphy, and character designs, drawing attention. Fan art, a representative online fandom culture that expresses and shares affection for artists, is unfolded at the offline festival site.
Hive also unveiled the ‘Weverse by Fans’ service for the first time at the festival site before the official launch, where you can decorate artist goods as you like, order them as they are, and receive them as products.
Hive’s commerce platform ‘Weverse Shop’ allows fans to create and share their own merch that reflects their taste and enjoy a more personalized fan experience. .
According to the announcement of the Korea International Exchange Foundation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the size of the K-pop idol fandom industry (fandustry) reached about 8 trillion won last year. It has become an industry that makes one wonder that a festival with the theme of K-pop has yet to emerge in earnest.
![associate_pic](https://realkpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/NISI20230610_0001286635_web.jpg)
Uhm Jung-hwa and Le Seraphim’s ‘Ending Credit’ during the Weverse Corn Festival tribute stage. 2023.06.10. (Photo = Provided by Hive) photo@newsis.com *Resale and DB prohibited
In addition, this Weverse Corn Festival is a large-scale offline festival where you can experience the fandom culture along with a wide lineup from ‘Boy Next Door’ on the 12th day of debut to ‘Korea’s Madonna’ Jung-hwa Uhm on the 30th year of debut, so there are more expectations for future steps. The response is coming from the industry.
Above all, at the ‘Weverse Corn Festival’, not only artists belonging to Hive Labels such as TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN, Le Seraphim, New Jeans, and Zico, but also all artists who entered the global fandom life platform Weverse were listed in the lineup. Examples include Kim Junsu, Hyorin, and BTOB. This ‘scalability’ that various teams can be together is implied.
Especially this year, Uhm Jung-hwa’s tribute stage, which can pinpoint the pulse of Korean popular music, was the highlight. Starting from the predecessors of the Weversecon festival, ‘New Year’s Eve Live’ and ‘Weversecon’, Hive has been continuously putting on stages to celebrate by selecting musicians who have influenced the history of Korean popular music. Prior to Uhm Jung-hwa, Shin Hae-chul and Seo Tai-ji were highlighted.
At this WeverseCon Festival, Uhm Jung-hwa performed a reinterpretation of her own hit song with junior artists such as TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Le Seraphim, &TEAM, Baekho, and ENHYPEN. It was a stage that confirmed that the Weverse Corn Festival has a clear will to develop as a festival representing K-pop, not just a Hive label festival.