Under the Queen's Umbrella

Leading entertainment company CJ ENM successfully wrapped up ‘KCON HONG KONG 2024’ held at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong on March 30th and 31st with enthusiastic response from fans.

KCON HONG KONG 2024, which marked a powerful start for this year’s KCON, ended with enhanced K-POP fan-focused content and a spectacular show packed with global trends. This KCON is even more significant as it marked the first-ever KCON in Hong Kong. As the world's largest K-POP festival, KCON's first time in Hong Kong has garnered a lot of local attention. With the slogan of KCON this year, 'K-POP Fan&Artist Festival', CJ ENM will continue its evolution by diversifying the stages and expanding fan-related content so that K-POP fans can interact with their favorite artists in a more diverse and closer way.

The 45,000 people who gathered at AsiaWorld-Expo, the largest convention venue in Hong Kong, thoroughly enjoyed the festivities. More than 3.6 million people in 165 regions around the world also enjoyed KCON HONG KONG 2024 via the digital platform. From exclusive shows and stages unique to KCON to various booths and content offerings, the event provided an unforgettable experience. Diverse stage performances allowed fans to get close with their favorite artists, while artist booths and fan-related activities added to the excitement. The exhibition of artist-related props also drew crowds, and the various fan programs where K-POP fans can directly convey their hearts to artists provided global audiences with opportunities to experience and enjoy K-culture in many more ways.

KCON HONG KONG 2024 received great popularity for programs with fans, including ‘KCON STAGE’ where fans can enjoy up-close performances and talk shows by K-POP artists, ‘DANCE ALL DAY’ where fans can learn and enjoy K-POP choreography, ‘KPOP ZONE’ where various fan programs such as fan art contests and fan club booths are held, have gained huge popularity. Additionally, visitors had the chance to explore Korean traditional drinks and cuisine at ‘FOOD ZONE’ and immerse themselves in Korean tourism, dramas, and movies at ‘LIFESTYLE ZONE’.

KCON HONG KONG 2024 was hosted by aespa’s NINGNING, BOYNEXTDOOR’s JAEHYUN on DAY 1, and ZEROBASEONE’s SUNG HAN BIN and ZHANG HAO on DAY 2. They showcased their remarkable hosting skills and successfully engaged the audience.

The SHOW kicked off with HIGHLIGHT, who has long been loved by fans around the world, with their steady hit 'Shock'. Powerful performances by artists representing the fifth generation also attracted attention. TWS delivered flawless performances, drawing enthusiastic responses from fans, and BOYNEXTDOOR performed a song that was unveiled for the first time that hinted at the high quality of their upcoming album. xikers performed energetic performances, and YENA proved herself to be a global icon by performing her hit songs. WayV also showed their status as global artists, and aespa also delivered stunning performances for the night. 

DAY 2 was opened by ZEROBASEONE with 'In Bloom'. TEMPEST then took the baton and showed a powerful performance, and JO1 heated up the stage with their songs that are gaining global popularity. VIVIZ, who have been driving a dance challenge craze, overwhelmed the audience with their spectacular stage. ZEROBASEONE, who performed the opening stage, reappeared on the stage and met their fans once again through wonderful performances. DAY6, who have recently made a comeback, performed a perfect stage with their new song and songs that have recently revived favorites. SISTAR19 brought nostalgia with their steady hits. As the last runner, ATEEZ made fans around the world enthusiastic. The two-day finale featured all performers joining together to sing KCON's signature song 'POPPIA', bringing the event to a dazzling close.

KCON also presented special stages that added to the spectacle. At the 'RE-Meeted Stage', a stage that covers K-POP hits, BOYNEXTDOOR covered BTS's 'Dope' and ZEROBASEONE performed Wanna One's 'Energetic'. For the 'Dream Stage' where K-POP artists and fans create a stage together, aespa performed 'Next Level' with fans on DAY 1, and VIVIZ created an unforgettable moment with 'MANIAC' on DAY 2.

Joon-beom Sim, Head of Music Entertainment at CJ ENM, said, "We are pleased to have successfully completed the first KCON of the year in Hong Kong. As a festival where K-POP artists and fans worldwide take center stage to create new experiences and diverse content together, KCON will continue to strive to reflect the present and introduce newness of K-POP."

Leading entertainment company CJ ENM announced that their upcoming TVING original series Pyramid Game has received an official invitation to “Series Mania,” making it the only K-Content to highlight the event.

Co-produced by Film Monster and CJ ENM STUDIOS and presented by TVING and Paramount+, Pyramid Game is one of seven Korean originals commissioned as part of the global partnership between Paramount+ and CJ ENM.

The series depicts a brutal survival game at Baekyeon girls' high school, where students are divided into attackers, victims, and bystanders and gradually descend into the violence of hierarchical survival. Based on the popular Naver WebToon Pyramid Game, created by Dalgonyak, the series will provide a thrilling catharsis as it opens a new world of school-based psychological thrillers with an unconventional and original universe of brain battles and psychological warfare between the students.

