KCON17NY – SPECIAL GUESTS!
Kevin Woo is a Korean-American singer, actor, and television host currently based in South Korea. He debuted as a member of K-POP boy band U-KISS in 2008 and was the main vocalist in the group. Their breakthrough hit was Man Man Ha Ni released in 2009. U-KISS is known for their international popularity, where they have held various tours worldwide including Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America. They made their official Japanese debut in 2011 and held numerous sold-out concert tours in Japan and topped the Oricon chart with multiple hits. Kevin also hosted several variety shows and participated in Korean musicals and K-dramas.
He is currently a host of popular music talk show After School Club on Arirang TV. After School Club is a live interactive talk show featuring musical guests of South Korea and is directed at an international audience. It allows fans of K-Pop music to interact directly with their favorite stars on the live show through social media. Fans are able to share comments, ask questions, and video chat with the guests through Google Hangouts. Kevin was a co-host since 2014 and currently co-hosts with Park Jimin of 15& and Jae of Day6.
Kevin Woo was raised in Danville, California where he lived with his parents and elder sister. He is fluent in English, Korean, and Japanese. At the age of 15, he moved to South Korea to pursue his dream of becoming a singer. After auditioning in Korea, he was scouted and made his debut in a group called XING in 2006. He re-debuted as an original member of U-KISS in 2008. In March 2017, he announced his official departure from the group after he successfully completed his contract with NH Media. Kevin is currently preparing for his solo career.
Chef Edward Lee is the chef/owner of 610 Magnolia, MilkWood and Whiskey Dry in Louisville, KY and the culinary director for Succotash in Penn Quarter, Washington D.C. and National Harbor, Maryland. He has received multiple finalist nominations for the James Beard Foundation Awards Best Chef: Southeast. He appears frequently in print and television. He has been nominated for a daytime Emmy for his role as host of the Emmy-winning series, Mind of Chef on PBS. Most recently, he has hosted and co-produced a feature documentary called Fermented.
Lee’s self-authored cookbook, Smoke & Pickles, (Artisan Books, May 2013) chronicles his unconventional journey from the kitchens of Brooklyn to becoming a lauded Southern chef.
His signature blend with Jefferson’s Reserve called Chef’s Collaboration Blend is a luxury small batch bourbon he developed with Trey Zoeller.
1Million Dance Studio is a dance academy as well as a talent agency based in South Korea. Founded in December 2014, the studio has expanded its realms from choreography classes at the studio, to overseas workshops, commercial ads for global brands such as Nike and Samsung Galaxy S8, online tutorials and 1Million TV, and creator conventions such as KCON and Youtube FanFest. The company aims to make dancing not just a profession or a hobby consumed by a particular group, but a lifestyle pursued by anyone regardless of age, background, and experience (or lack of). The dance artists, each of them known for their viral and unique choreographies and their latest street attire, are traveling the world to share their love for dance. Each year, students from all abroad visit the studio by thousands, that 1Million Dance studio is now considered one of the major landmarks of Korea.
The foremost expert on all things Korean skincare, Charlotte Cho is the board-certified esthetician and Co-Founder behind Soko Glam, the most trusted community and lifestyle brand with the best selection of Korean beauty products and content. As author of The Little Book of Skincare: Korean Beauty Secrets for Healthy, Glowing Skin and Editor-In-Chief of The Klog, Charlotte has been sought out for her expert advice and insight on the tenets of Korean skin care. Being the one to bring Korean beauty into the US in 2012, Charlotte is known to be the pioneer of the 10-step Korean skincare routine.
Co-founder of Glow Recipe, the destination for natural Korean beauty in the US. Christine became an entrepreneur after 12+ years of beauty experience in the US and Korea. Glow Recipe has been featured on Shark Tank, Vogue, Forbes and has partnered with Sephora, QVC and Saks to bring K-beauty to the US! I love to sheet mask on the plane, karaoke and her greatest KCON dream would be a H.O.T. reunion.
