The AliExpress 2024 Weverse Con Festival took place June 15 and 16, just in time for the start of the warm weather. Opening the Con at INSPIRE Arena on day one was ILLIT, while TWS opened day two. Playing a festival of this scale for the first time, ILLIT captivated audiences with their stellar performance, including during the J.Y. Park tribute performance they joined the man himself onstage for. With the festival over but the heat of the moment still lingering in the air, we’re excited to present the progress journal the group kept as they rehearsed for the big day and their closing thoughts after it was all over. The force pulling Weverse Con Fest and ILLIT together is super attractive—like it’s magnetic!

ILLIT’s progress journal
The members of ILLIT opened the first day of the 2024 Weverse Con Festival with “Magnetic,” including WONHEE, who nimbly performed her hand choreography seated due to an ankle injury. As they wrapped their first song with an enthusiastic, “This time I want,” the audience erupted into cheers, setting the tone for all the excitement the festival had to offer. Just as the group was about to launch into their second song, “Midnight Fiction,” one fan’s voice rang out through the venue, shouting, “Fighting!” YUNAH says that “hearing the fans scream and shout their support was really encouraging.” The crowd’s energy made the atmosphere of the concert that much more electric as the ILLIT members walked out towards the front of the stage, waving to their fans up close and personal. Performing their final number, “Lucky Girl Syndrome,” as bubbles filled the air, the girls transported their audience to a place with all the excitement of a theme park. ILLIT made a surprise return to the stage during the tribute segment for J.Y. Park, with the group and JYP himself performing “When We Disco” together, trading their earlier sweet pink and white outfits for something more suitably retro. The girls took turns stepping out and dancing the part of SUNMI, who performs with J.Y. Park in the original. It may have been ILLIT’s first festival of this magnitude, but they overcame their nerves from that and from performing with a legend and pulled off their disco-inspired moves and poses flawlessly. Their first festival was nothing less than a total success.

Saturday, June 8, 2024 (D-7). Weather: ☂

YUNAH: Our performance at Weverse Con Festival’s going to be our first time ever performing with such an experienced artist, so I’m super nervous but also excited. We’re going to be performing with J.Y. Park! I can’t believe it! We’ve been practicing for ages. We can’t let him down with our performance!
MINJU: We rehearsed our performance with J.Y. Park today. The closer it gets, the more nervous I get, but at the same time, the more excited I get! We’ve got to be perfect for the real thing!
MOKA: We worked on “When We Disco” today. I’m really nervous because not only is it our first time performing with an established artist, but he’s such a big deal, too. I’m going to keep working hard because this is an absolute honor and I want to put on a good show!
WONHEE: We practiced with J.Y. Park today. I was so nervous. We’ve already put in so much effort and we’re not about to stop now. It’s an honor to be performing at such a big event as Weverse Con and I can’t believe we’re collaborating with this legend! I’m so excited. I can’t wait! We’ve got to put on an awesome show!
IROHA: Just one week to go till Weverse Con! It’s our first time, and I’m getting nervous, but I’m already excited just picturing us up on that stage! We’re not just performing our own songs but also putting on a special performance with J.Y. Park and I can’t wait for the fans to see. Time to keep practicing hard for one more week, then the real thing!

Friday, June 14, 2024 (D-1). Weather: ☁ 

YUNAH: Weverse Con’s just one day away! I got so upset today when we were rehearsing our performance with J.Y. Park and I messed up where I was supposed to be. I’ve got to get things perfect for the big day! No mistakes! I hope the fans are excited too!
MINJU: We went and did a full rehearsal today. Seeing the stage in person made me even more excited for tomorrow. There were a few hiccups today, but I’m determined to put on the perfect performance tomorrow!
MOKA: We rehearsed for Weverse Con today. The stage is huge and there were so many amazing artists there. It’s such an honor that we get to be the opening act! I’m going to give everything I’ve got to make tomorrow’s opening amazing. And our performance with J.Y. Park, too!
WONHEE: We finally had a full rehearsal. Tomorrow’s Weverse Con! It’s such a shame and really heartbreaking that I got hurt because I’ve been looking forward to it so much. I feel really sorry for the other members, J.Y. Park, the crew, and the fans, and I’m really upset. But I’m still going to do my very best!
IROHA: Woohoo! We rehearsed at Weverse Con today. Just one day to go till the show! We’ve worked so hard for this, so we’re just going to enjoy it! Weverse Con, here we come! Fighting!

Saturday, June 8, 2024 (the big day!). Weather: ☁ 

YUNAH: Being up on that gigantic stage made me realize I have to work on how I connect with the audience. It would probably help for us all to get each other pumped up when we practice what we’re going to say before going up onstage, and I feel like I could use some practice on recovering from any mistakes I make in the script. But anyway, this was our first time at Weverse Con Festival, and hearing our fans clap and cheer when they could’ve spent the weekend just taking it easy was incredibly encouraging. We’ll keep working hard to put on good shows for all you fans! Thank you!
MINJU: I was really nervous when the stage lift started rising up, but seeing the fans put me at ease. Our fans were so adorable today, heheh. I hope we can see them even more up close next time. I’m so, so grateful to all the fans who came out to Weverse Con. I want them to know they made our performance a super fun and joyous experience! It was an honor to perform for you all. See you next time!
MOKA: To be perfectly honest, it made me really scared and nervous to dance just the four of us, but I hope with everything we put into it that we got our energy across to the audience. And it was even more fun and exciting performing with J.Y. Park there than when we rehearsed. My thanks to everyone who came to Weverse Con! Your cheers gave us the strength to perform! Love you all ❤️
WONHEE: We were waiting and waiting for Weverse Con, and now it’s all over. There’s so many parts where I wish I could’ve done better, but I’m glad our performance with the amazing J.Y. Park went off without a hitch. It really gave me an energy boost and made me happy whenever I heard the fans cheering. I’ll have to put on an even more energetic performance at the next Weverse Con! I’m already looking forward to it.
IROHA: It was absolutely amazing performing our songs in front of so many people at Weverse Con. It was an honor having the opportunity to share the stage with J.Y. Park and other great artists like BOYNEXTDOOR, THE NEW SIX, and TWS! I’ll keep working hard so that I can do as good a job on stage as they do. I was a bit nervous being up there, but I had a great time from start to finish and was so happy to see the fans. See you next time!