With a tremendous amount of anticipation built up for the title, the official invitation of Pyramid Game to “Series Mania” further captivates global fans’ attention, as it is the only K-Drama to be delegated for the Special Screening section. Specifically, this achievement is meaningful as the title continues the footprints of Duty After School, which was invited to last year’s Series Mania for the special screening.

Commenced in 2010, Series Mania has become one of the representative French festivals and Europe's largest TV series event, where well-renowned figures from the global entertainment industry attend to celebrate and glorify various brand-new series. This year's festival will occur from March 15th to 22nd in Lille, France.

A representative of Series Mania commented, "Amid the global craze of revenge-themed series, Pyramid Game stands out amongst every other story by comparing the issue of school violence to the game rules. Furthermore, the intricately designed plots and the psychological battles between characters are particularly intriguing, as the title conveys every agenda, from school drama and thriller to social criticism."

A representative of TVING stated, "Continuing from last year, it is very impressive that the TVING original series has been selected as the only Korean series at Series Mania this year. In particular, as Pyramid Game is set to be released globally through Paramount+, we look forward to creating synergy by making a mark first at this festival.”

Marco Nobili, Executive Vice President and International General Manager at Paramount+, says: “Korean content, with engaging characters and innovative storylines continue to resonate with viewers globally. We have seen strong demand internationally for this content and we are excited to highlight another great series, Pyramid Game at Series Mania.”

In September last year, Paramount+ announced the expansion of its Korean originals slate with Pyramid Game alongside Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard, and Dreaming of Cinde Fxxxing Rella – the final three of the seven commissioned titles. The other titles Yonder, Bargain, and A Bloody Lucky Day are already available on Paramount+ internationally, while Queen Woo is set to premiere on Paramount+ this year. All seven Korean titles are licensed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside of Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Pyramid Game is a collaborative title of the director Bak So-yeon from The Heavenly Idol and the rising screenwriter Choi Su-i, who delicately and sharply portrays the unpredictable psychology of high school girls. The participation of the hit-maker director Lee Jae-Gyu, who directed the film Intimate Stranger and the drama titles All of Us Are Dead and Daily Dose of Sunshine, also highlights the title to be an unforeseeable K-School series. Additionally, the participation of rising stars, such as Kim Ji-yeon, Jang Da-a, Ryu Da-in, Shin Seul-ki, Kang Na-eon, Jeong Ha-dam, and YULLI.A., further entices global fans’ attention.

Meanwhile, Pyramid Game will be released on Thursday, February 29th, on TVING in Korea and will launch globally on Paramount+ this year.

The "Z+Alpha Generation" is rapidly rising in the consumer market. What trends will this digital-native generation, with a massive impact on the content culture, create in the future? Join the conversation between pop columnist Kim Tae-hoon and Ho Yeong-seong, director of the DAEHAK NAEIL 20s Research Institute, as they explore these developments. 

The Dissolution of Gen MZ?! Here comes the "Z+Alpha Generation!"

The combination of Millennials and Generation Z, previously bundled together as the Generation MZ, has now diverged, and the content market leader Generation Z has converged with the emerging Generation Alpha, giving rise to the term "Z+Alpha Generation." Generation Z refers to those born from the 1995 through the mid-2010s, while Generation Alpha spans the early 2010s to the early 2020s. Compared to Generation Z, whose characteristics are relatively well-defined, Generation Alpha is still at a stage where it is premature to ascribe a definitive description.

▲The star behind the global Slickback Challenge fever, achieving over 200 million views with a short-form video posted just for fun. He was interviewed on You Quiz on the Block.

The Z+Alpha Generation, at the center of trends, isn't hostile to new digital technologies but actively utilizes, creates, and spreads new content instead. AI profile pictures, which have recently gained tremendous popularity among the Z+Alpha Generation, are representative examples of this.

▲The application that creates profile pictures made with AI synthesis gained such immense popularity that it caused the respective server to crash.

Specialized Marketing to Reach the Z+Alpha Generation

As the Z+Alpha Generation values individuality, it is becoming increasingly challenging to define their segmentation (groups of consumers with similar tastes). We are now entering an era where the concept of "national favorites" and "popular brands" is fading away. Consequently, companies are finding marketing and mass production more demanding tasks.

Due to the individualistic nature of the Z+Alpha Generation, outliers with unique and niche tastes are emerging as trendsetters. There have been cases where unconventional content was used to target such minority groups. For example, last year's sports newspaper that reported the "LG Twins" victory in the Korean Baseball Series after 29 years became a nationwide sell-out and was even resold at significantly higher prices in the secondhand market. Similarly, micro-trends among minority groups, such as newspapers that were previously overlooked, have now become trends worth noting.

▲A scene from the TVING ORIGINAL series, OUR GAME: LG TWINS. 

While a shift in generations is taking place, the content market is also evolving day by day. We anticipate the release of even more refreshing and unique content in the future, closely following the changes and trends led by the Z+Alpha Generation.

※BEHIND TALK was created based on Con Ssul Ting from CJ ENM’s YouTube channel.