Chunkeemonkeeato started her addiction in the 90’s as she was raised on values that binge-watching K-Dramas and obsessing over K-Pop is chicken soup for the soul. Indulging her fangirl tendencies, she created Musings of a Chunkeemonkeeato in 2011 to gush and rant about music, movies and shows. Addiction loves company.
Coco Avenue [Jenny Lyric & Jenna Rose] is an African-American K Hip-Hop/R&B duo that has recently garnered a lot of attention due to the release of their Korean single “Eottae.” They first gained spotlight in 2013 when they were featured on the Mnet America show #MYKPOP as a 5 member group. This will be their 4th year performing at KCON.
Colin Takahashi is a LA-based dancer, who has loved K-Pop for as long as he can remember. He’s had the opportunity to train and dance all over the world with professional dance groups like Kaba Modern and Mischief Makers. More recently, Colin has collaborated with YouTube creator, JuNCurryAhn, on his BTS dance cover videos.
Cortney is one half of the lively duo 2MinJinkJongKey. You can consider them professional fangirls! Whether they’re spazzing over the latest MV’s, reviewing their favorite albums, or discussing serious topics they love sharing their passion for K-Pop.
KCON 2016 Pre-show Host. GOT7 Turbulence Tour MC. Wild Kard 2017 MC. YTN FM 100.3 HDS2 “Krush” Radio DJ.
DAVIDKIM is an artist & producer based in New Jersey. He has worked with clients and friends including BuzzFeed Video, Eric Nam, pH-1, Nongshim America, Stand Up Man (Canadian Movie), etc. Currently, he is finishing up his debut EP, which will showcase his new personal style to the world.
Founded in 2010, East2West is a Montreal based K-Pop cover performance crew consisting of 60 active performers led by 4 devoted executives. With a common passion for performing, they all strive to reach the same goal: to dance and sing while having fun. East2West aims to bring the Eastern culture to the West by introducing the ever-growing Korean pop music culture to a Western audience. Their goal is to offer high-quality performances for everyone to enjoy, regardless of age, cultural background or gender. Over the last 5 years, East2West has put on 4 full-length shows and has recently gained over 275,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel through releasing new videos every week.
A complete enthusiast of all things Korean, Eddi spreads his love for Korea & K-Pop in many ways! Starting as a writer for allkpop, Eddi works with other companies & projects to showcase his passion for K-Pop! Eddi strives to become a TV celebrity or internet muse for all things Korean – especially when it comes to food & music. Eddi currently releases dance videos on YouTube. His main theme promotes K-Pop inspired exercises and dance tips!
This is Eddi’s second time speaking at KCON NY. He expresses his happiness towards the people who aided him & continue to listen to his opinionated voice~
His name is Edward and he likes beauty and the booty lol
In his free time, Kevin loves to be basic, converse in Star Wars lingo, and eat spicy rice cakes. When he’s feeling eggstra, he’ll run marathons because it’s on the way to his work. On weekends, he’s always the life of the party..even when he’s not there. His cereal never gets soggy. It sits there and stays crispy, just for him. He used to be a fan of BigBang, now he’s an air conditioner~~
Franklin is an artistic advisor for the UCLA-based dance team, ACA. He also teaches internationally and at the kinjaz dojo. A little known fact about him is that he likes playing badminton.
George Aliaga is part of iHeartRadio’s national social media team in New York City and is a pop music connoisseur. He can be found behind-the-scenes of interviews and fan projects on iHeartRadio working with the likes of Lady Gaga, Shawn Mendes, Kelly Clarkson and countless others. He pioneered the creation of original K-POP content for iHeartRadio and has interviewed artists including BTS, B.A.P and Jessica Jung. George was previously seen and heard on 103.5 KTU’s “Cubby and Carolina in the Morning” and the nationally syndicated “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show.” He hopes to continue to connect you (the fans!) with the artists you love.
