London Korean Festival 2017, part 2

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Diya Mitra

Photos∙Video = Diya Mitra

  

Cooking demonstrations and a taste of Korea

With my bag of stuff getting fuller, and feeling hungry, I proceeded to visit the Authentic Taste of Korea exhibit that showcased Korean food and explained further about dasik tea cookies, organic snacks, hangwa traditional snacks, guksu traditional noodles and traditional sauces. There were also leaflets about places around London to enjoy Korean food. I quickly picked one up.

At this exhibition there was a round table where you could drink green tea and experience how to make dasik tea cookies, as well as eat them. These cookies are made of powdered rice, chestnuts or beans, and are combined with honey and pressed into a patterned wooden mould. I had a go at making one, which seemed fairly easy. They were also giving out rice cakes that I took with the intention of eating later, but it soon disappeared into my mouth.

I try to make the cookies using a wooden mould.

The Korean cuisine cooking class, which I have called a food demonstration or workshop on the map, taught people how to make bibim guksu spicy cold noodles, kimchi mandu dumplings, kimchi jeon savory cakes and japchae stir-fried glass noodles. You had to sign up on the spot and by the time I had arrived, all the classes were full. 

However, there was nothing to stop me staring and drooling for a bit. I said a quick hello to Da-Hae West of Busan BBQ fame. She was one of the chefs at the workshop providing the classes and demonstrations. I peeked into the H-Mart stall, which was busy, and scanned over the six food stalls that provided delicious sustenance to the hungry customers. There was Little Korea, Lime Orange, The Cups, Goko, Yami and The Massita. Once I was able to battle my way through the queues, I made my way over to the tourism section.

People make kimchi jeon savory cakes in the Korean cooking class.

Tourism and the PyeongChang Winter Games

This was the last section on level two. For people who are unfamiliar with Korea as a tourist destination, it was a lovely eye-opener. I also enjoyed the photo exhibit showing the top 10 must-see attractions in Korea. These were largely prompted by them being UNESCO-registered world heritage sites, or places of historic interest. They are listed below.

A photo exhibition depicts the top 10 must-see attractions in Korea.

1. Jongmyo Shrine According to UNESCO, the shrine is the oldest royal Confucian shrine that has been preserved, and the ritual ceremonies continue a tradition established in the 1300s. 2. Seokguram Grotto Is part of a religious retreat and is part of the Bulguksa Temple complex. 3. Bulguksa Temple The temple is considered a masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhist art in the Silla kingdom (57 B.C. to A.D. 935). 4. Seongsan Ilchulbong Park Also called "Sunrise Peak," this former volcano is an archetypal cone formed by hydrovolcanic eruptions upon a shallow seabed about 5,000 years ago. 5. Hahoe Village and Yangdong Village Founded in the 1300s or 1400s, these two villages are seen as the two most representative historic clan villages. 6. Triptikata Koreana The temple of Haeinsa on the slopes of Gayasan Mountain is home to the Tripitaka Koreana, the most complete collection of Buddhist texts that were engraved on 80,000 woodblocks between 1233 and 1248. 7. Joseon Dynasty Royal Tombs These are 40 tombs of members of the Yi dynasty that ruled over Joseon from 1392 to 1910. 8. Namhansanseong Fortress One of the four castles built to protect the capital, Hanyang, which sat on the site of today's Seoul. 9. Suwon Hwaseong Fortress This fortress was built between 1794 to 1796 by King Jeongjo (r. 1776-1800) to house and honor the remains of his father, Prince Sado. 10. Gyeongju Historic Areas These were designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO only in 2000.

This photo of Bulguksa Temple is taken by the author on her first trip to Korea, in 2007.

There was one section devoted to the upcoming Winter Olympics to take place across Gangwon-do Province in February 2018, and there was a chance to take a picture with the two mascots Soohorang and Bandabi, the white tiger and the Asiatic black bear. As I had the pleasure of already making their acquaintances in Seoul last year, I watched as people took selfies and giggled in delight. An information kiosk was there to help visitors learn more about the Winter Games. There was a chance to win a Korean fan by having a go at an electronic slots machine. By pressing a button, the screens would randomly change and hopefully end up with colors representing the Winter Olympic Games. If it did, you could walk away with a fan. The queue for this was quite long so I decided to give this a miss. You could also play ice hockey and experience the sensation of doing a ski jump using VR.

People experience ski jumping using VR at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics stall.

