Rakuten Viki celebrates the rise of Asian entertainment at KCON LA 2023

September 16, 2023 2 min read

KCON, the largest fan celebration of Korean entertainment and culture in the U.S., swept Los Angeles from August 18-20, 2023, bringing together more than 140,000 attendees for three days of K-Pop concerts, idol appearances, exciting brand activations, innovative products, Korean food and more. And of course, Rakuten Viki, the leading destination for Asian content, was on the ground to delight fans of Korean streaming entertainment.

Rakuten Viki K-Drama Cafe at KCON LA 2023: Watch the recap.

Rakuten Viki’s pop-up cafe serves up boba, photo-ops and giveaways

Viki welcomed highly-engaged fans of Asian content to visit their first-ever K-Drama Cafe pop-up. The interactive experience gave fans the opportunity to snap photos in front of Insta-worthy backdrops and scenes from their favorite Korean movies and shows. Viki users lined up around the booth to score exclusive swag inspired by some of Viki’s top K-Dramas like True Beauty and My Lovely Liar. In partnership with BOPOMOFO, three special boba drinks were created in limited supply, exclusively for Viki subscribers. Over the weekend, the team gave away nearly 3,000 boba drinks and over 20,000 goodies to fans who stopped by.

Visitors to the Viki booth received special goodies and swag. — *Visitors to the Rakuten Viki booth received special goodies and swag.*

Attendees eagerly awaited visits from influencers like Wong Fu Productions and Kevin Woo. Viki drew crowds for a special dance lesson and competition hosted by Wong Fu’s, Phil Wang. K-Pop lovers lined up to hear from popular girl group NMIXX, and Viki ran a social giveaway where one lucky winner even got a meet and greet with the popular ensemble.

*The Rakuten Viki team smiles for the camera at KCON LA 2023.*

Reaching a diverse audience of Asian entertainment enthusiasts

“The surging popularity of KCON is indicative of the larger trend we are seeing here in the U.S., and around the globe, of rising interest in not only Korean entertainment but Asian entertainment overall,” says Karen Paek, VP of Marketing for Rakuten Viki. “We continue to see a growing interest in the Rakuten Viki platform from a diverse audience. In fact, more than 70% of viewers coming to our platform are of non-Asian descent. As one of the first streaming platforms for Asian entertainment in the U.S., Viki was proud to have a presence at this year’s KCON to celebrate Korean culture and showcase our incredible catalog of Asian movies and shows.”