Brianna is a Californian whom has been gaming and cosplaying for a chunk of her life. Her first online game experience was with Ragnarok Online back in 2003, cosplaying since 2007ish, and officially got into Kpop cosplay in 2013. Now a days, she spends her free time playing games like Overwatch and attending KCON to meet with fellow cosplayers and friends. Brianna is also the person behind Kpop Aholic, known for her assorted amount of chibi Kpop pins and goodies.
Go! Go! Hanguk is a Seoul based company that provides a free service to help students that have always dreamed of living and studying in South Korea. They provide assistance with helping you pick the perfect school, navigating the confusing visa application process, as well as tons of additional support before and after you come to Korea.
He is a Korean youtuber named ‘GoToe’ and makes videos about K-Pop music. He really hopes to see all of you at KCON17NY and says see you soon! 🙂
Hey its Feiii! She’s just your average fan girl next door! She loves trying out weird and not so weird makeup/skincare products! Anything from blackhead strips, acne products, to a simple cushion foundation, she’s got it! Add KPOP into the mix and you’ll have yourself a nice cup of tea!
Jasmine is one half of the dynamic reaction duo 2minjinkjongkey! They share their love for KPOP through hilarious reactions videos, insightful reviews, and fun vlogs! Connecting with international fans who need a friend to fangirl with, these ladies have been entertaining us for over 5 years!
Jason, who hails from Houston, Texas, is one of the latest rising stars of the city known far and wide for raising the entertainment industry’s biggest and brightest – including none other than Beyoncé. He is a gifted singer, songwriter and producer, with a wide range and great depth in several musical genres.
Jason began his musical career at the tender age of 6, in both classical and contemporary music. Since then, he’s invested many hours with the piano, guitar, and training in several aspects of music.
While working on his own project, Jason ventured off to something that is common with most artist today. He wanted to create a fan base by posting cover tunes on YouTube giving the work his personal and unique touch. This paid off for Jason and became a phenomenon attracting millions of views and an enormous following.
Jason got into K-pop before 2010, and his remarkable talent and skill has not gone without notice – from Korea’s top pop music stars no less, like Kara, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, Beast, and many more. His popularity surged upward even further, after he made his Korean TV debut on the Korean reality show “Superstar K6” in August 2014. He performed IU’s mellow hit song“Friday” and Beast’s “Dreaming” for a panel of judges that included fellow American singer and artist, Ailee.
Jason Ray is a musical powerhouse from studio to stage—delivering the goods from the solitude of the booth to performing in front of a live audience!
Jeff Benjamin is Billboard’s K-Pop columnist, a post he’s held for five years, and a senior digital editor at Fuse TV. He’s written about K-Pop for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, Nylon, and more with his expertise on the subject called upon Time, CNN, Entertainment Weekly, NBC, MTV and beyond. Currently based in Brooklyn, Jeff’s work has flown him to Korea, saw him land the first U.S. interview with Big Hit Entertainment CEO ‘Hitman’ Bang, and break exclusives with Psy, BTS, Girls’ Generation, Wonder Girls, CL, BIGBANG, HyunA and many more.
Joan Kim is a Korean American YouTuber based in Seoul. She started off uploading K-beauty and fashion content, but has recently garnered popularity for her personal joanday vlog entries. So if you want to vicariously travel to Seoul, check out her YouTube channels!
Joan Vos MacDonald is a journalist and author who has written about K-Pop, K-Drama and Korean culture for various publications including Kpopstarz, Kdramastars, Kultscene, Kdramastars, Mental Floss, and Hello Giggles.
Ayyy Whatsup!! Josh is a K-Pop Reactor, Engineer and 50 Shades of Christian! Mamamoo, BTS and Funnel Cake make his life complete!
JRE from the Youtube Channel JREKML expresses his love for Korean Music through Reactions, Comedy, and any Random way possible! There is a Reason why J.R.E Stands for Just Random Everyday.
