K-Pop India Contest: 458 youths from 18 cities qualify for 2nd Regional Round starting July 13

NEW DELHI: The 09^th edition of the K-Pop India contest is coming up with the 2nd phase of ‘Online Regional Round’.

The entire contest that went digital with solo entries only, witnessed 1344 participants from across the country in two categories:  vocal and dance segment in its first round. It was held from 15^th May to 15^th June and more than 150,000 people marked all promotional materials on posts on Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI) website and SNS platforms.

Under the epidemic situation prevailing globally, KCCI has brought a new model for the post corona era through this event keeping the participants and fans safe as the number one priority.

AS many as 458 participants from 18 cities were able to make it successfully into the second round. They will compete in vocal and dance categories for two spots from each city.

The second regional round from 13^th July to 16^th August will be hosted by local K-Pop fan clubs with the collaboration with KCCI. Fans and any passionate people who are interested in song and dance can enjoy all the performances at each regional round through online platforms, most of the regions will be hosted live.

The 458 winners of the first rounds are from Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Dehradun, Delhi, Guntur, Hyderabad, Imphal, Itanagar, Kohima, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, and Pune. Delhi has the biggest fan following (participants) followed by Kolkata, Chennai, and Bengaluru.

Even though the 2020 Changwon World Music Festival has been canceled and the situation owing to the Pandemic is not stable, KCCI was able to receive a great number of participants. Owing to the ongoing Pandemic, and in compliance with the guidelines provided for precaution against COVID-19, it was decided that the Regional Round will be hosted on an online platform (youtube) not on the spot as expected before.

With all these limits and restrictions, nevertheless, KCCI is holding this event to encourage all Indian youngsters not to give up their passion and hope for the future. Starting up with buzz event, meeting K-Pop star at KCCI`s Instagram live on 12^th Sunday, 6 pm, KCCI is holding promotional events also titled “Unlock your passion” 1.0 version to 3.0 version.

Kim Kum-pyoung, Director, Korean Cultural Centre India said, “We have decided and challenged this event hoping all fans who have been locked in their houses to regain their passion and energy in their daily life. We expect to overcome the difficulties together with mutual sympathy through music.“

Korean Cultural Centre India will select each winner throughout 18 cities` regional round in song and dance category and will hold the final on 12^th September. The final 2 winners will be invited to Korea for music video shooting, cultural experience, and exchange.