{"id":2980,"date":"2026-03-15T15:02:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T06:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/?p=2980"},"modified":"2026-03-18T13:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T04:20:11","slug":"comicworld","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/en\/blog\/comicworld\/","title":{"rendered":"Going to a Korean Cosplay Event at Sixty. What I Learned After Visiting\u2014\u201cA World Anyone Can Enjoy\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Comic<\/center><\/p>\n

\u2014 What I felt outside the KINTEX venue \u2014<\/h4>\n

On March 14 and 15, 2026, \u201cComic World 330 Ilsan\u201d was held at KINTEX in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province.<\/p>\n

Comic World is an event centered on the sale and exhibition of doujin works\u2014fan-made manga, games, and character creations by amateur artists\u2014and is known for having a culture similar to Japan\u2019s Comic Market.<\/p>\n

It is held not only in Ilsan but also in cities across Korea such as Busan, Daegu, Suwon, Ulsan, and Cheongju, and has become an established place for subculture exchange among younger generations.<\/p>\n

There is also a stage set up inside the venue, where dance, singing, and various performances take place, along with popularity voting events.<\/p>\n

In fact, I often pass by near the venue. On event days, I have seen cosplayers heading toward the venue many times in the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat kind of event is this, really?\u201d<\/p>\n

Out of that simple curiosity, I decided to bring my camera and visit the venue this time.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

You can feel the excitement even outside the venue<\/h3>\n

When I arrived at KINTEX, many young people had already gathered outside.<\/p>\n

Cosplayers, fully transformed into their characters from head to toe, were taking photos freely and recording videos with their smartphones.<\/p>\n

Some groups were even practicing choreography, likely making final adjustments before going on stage.<\/p>\n

Even just standing outside the venue, the energy of the event was clearly palpable.<\/p>\n

To be honest, however, I don\u2019t know much about recent anime or games. There were many times when I couldn\u2019t immediately recognize which character a cosplayer was portraying.<\/p>\n

Still, I imagined that if I did know, the scene would be even more fascinating. With that thought, I continued observing the people around me.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Why even beginners can enjoy it<\/h3>\n

Since I had brought my camera, it felt like a waste to leave without taking any photos. Of course, taking pictures without permission would be a breach of etiquette.<\/p>\n

But then again, how would people feel if \u201cjust an older man with a camera,\u201d neither a fan nor media, suddenly approached them?<\/p>\n

That thought crossed my mind.<\/p>\n

In moments like this, it\u2019s better not to overthink. I decided to gather some courage and speak to someone.<\/p>\n

I noticed a boy leaning against a pillar, looking at his smartphone, and asked, \u201cMay I take your photo?\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked surprised for a brief moment, but quickly smiled and kindly agreed.<\/p>\n

Once I managed to take the first photo, the psychological barrier dropped significantly. Watching for the right timing, I approached a few more people, and everyone responded warmly.<\/p>\n

I felt that there was a gentle and welcoming atmosphere throughout the event.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The joy of photography and a world expanded by AI<\/h3>\n

When I later tried editing the backgrounds of the photos using AI, I was amazed by the transformation.<\/p>\n

The results looked as if the subjects had truly stepped into an anime world.<\/p>\n

I was honestly impressed, thinking, \u201cCan creating another world really be this easy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Comic<\/center><\/div>\n

At the same time, as a photographer, a new question arose.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf AI can enhance images this much, isn\u2019t a smartphone camera good enough?\u201d<\/p>\n

So I asked about this, and received an interesting answer:<\/p>\n

The greatest strength of a high-end camera lies in the \u201cquality of the original data.\u201d AI is good at enhancing images, but it cannot fully create information that does not exist.<\/p>\n

A full-frame camera:
\n\u30fbhas a larger sensor
\n\u30fbcaptures more light
\n\u30fbproduces RAW data with much more information<\/p>\n

In other words, the \u2018material\u2019 that AI works with is overwhelmingly better.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That made sense. Thinking about it that way, there was definitely value in bringing a heavier camera.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The appeal of this event<\/h3>\n

What I felt after actually visiting the venue was that the scale of the event was much larger than I had imagined.<\/p>\n

Looking at social media, I could also see cosplayers participating from Japan.<\/p>\n

Japanese anime has long been very popular in Korea, and this time as well, I saw many cosplayers from Japanese works such as \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d and \u201cNARUTO.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once again, I realized that subcultures like anime and games play a significant role in cultural exchange between Japan and Korea.<\/p>\n

To summarize:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • You can casually experience a non-everyday world<\/li>\n
  • You feel close to the cosplayers<\/li>\n
  • The atmosphere is welcoming even for beginners<\/li>\n
  • It\u2019s great practice for photography<\/li>\n
  • A unique space where Japanese and Korean cultures blend<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    That\u2019s how I would describe it.<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n

    Conclusion: If you\u2019re unsure, just take one step<\/h3>\n

    To be honest, before going, I thought it was \u201ca world that had nothing to do with me.\u201d But after actually visiting, that impression changed significantly.<\/p>\n

    If you feel even a little curious, there\u2019s no need to overthink it. Even just watching from outside is perfectly fine.<\/p>\n

    Even that alone will surely leave you with something meaningful.<\/p>\n

    As we get older, we tend to hesitate to go to new places. But experiences like this\u2014where you feel \u201cI\u2019m glad I went\u201d\u2014are still out there waiting.<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n
    \"Frieren:
    \nFrieren: Beyond Journey’s End?<\/center><\/div>\n
    \"Comic<\/center><\/div>\n
    \"Comic<\/center><\/div>\n
    \"Comic<\/center><\/div>\n
    \"NARUTO\"
    \nNARUTO<\/center><\/div>\n
    \"Comic<\/center><\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u2014 What I felt outside the KINTEX venue \u2014 On March 14 and 15, 2026, \u201cComic World 330 Ilsan\u201d was held at KINTEX […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/?p=2959","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[74,7],"class_list":["post-2980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-kintex","tag-korea","en-US"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2980"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3064,"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980\/revisions\/3064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itaba.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}