Jun Sung Ahn is a Korean American Musician also known as JuNCurryAhn on YouTube. Jun began his Youtube career in 2011 after graduating high school. Classically trained for over 8 years, Jun used his skill set in filmmaking and violin to create a successful YouTube channel. Even though he began YouTube as a hobby to continue playing youtube, he now boasts over 1.2 million subscribers and over 100 million views on YouTube. Mainly known for his K-Pop violin/dance covers, Jun’s channel covers a wide variety of music including American pop, Anime, soundtracks and much more. Jun has traveled around the world performing at large events for the past few years, and one of his favorite events to attend is KCON. Since 2012, Jun has participated in many KCON events. Jun hopes to take his film background from his university to his dream career of being a director. With his vast audience on YouTube, he wishes to share more creative content in the future.
Many of you may know Justin Kim as the only Asian American Male contestant ever to be on America’s Next Top Model (Cycle 22), hosted by Tyra Banks. Since then, he’s been curating creativity/art through the forms of music, fashion, and positive social media influence. As a full time model based in Los Angeles, he’d like to voice his opinion on the fashion/style culture of today. As we know, KPOP is not only a global movement based on music but a trendsetting icon as well.
Koreos is a top K-Pop dance cover team from UCLA dedicated to the development and education of the art of dance. With a diverse team of 30 members coming from different backgrounds and dance experiences, they aspire to strengthen friends
Lai is a multimedia music writer and content producer based in New York and New Jersey. She is currently an assistant producer for 92.3 AMP’s Delivery Room Show podcast and an editor for KpopStarz while occasionally creating bylines on Billboard. Dreaming of becoming a DJ on the side, Lai wants to see K-Pop incorporated in Jersey Club. But besides all things music-related, Lai still has a strong passion for waffles, steaks, money guns and bodyrolling.
LDN Noise (pronounced London Noise) are a platinum selling songwriting and music production duo based in London. Since 2015 they have written and produced records for EXO, SHINee, f(x), Red Velvet, Taeyeon, NCT127, Got7, Shinhwa, Sistar and US stars Chris Brown & Nick Jonas among others. Their songs have won several K-Pop Music awards.
Malice (formerly known as Popo) is a YouTube content creator for K-Pop, video games as well as the owner of media company, Seoulwave Inc. As a YouTuber and media owner, Malice has worked with many idols from rookies to groups such as Girls’ Generation. In addition, he makes K-pop content that looks to bridge the gap between the domestic and international communities. As a gamer, Malice travels all of North America for various competitions in games such as Yu-Gi-Oh!, Tekken 7, Street Fighter V, Injustice 2 and more!
Founder of the8MM. The original creator of the finger heart cap. Also, owner of Spot Dessert Bar in NYC.
Matt Kodner is the office flower boy at DramaFever, where he watches hours of K-Dramas and spends all day crying because love is real. As a QC’er, it is always Matt’s fault when the new episode of “Running Man” isn’t up yet, and he is very sorry about that. His favorite Korean personality is the comedian Kim Jun Ho, but the Song triplets from “The Return of Superman” come in a close second. He lives in New York City and his writing has appeared in The Onion A.V. Club.
Matt Rodbard is the Editor in Chief of TASTE and author of Koreatown: A Cookbook, a New York Times Best Seller. His favorite food is gamjatang.
The Nutty Nomads are sisters who love to document, learn and share everything that has to do with Korean culture, entertainment and food! They have been lucky enough to be able to create content about their passion for MNET America, Dramafever, Buzzfeed, DIA TV and even get the chance to interview some of your favorite Kpop groups! Recently, they returned from their first unforgettable trip to South Korea, and can’t wait to go back! KCON will always have a special place in their hearts since they have been to every, single, U.S. convention since the beginning and hope to keep returning and sharing the love of all things Korean with like-minded fans! Be sure to follow them on their adventures!
Seonkyoung Longest was born and raised in South Korea and has been living in the U.S. since March of 2009. She is an artist and she expresses her creativity in the kitchen on a plate. She only has 6 years of culinary experience, but she has been recognized by multiple world famous chefs for her talent, skill and food quality. She was a competitor of Fox’s “MasterChef Season 4” and the winner of Food Network’s “Restaurant Express.” She launched her first restaurant at The M Resort Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas in 2013. Currently she is the founder of internet cooking show “Asian at Home” and traveling show “Life in Korea” on YouTube.
