Boogie-woogie on K-pop

Inside the jam-packed FICCI auditorium, young boys and girls enjoyed being part of the 2nd pan-India K-POP contest! Since lovers of Korean pop (also known as Gayo in Korea) are many, the fanfare attracted large crowds.

For the evening, six finalists in the song and dance category each gave in their best. Few fought physical ailments while some battled technical glitches but nothing deterred the audience which had a blast listening to and watching the song and dance show - Korean ishstyle.

In an effort to popularise Korean pop culture in India, the Korean Cultural Centre organised preliminary rounds initially. It received about 80 entries from which these six were short-listed. The contestants hailed from as far off as Darjeeling.

While singers like Saakshi and Rose Veve mesmerised the audience, it was Boby Techi who was praised the most by the judges since she kept singing despite technical glitches. But the win of the day belonged to Edwin Jamir, who bagged the first prize and a chance to compete against the best at the Grand Finale which will take place in September in Korea.

It was real fun to watch the girls and boys in synchronised choreography. As Mysterious Fellow Dance Group grooved on Psy’s Gangnam style, the auditorium was filled with whistles! But the all boys team Crazy Freaks Dance Crew walked away with the first prize with their clean lines and hip-hop moves.

“As you all are sitting here enjoying Korean songs and dance moves, people in Korea are probably watching the latest Bollywood release - Chennai Express. Hence, it is only through cultural activities that we can communicate with each other better and try to understand both cultures and this contest is just another form of communication between the two cultures,” said Joon-gyu Lee, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India. Even audience ended up competing since two lucky winners won a Samsung Galazy smartphone each!