Illustration by Laura Lannes Welcome to New Retro Week, a celebration of the biggest artists, hits, and cultural moments that made 2012 a seminal year in pop. MTV News is looking back to see what lies ahead: These essays showcase how today’s blueprint was laid a decade ago. Step into our time machine. By Lai Frances For two days in July 2019, New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Madison Square Garden were simultaneously filled for the first time with the rapturous electric thumps of South Korean pop music. About 55,000 fans flocked to the venues to kick off the year’s stateside trek of KCON, the first-of-its-kind Korean culture festival that serves as a convention by day and a concert by night, to connect with friends and bask in the light of their favorite K-pop stars and influencers. For five years prior, the annual convention had made the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, its East Coast home. The majorly upgraded locales meant attendees no longer had to worry about a summer heat wave while waiting in line for a spot on the concert floor, join a dance workshop in the sun, or sample the sumptuous spicy-sweet flavors of bibimbap. The spaces allowed fans to walk freely through spacious halls filled with activations, photo walls, and larger-than-life installations from Korean brands such as Kakao Friends, Bibigo, and Innisfree. And each evening, K-pop acts like TXT, NU’EST, The Boyz, and (G)I-DLE had their chance to shine on the world-renowned Madison… Click below to read the full story from MTV News
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