[정동길 옆 사진관] Ordinary Me, a Power Ranger in This World? – Kyunghyang Shinmun

Participants pose while wearing Kamen Rider and Power Ranger costumes at the Seoul Pop Culture Convention held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 18th. Reporter Jeong Hyo-jin

An attendee at the Seoul Pop Culture Convention on the 18th is seen cosplaying as an animation character.

“Because I’m a character, I have to endure the heat.”

A participant dressed in a Kamen Rider costume answered as if it was natural when asked if the costume was hot. He said, “Kids who like hero costumes might be surprised when they take off the mask,” and “I don’t talk much because I have to become one with the character.” On the 18th, COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul was bustling with participants visiting the Seoul Pop Culture Convention (Seoul Popcorn).

People who have done various cosplays such as animation, games, movies, and memes said, “The charm of cosplay is the sense of liberation that you can transform into a different look than usual.” One participant who has been cosplaying for 11 years transformed into the character ‘Ladybug’ from the animation ‘Miraculous’ that day. Wearing clothes and makeup reminiscent of a ladybug, he said, “I cosplay my favorite characters, and I also decide on a different concept for each event.”

Jecheon (stage name), who has been cosplaying for about 4 years, said, “Don’t clothes express a lot, like a person’s inner self or personality?” and “It’s fun to express game characters, which take up a lot of my daily life, through clothes.” Pobi (stage name), who cosplayed for the first time and participated in the event, said, “I prepared for about two months,” and “I was embarrassed, but it was okay when I saw that there were many people with similar hobbies.”

This year’s Seoul Popcorn is divided into three categories: Game Con for PC, console, mobile, and indie games; Comic Con for webtoons, animation, and characters; and Live Con for movies, streaming platforms, and OTT.

An attendee of the Seoul Pop Culture Convention on the 18th is returning home wearing a cosplay costume.