Los Angeles Times

This year's KCON saw K-Pop fans grappling with big questions

LOS ANGELES - In the Los Angeles Convention Center on Saturday afternoon, tens of thousands of K-Pop fans mobbed their favorite artists in meet-and-greets, danced like crazy in choreography workshops and bonded over a music scene that's largely been built on the joys of fandom. KCON, a yearly celebration of South Korean pop culture, was expected to draw nearly 130,000 people to downtown venues this past weekend.

But in one convention center conference room, others were fully acknowledging that there is a darker, often less discussed side of the K-Pop lifestyle.

Last year, the singer Jonghyun of the

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