It was a weekend filled with K-pop (and J-Pop) performances, photo ops, fan-dedicated activities, and more. K-pop devotees traveled near and far to attend the first-ever 82World: LA. The festival is presented by Hello82 and took place at the Los Angeles State Historic Park on October 17 and October 18.
The line-up for the inaugural music festival includes ATEEZ, P1Harmony, BE:FIRST, xikers, Ampers&One, 8Turn, GIRLSET, cosmosy, and fiveALIVE.
Beyond the performances, the day featured additional programs, including dance challenges and the “This Or That” game at the Play82 Stage.
82World: LA set up fan zones for photocard freebies such as ATINY ISLAND and P1ECE Zone. Fans can also get a random photocard of BE:FIRST, xikers, Ampers&One, 8Turn, GIRLSET, cosmosy, or fiveALIVE from the Mercari booth.
The main performances took place on the hello82 stage, which featured massive LED screens allowing fans to see the performances from afar. This setup was truly impressive. The graphics and videos paired with each group’s performance elevated the experience.
How was the overall 82World: LA festival experience?
For my first music festival, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. Aside from the performances, I was excited to see the dance challenges and other programs on the Play82 stage. I spent most of Day 1 checking out P1ECE Zone and ATINY Island for photocard freebies, and made my way over to the Mercari booth for the random photocard (I pulled 8Turn).
Since I arrived pretty early, the lines weren’t very long for any of the photocards, though later on in the day, the wait time was said to be up to 90 minutes.
I headed over to the Play82 Stage to check out the “This or That” game with P1Harmony. It was so fun and exactly what I hoped to see at this fan-engagement-focused festival. 500 P1ECE were selected to play the game with the group, where they had to predict the outcome of a mini-game or question. For example, Jongseob was asked to hula hoop for 10 seconds. Fans had to predict whether he could do it for 10 seconds. Spoiler: he did not. It was fun to see the members enjoy the games and fans get a chance to interact with them in a lighthearted way.
The weather was hot over the two-day festival, and staying hydrated was important. Hydration stations were available throughout the grounds, but it took me some time to find them, even with the map. Eventually, I found one and was happy to see that the water was icy cold.
I also stopped by the official merchandise tent to see what was available. To my surprise, everything they advertised online before the festival was available in person. Initially, 82World’s Instagram said pre-orders would ship after the event, and I wasn’t sure whether everything would be available in person. I was happy to see everything, including that red hoodie, available in person.
There was a separate line for GA and club82, plus an option to order on mobile and pick up straight from the merchandise tent, which made shopping easy.
For food, there are options from Korean bites to Thai food, tacos to mac and cheese. Prices ranged from $20 to $26, not cheap but the pricing is pretty typical for outdoor festivals. I got the kimchi fried rice, which was pretty good and filled me up for the rest of the day. Smaller bites like pretzels and churros were also available.
For most of the day, it was about soaking up the vibes until the performances began at 4 pm on day one.
The Performances
Day one’s lineup includes P1Harmony, BE:FIRST, xikers, Ampers&One, GIRLSET, cosmosy, and fiveALIVE. My friends and I found a spot near the back of the club82 section and hung out there for the performances. The large screens made it easy to see the performances, but we could still see the stage clearly.
One of the best things about a music festival is seeing groups I’m not familiar with. This was my first time seeing 8Turn, BE:FIRST, and fiveALIVE, and I loved their performances and music.
I truly enjoyed every group’s performances, and I especially loved being treated to unreleased songs like GIRLSET’s “Young and Dumb” and cosmosy’s “Give Me Love”.
BE:FIRST had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand when they covered Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” and put their own original spin on the song.
I was excited to see xikers perform. I last saw them live two years ago, when they opened for ATEEZ during the In Your Fantasy tour. They delivered a high-energy set with songs like “ICONIC,” “BREATH,” “Xixey,” and even covered NCT 127’s “Two Baddies.” The crowd-stopping moment came when the group did the viral dance move from ADÉLA’s “Ain’t in LA” during their song “BREATHE.”
P1Harmony brought down the house on day one, playing hits such as “Pretty Boy,” “UNIQUE,” “DUH!,” “Stupid Brain,” “Dancing Queen,” and more.
ATEEZ as Day Two Headliner
Day two was entirely dedicated to ATEEZ, from game show-style stages to main performances. The dance challenge took place at the Play82 stage, where members SEONGHWA, YUNHO, and YEOSANG danced to their latest single “BAD” along with selected fans.
On the Hello82 stage, hosts Andy and Jas were joined by SAN and WOOYOUNG for a segment called A-rcade, where they completed missions or answered questions submitted by ATINY. The missions were hilarious, including making a heart shape with their bodies and a rhythm game, “Beat Challenge,” where WOOYOUNG got the tempo wrong. The mistake prompted SAN to say, “Hey dude, wake up,” to which Wooyoung answered, “That wasn’t my style.”
HONGJOONG and JONGHO hosted a segment called TINY RADIO, where they answered questions and gave advice to ATINY. The crowd went wild when a question about dads allowing their daughters to go to an ATEEZ concert was asked. Jongho answered, “I’ll take care of your daughter,” which made the crowd go wild.
MINGI’s Listen Party was the perfect segment to get the fans riled up before ATEEZ’s set. He had the crowd jumping to songs like “Dinero,” “ROAR,” and “NOVA.” He also played a remix of BAD and prompted the fans to bark with him.
When ATEEZ took the stage, the venue erupted with screams. Accompanied by a live band, ATEEZ opened with “Say My Name”; the fans jumped to the beat and sang along. Without wasting a minute, they went into “NASA”, which I had been dying to see live.
Every time I’ve seen ATEEZ live, they have been phenomenal. Their set at 82World was no different. I’m sure the residents near Los Angeles State Historic Park heard all of us during “Guerrilla.”
While their set was only an hour and ten minutes long, they gave it everything they got. I enjoyed every single moment, dancing and singing along.
Was 82World: LA Worth It?
For hello82’s first-ever music festival, this exceeded my expectations. Los Angeles Historic Park was completely transformed into a space made for fans. The main stage was a lot bigger than I was expecting, and as a short person, I appreciated the large LED screens so I could still see everything that was going on.
Having various scheduled games and programs broke up the day and also allowed the crowd to spread throughout the venue. I enjoyed the ATINY Zone and P1ECE Zone to let us get a photocard freebie. There were other activities like face painting and a temporary tattoo booth, as well as the hello82 Fan Space Station where attendees can get official albums, lightsticks, and more.
I was glad to have club82 solely for the dedicated bathrooms. They set up about 3 or 4 bathroom trailers, which were in an enclosed and air-conditioned space with sinks and mirrors. However, by 5 pm on day one, most of the stalls were clogged, and some of the sinks did not produce water. On Day two, many stalls were out of commission by 2 pm, which was only an hour after the festival opened. I’d love to see the bathrooms better maintained for the next 82World.
Aside from the bathroom issues, the vibes were good, and the performances were amazing. For my first music festival experience, 82World: LA really impressed me, and I would return next year and do it all over again.
