Weverse Con Festival draws ILLIT, Enhypen and more as election protests sweep Seoul

The 2026 Weverse Con Festival went ahead at KSPO Dome and the 88 Grass Field in Seoul on June 6. ILLIT, Apink, Enhypen, and Bi performed while the surrounding area churned with political tension.

Both venues sit near the Jamsil counting station. By 6 PM that day, police estimated roughly 10,000 people had gathered there. The crowd was into its second consecutive day of blockade protests, demanding a re-election following the June 3 nationwide local elections.

The unrest spread across the city. Pastor Jeon Gwang-hun's National Movement to Straighten Korea held a rally in front of Donghwa Duty Free at Gwanghwamun. Progressive group Candlelight Action ran a candlelight march along Cheonggyecheon, questioning whether ballot paper shortages in a post-rebellion national election "make any sense." A joint forum of student councils from ten universities—Konkuk, Korea, and Sogang among them—held a press conference condemning the election commission at the Sinchon Euplexus plaza. The Professors' Association for Practicing Freedom and Justice rallied in front of Seoul Central Post Office in Jung-gu.

The festival and the protests shared geography but not routes. The two crowds stayed on separate paths. For fans who made it inside KSPO Dome, the night was about the music. For the tens of thousands outside, it was about the ballot.