StillNotDavid (David Le) is a YouTube comedian/singer/vlogger from New York best known for his music covers and kpop related content. His channel has 100k subscribers and he’s been around on YouTube since 2008, but went on a long hiatus for about 2-3 years up until recently, so he’s super excited to be back again!
Sunny Park from Sunny’s Channel on YouTube, is a Korean beauty creator based in New York City. She creates beauty videos including makeup tutorials, reviews, and also vlogs. Well-known for her tutorials recreating many K-Pop celebrities makeup looks including – Hani, Suzy, Seolhyun, TZUYU, and CL. Starting back in 2015, she now has over 950,000 subscribers.
The OFFICIAL SUPERANX KPOP BATTLES (#ANXKPOPBATLES). The Kpop Battles is a live K-Pop Dance-Cover event where fans of all kinds can come together to showcase their favorite K-Pop Dances.
Recent graduate from LIU Post’s Master program, Susie Kelly is a fine artist/K-Pop enthusiast. Susie’s Master’s Thesis, EXOLANSIS, combines stained glass and stencil work where she explored the relationship between fans and idols. By using a traditional stained glass method, Susan creates idealized portraits of idols as seen through the eyes of the fans, where they become a new modern iconography.
Tamar is a multimedia journalist who specializes in K-pop and social media’s effect on Hallyu. She covers Korean music for Billboard, and has written for outlets including NBC News, The Village Voice, and Vice.
Vanessa Augsbach is the Manager of Digital Media for KCON.TV. She has previously worked in both Social Media Marketing and Convention Planning for KCON.
Whitneybae is an American YouTuber in South Korea whose parodies of Korean celebrities, storytimes, and silly stunts have caught the attention of Korean youth, as well as the entertainment industry. She is most notably recognized for her Unpretty Rapstar parodies, modeling with Korean makeup artist Jung Saem Mool, interviewing the K-pop idol group BOYS24, and several TV appearances. Although known for being a funny comedian, she has a deep passion and understanding about Korean language and culture having lived in Korea for 6 years and studied the language for 10 years.
Winnie Human is an Event Planning Associate with the lovely KCON Operations team! The Journey to this moment consisted of: KCON 2013 | Press, Audrey Magazine, KCON 2014 | Exhibitor, Viki. Inc, KCON 2015 | KCON Marketing Intern, KCON 2016 | KCON Event Planning Associate!
Woorigarak Korean Cultural Arts Center (WKCAC) of New Jersey was established in 1998 under the leadership of Director Julie Eunjoo Kang. WKCAC’s mission is to preserve and promote Korean Arts and culture for all to enjoy. To instill cultural pride for all generations, WKCAC offers a wide range of interactive and inspiring programs for all ages. Most recent performances of WKCAC were at the White House for the Korean American Summit and on Broadway for a cultural event.
Young Ajummah is better known as Sara Layne in the world outside of K-Pop. By day she is a devoted pre-school educator whose heart is filled with happiness at being one of the first positive influences in the lives of children. By night (or any other time that she can) she is YouTube Personality and Korean Entertainment Freelance writer. Young Ajummah freelances for several sites including DramaFever, hosts Daebak City, a monthly podcast, with Aewen Radio and is a valued member of the Multifacetedacg Productions Community of K-Fan Entertainers. Follow her antics on Twitter at @young_ajummah.
Zombie Mamma has been a hopeless K-Drama addict for years, spending far more hours than she’d care to admit, sobbing over sappy love stories and suffering endlessly from the pain of Second Lead Syndrome. Her love of K-Dramas eventually led her into the world of K-Pop where she’s been happily lost in that Wonderland ever since. On the less fangirly side, she’s been working in Hallyu-related media for several years now, as both a freelance writer and photographer. Her work can be found all over, just look for the Zombie named Leah.