Bhubaneswar, July 9: The first Korean pop music contest was organised in the city to promote the genre among music enthusiasts.
K-pop or Korean pop is a musical genre characterised by a wide variety of audiovisual elements. Described as the modern form of South Korean pop music, it consists of dance pop, pop ballad, electronic, rock, hip-hop, R&B (rhythm and blues), etc. This genre of music is extremely popular all over the world.
The event, tilted K-Pop World Festival, was organised by the Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI) this year. The event was held all over India, including Odisha, at KIIMs auditorium in the KIITs University.
The K-Pop Contest India, which is celebrating its 6th edition, started its journey to the grand finale with 42 teams and 898 participants. The participants have uploaded their singing and dancing videos on the website kpopindia.com to be selected in the preliminary rounds that will take place in 11 regions - Delhi, Patna, Chennai, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Odisha, Calcutta and Mumbai.
The vocal category of the Odisha regional round witnessed seven beautiful renditions of Korean songs ranging from Kim Dong Ryul's Drunken truth, sung by S. Swayamprava, 16, to Davichi's 8282 sung by Sony Jagan, 21, who travelled from Guntur to be a part of the event.
The winner of vocal category, Kashmira Rout, a fourth-year student of medicine at KIIMs, sang a beautiful version of I Love you by Kim TaeYeon and has been awarded a cash prize of Rs 5,000, while the winner in dance category, group DS3, have been awarded a cash prize Rs 15,000.
The DS3 group performed on the famous song Playing with Fire by BlackPink. Winners of both categories will compete with finalists from the other 10 regions in the finale on July 29 in New Delhi.
Audience were given a chance to wear the Hanbok (traditional Korean dress), offered traditional Korean dishes such as Kimchi and Shin Ramyun during the pre-event activities. They were also engaged in Yutnori, a traditional board game played in Korea.
The winning team at the grand finale will be nominated for the 2017 K-Pop World Festival and be given a chance to visit South Korea.
The regional organiser of the event said: "South Korean culture is widely respected in our state. Students follow many Korean drama and pop groups such as BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan), SHINee, SNSD (Sonyeo Sidae), Exo etc. There is no dearth of talent or dedication amongst the people of Odisha. This event is the first concentrated effort to showcase our love, respect and enthusiasm for Korean culture. We will hopefully have more such cultural events in near the future."
The daylong event ended with a surprise Flashmob, in which volunteers and participants danced to the tunes of hit Korean songs such as Deung Gol Breaker (BTS), Dancing King (Exo), Bang Bang Bang (Big Bang) and others.
Director of KCCI Kim Kum Pyoung said: "This year's contest will be bigger than ever and appeal all music lovers in India. We support and encourage the regional rounds organised by K-pop fans."
