15-16th at Incheon Inspire Arena
Bang Si-hyuk's Surprise Appearance on Park Jin-young's Stage, Performs Live
Enjoy Tech Fusion with AR Photo Cards and More
"After 22 years, I am singing this song again with Sihyuk's guitar. Here I go, Sihyuk."
The audience continuously applauded and cheered for the stage jointly created by two iconic figures of K-pop, Park Jin-young, JYP CCO, and Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE. The highlight of the ‘2024 Weverse Con Festival’ (WeConFe), held on the afternoon of the 16th at Inspire Arena in Inspire Entertainment Resort, Jung-gu, Incheon, was undoubtedly the meeting of these two individuals.
Now in its second year, WeConFe took place over two days, the 15th and 16th, divided into outdoor performances (Weverse Park) and indoor performances (Weverse Con) within Inspire Entertainment Resort in Jung-gu, Incheon.
On this day, the stage featuring the heads of Korea’s top two K-pop agencies (by market capitalization: 1st HYBE with 8.3512 trillion KRW, 2nd JYP with 2.036 trillion KRW) was held after a long time. Their long-standing relationship and friendship had recently become a topic again through their appearance on You Quiz, but the significance lies in the fact that this was a tribute stage not as competing company CEOs but as artists and seniors.
On the 'Tribute Stage' planned for Park Jin-young, Bang Si-hyuk took on the guitar session for Park Jin-young’s representative song ‘I Have a Girl,’ showcasing his calm playing skills. Then, when Park Jin-young performed covers of god’s ‘Lie’ and ‘One Candle,’ which he had discovered, Bang Si-hyuk played the synthesizer, handling the keyboard session. Members of HYBE groups such as ENHYPEN’s Jay and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Beomgyu appeared on stage to provide special support.
Through Weverse Con, HYBE opened a festival stage that brought together various artists across genres and nationalities, from rookies to those with 30 years of debut experience, sharing a connection with the audience. Notably, this year’s Weverse Con expanded its scope by including artists beyond HYBE Labels.
The Weverse Park stage was an all-live band performance, praised as a passionate scene where artists and audiences breathed and played together on the grass field.
Imase, a singer-songwriter who sparked the domestic J-pop craze, shouted “What’s up Incheon! Hello, this is Imase. Stand up!” on the 16th stage, then ran around the stage creating an exciting atmosphere with fans. He continued the hot energy by singing five songs in a row, including ‘Night Dancer.’ Kim Jaejoong, who closed the final stage of Weverse Park that day, jumped onto the stage while singing, and soon the audience sitting on the grass spontaneously stood up and ran together, cheering and heightening the festival mood.
At the same time, Weverse Con held at Inspire Arena featured a series of eye-catching special stages. Weverse Con, featuring ENHYPEN, fromis_9, JD1, P1Harmony, SEVENTEEN, TO1, and Park Jin-young, was organized as a stage of integration across generations. The first stage was opened by rookie groups Aileet and TO1, and the ‘Tribute Stage’ for Park Jin-young’s 30th debut anniversary delivered special meaning and emotion. The Tribute Stage is a platform that selects artists who have influenced Korean popular music history and shares their music with junior artists.
Park Jin-young, who performed on stage for two consecutive days, expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thank you for cherishing and listening to the music I have made for such a long time. Without you, I could never have stood on this stage.” P1Harmony, Baekho, fromis_9, ENHYPEN, and TOMORROW X TOGETHER performed stages such as ‘Elevator,’ ‘A Breakup in Broad Daylight,’ and ‘Behind You’ together with Park Jin-young.
As the atmosphere heated up, the audience stood together to enjoy the final stage. SEVENTEEN’s Seungkwan expressed his thanks, saying, “I am so grateful for your hearts loving the artists, for coming here, and for watching the festival.”
At this Weverse Con, HYBE also showcased various entertainment experiences using augmented reality (AR) technology. Fans enjoyed not only the performances but also various experience zones such as the Weverse photo booth, photo card booth, and AR photo wall. When fans took pictures of physical photo cards with the Weverse Lens embedded in the Weverse app, digital photo cards were saved in the app’s ‘My Collection,’ and by turning on the Weverse Lens at the AR photo wall, they could indirectly experience Weverse Live like K-pop artists, increasing satisfaction.
Additionally, for the first time this year, the official cheering band for WeConFe was introduced. To allow audiences without light sticks to enjoy the concert atmosphere together, cheering bands were provided free of charge to all attendees. A HYBE official stated, “We will continue to lead Weverse Con Festival as a stage of innovation that provides new entertainment elements by fusing popular culture and technology.”
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