Hallyu Con, Britain's grassroots Korean culture convention, marked its fifth anniversary on Friday with a celebration that highlighted the growing popularity of Korean culture across the United Kingdom. What began as a small volunteer-led experiment in London has evolved into an annual gathering point for the UK's Korean culture community, bringing together fans and creators for a day-long event that now extends far beyond K-pop to include film, food, fashion, and meaningful discussions about cultural representation.
The 2025 edition took place at Samsung KX in London with support from the Korean Cultural Centre UK and the Korea Tourism Organization UK. This year's theme, "Past, Present, Future," captured both the evolution of UK hallyu (Korean wave) fandom and the organizers' ambitions for upcoming years. While more compact than previous editions due to a late date change, the event delivered an authentic and heartfelt celebration of Korean culture, supported by a dedicated and expanding community.
Hallyu Con co-founder Lashai Ben Salmi reflected on the significance of reaching the five-year milestone. "It's really exciting, mainly for the community," she told The Korea Times, describing Hallyu Con as "a melting pot of different cultures connecting, drawn together by Korean food, literature, fashion, media and music." She emphasized that Hallyu Con was created as a safe, immersive space for people to learn, exchange, and explore the richness of Korean culture, a principle that continues to define its identity.
Long-time organizer and event manager Mellica Alexander noted that the project remains "purely for the love of K-culture," highlighting how deeply volunteer-driven the initiative continues to be. This grassroots approach has been fundamental to the convention's authentic community feel and sustainable growth over the past five years.
What emerged most clearly from conversations with attendees was why people keep returning – they feel part of something meaningful. Many participants were returning visitors, including one woman who has become a regular at Hallyu Con. She shared that although her daughter initially introduced her to K-dramas, she has now become more invested in Korean culture herself. "I keep coming back, it feels like a community," she said.
A first-time attendee, who first discovered K-pop during high school, expressed hope for seeing greater focus on acting as a craft, beyond the mainstream films and dramas most people already know. She added that she would like to see traditional arts, K-R&B, and jazz highlighted in future editions, believing there is significant potential ahead for Korean culture in the UK. Meanwhile, a volunteer who has supported Hallyu Con for three years and discovered Korean culture shortly after moving to the UK nearly a decade ago, shared that they have found new friendships and a sense of belonging through the event.
This year's layout was intimate, with sponsor booths positioned around the main stage. At times the space felt slightly sparse, and the compact format meant some attendees were uncertain about where to go next. However, volunteers maintained a warm, lively atmosphere, and a variety of sponsor activations added depth to the day's experience.
PURESEOUL offered color analysis and skincare demonstrations, while K-Pop K-Corner displayed K-pop albums and merchandise. Brands such as BITA, Jongga, and Bibigo introduced Korean flavors through tastings and snacks. The Korean Cultural Centre UK provided a virtual reality experience alongside Samsung's driving-simulator activity. Cultural elements, including a hanbok (traditional Korean attire) try-on corner and a Hangeul (Korean alphabet) calligraphy station creating personalized bookmarks, added hands-on experiences for visitors of all ages.
Among the new vendors, EastBlue stood out for offering a fresh perspective on East Asian fashion in the UK. Founder Edmund personally sources clothing from Korean streetwear brands, the same designs worn by K-pop idols, and curates them as if building his own wardrobe. The company is not an official partner of any brand, and each item is hand-selected, purchased either in person or online, and sold with only a slight markup. His previous pop-ups at Hyper Japan and MCM Comic Con helped refine his approach. "I hope people who aren't aware of Korean streetwear become even a little more aware," he said, noting its blend of East Asian aesthetics and Western silhouettes.
Panels formed the backbone of Hallyu Con 2025 and shaped much of the day's momentum. Proceedings opened with PURESEOUL's skincare presentation, which drew strong interest from younger attendees. This was followed by a discussion with YouTubers ARMAX on content creation and their personal journeys with Korean cuisine. A multi-creator panel featuring KoreanBilly, Mikey Espinosa, RollinJoint, and Hanguk Hapa then explored lifestyle, food, comedy, and cross-cultural work within the UK's growing hallyu scene.
A later session brought together speakers from an East and Southeast Asian film organization, BuzzFeed, and a former Head of the BBC's Korean Service, shifting the tone into more reflective territory. The conversation examined how global interest in Korean culture has opened doors across creative industries while also exposing the pressures and structural challenges that accompany them. This candid exploration of both opportunity and reality offered some of the day's most meaningful insights.
RITO, a contemporary music collective blending traditional Korean instrumentation with modern electronics, closed the event. Their work incorporates the piri, a traditional Korean double-reed flute, and traditional percussion alongside live electronic elements, reinterpreting Korean musical grammar in a modern context. Their performance provided a fitting end to a day celebrating both traditional and contemporary Korean culture.
This year's Hallyu Con made one thing clear: the event has succeeded in building a loyal, diverse community, and the community's interest now exceeds the current scale of the event. Its strengths lie in sincerity, passion, and the ability to bring together audiences who feel deeply connected to Korean culture. Yet this year also demonstrated a desire for more: more space, more variety, more structure, and more expansive representation of both traditional and contemporary Korean culture. As Lashai put it, the aim is to "inspire curiosity and continue to build bridges within and beyond Korean culture."
