The Hallyu wave has hit the Calcutta youth. t2 dropped in for the Calcutta prelims of K-pop Contest 2017 — organised by Korean Cultural Centre India, Delhi, and Korean Association of Calcutta — at Jadavpur University, Gandhi Bhavan, on July 8. Twelve K-pop fans fought it out under two categories — dance and music. 

The participants were busy practising with headphones on before taking the stage. Why headphones? Since they have little or no knowledge of the language, they pick up the lyrics by watching videos and listening to songs on a loop. It’s all about their dedication to and love for... K-pop! 

The prelims were also held in 10 other venues across India. The winners in each category received Rs 20,000 and the chance to travel to Delhi for the finals, slated for July 29 at Talkatora Indoor Stadium. 

Manse Crew, a five-member team, won hearts as they danced to Eternity by VIXX, and took home the trophy. “K-pop rules our playlist. We have also found Hindi songs that have been inspired by K-pop. We practised for one month for this concert. We were a part of a bigger group that was practising for a flash mob, which got cancelled, but five of us stuck together because we love K-pop. We celebrate every K-pop artiste’s birthday and launch of new songs and albums,” said Sayantani Boral (second from right), a first-year student of Bidhannagar College.

Debanjona Mukherjee (below right), a first-year student of Amity University, Calcutta, and Rudraxee Bharali, a first-year student of Amity University, Noida, have been following K-pop and K-drama for two years, so it was not a big deal for them to pick up the lyrics, complete with perfect enunciation! “We were classmates in Indus Valley World School and that is how we realised we both love K-pop. Korean music has a different feel to it and the beats are so catchy,” said the duo, who sang I Dream by 15&.

Sisters Jigisha (below left) and Drishti Mukherjee sang (Only You by Miss A) for the first time on stage. Jigisha, a Class VII student, and Drishti, a Class IX student of Chinmaya Vidyalaya, got hooked to K-pop a year back, after their cousin insisted they listen to BTS. “It is our love for K-pop that made us take interest in singing. We have also started to learn how to write lyrics in Korean with the help of YouTube videos,” said Jigisha.

Malancha Dasgupta; Pictures: B. Halder