A K-pop boy band performs during the Weverse Festival at the 2023 Weverse Con Festival held in Seoul's Olympic Park on Sunday. (Hybe)
Hybe successfully wrapped up its two-day K-pop festival, the 2023 Weverse Con Festival, over the weekend.
The multi-label company launched the event at the Olympic Park's KSPO Dome and 88 Lawn Field in Jamsil, Seoul. It was the first outdoor event held by Hybe.
The festival was largely divided into two parts on both days. The Weverse Festival ran through the afternoon on the 88 Lawn Field, while in the evening, the Weverse Con took place in the KSPO Dome, an indoors venue. The 88 Lawn Field turned into an open field for Live Play where the Weverse Con was broadcast in real-time on a large screen.
The Weverse Con Festival extends from Hybe's annual joint-label concert that started in 2021. Artists affiliated with Hybe, including Tomorrow X Together, Lee Hyun, fromis_9, Hwang Min-hyun, Baekho, Enhypen, NewJeans, Zico, Dvwn, Boynextdoor, Bumzu and &Team, took the stage over the two days.
This year saw some new faces from outside of Hybe join the line-up, including Hyolyn, Jeremy Zucker, Lightsum, BTOB, Xia and Moonchild.
As boy band Tomorrow X Together performed its rock sounds on the stage at Sunday's Weverse Festival, a crowd of music fans packed the grass field, some of them seated and enjoying it casually while others were pouncing up and down and cheering loudly at the stage.
Renee Arseneault, an avid fan of TXT, said she came with her colleague.
"It's my second time seeing them perform live. It was an overwhelming experience. But my co-worker is not a TXT fan, and it's great that there are various artists that we could enjoy together," the 29-year-old hailing from Canada said.
Her American colleague, Jacqueline Stone, added, "It's nice that the festival embraces both those people who want to just chill and relax and others who wish to get more involved."
Sofia Mora, a university exchange student from Mexico, said she has rarely had the chance to go to a K-pop concert in her home country.
"K-pop singers don't hold concerts in Mexico, so I'm happy I could watch so many artists at once here. Back home, I had to fly to the US to go to a concert, which would cost me much more," Mora, a fan of BTS and Enhypen, said.
Both nights of Weverse Con in the dome venue dedicated a corner of the gig to K-pop diva Uhm Jung-hwa under the title, "Tribute Stage."
In celebration of the singer's 30th anniversary, young K-pop acts covered Uhm's beloved songs. The 53-year-old singer-actor came onstage on both nights, collaborating with girl group Le Sserafim on Saturday for "Ending Credit," and taking the stage alone on Sunday to perform "Hop In."
Hybe, which also houses K-pop phenomenon BTS, runs several music agencies under its multi-label system spread out in South Korea, Japan and the US. Weverse is a fan-artist community service operated by Hybe subsidiary Weverse Company.
Hybe said it plans to continue the Weverse Con Festival in the future with more artists.
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