In the section after the Olympics stall there were miniature stalls hosted by Asiana Airlines, Korea Health & Development, Peoples Travel, Hana Tour, Korean Air, Lotte, Holiday Planners, the Governors Association of Korea and the Korean Tourism Organization. Here I stocked up on maps and books about Korea and chatted with the lovely people from Korean Air who gave me two fluffy toy planes, in fact. There were further chances to experience VR by putting on a set of goggles and selecting your choice of tour, from Jeju Island and Nampodong in Busan, through to Daegu, Myeondong in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung Palace and Tongyeong.

During my visit to Korea in October and November 2016, I had the opportunity to visit Tongyeong, a coastal city in Gyeongsangnam-do Province. I was there with a lovely group of honorary reporters from Korea.net. Unfortunately, on the first day we went the city was sweeping down with rain, so enjoying the surrounding area was challenging, especially when it came to experiencing the cable car. However, using these VR goggles and somehow listening to the experience in Korean -- I had it on the wrong setting -- I was able to marvel at the splendor of the cable cars in Tongyeong all in glorious sunshine. If you didn't want to do try any VR apparatus, there was a giant screen where you could select particular tourist destinations and experience a 360-degree view by swiping up, down, left or right.

People learn about travel in Korea at the tourism stalls.

Time really flew and I was able to immerse myself in the majority of the activities. While I was going around the stalls and the events, the daytime entertainment was taking place on the central stage. There was even the regional rounds of the KBS K-pop World Festival taking place. Events and stalls started wrapping up at 5:30 p.m. I had managed to converse with a parent or two during the day who had been dragged to the festival by their daughters who were enamored by Korean pop music. However, they really seemed to have enjoyed themselves as they were taking part in the traditional games and they were able to learn so much about Korea.

Having been given a press pass, I was able to attend a sort of press conference by the only band I was excited to see during the transition from the day events to the evening. Not all five members of the band were able to fly over, as one was not well. During the day, the events were hosted and emceed by Josh and Daniel of "Yeonguk Namja" YouTube fame. They were also going to host the evening part, but at this time they were joined on stage by Hani, a member of the pop group Exid and fluent in English and Mandarin.

The pop group Exid talks to the press at the London Olympia in 2017.

I took a break between events and was able to pop outside to see the dedicated queue for the evening in enthusiastic spirits, as the concert was drawing near. Many people had homemade signs for the bands they loved. As for me, I was only ever looking forward to seeing Exid, which appeared third on stage out of the four bands. Inbetween, band member Hyelin sang a wonderful rendition of "You Raise Me Up" as a tribute to what London had been experiencing in regard to recent attacks. It was moving and I live-streamed the song via my Facebook profile.

https://www.facebook.com/diyaonkorea/#!/diyaonkorea/videos/vb.657295854357475/1436502619770124/?type=2&theater

  

For their set list, Exid sung the following four songs in this order:

Hot Pink 

Night Rather Than Day

Oh Yeah 

Up & Down

  

Of course, they performed the most popular song last and got the audience singing along with them: my favorite song "Up & Down." I was able to film them using a selfie stick, but realized later that I had no sound. I managed to fix it by borrowing the sound from another video by a fellow YouTuber. You can see the video below.

All in all, it was an enjoyable day attended by over 12,000 people throughout the day and evening. There were sold-out tickets during the evening performances, largely due to it being Korean pop, and although it's in its early days, I would say the craze and fervor is only just beginning to take hold in the U.K.

Try watching this video here.

(All photos and videos used here were taken by Diya Mitra and cannot be used without permission.)

wisdom117@korea.kr

Take a journey with a fan of all things Korean

Appreciation of its traditions, arts and history is the main reason why I have a great passion for all things Korean. 

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter John Paul Vergonia

Photos = John Paul Vergonia, Korea.net

My passion for everything Korean started when TV channels in the Philippines aired some of the most famous Korean soap operas that were a contributing factor in the growth in popularity of Korean TV shows, pop music and movies across East Asia and elsewhere, the so-called Korean Wave, or "Hallyu" (한류). Since then, these TV shows, music videos and movies have influenced my way of life and led me to discover everything about Korea. I now appreciate its traditions, arts and history, including its world-renowned cuisine, which is what I want to experience and learn more about.

With the airing of popular Korean TV shows in Southeast Asia, such as "Endless Love" (끝없는 사랑), "Stairway to Heaven" (천국의 계단), "Only You" (온리 유), "Coffee Prince" (커피프린스) and "Jumong" (삼한지: 주몽편), this Korean Wave has started to be recognized worldwide, not only in the Philippines.

'The King's Face' (왕의 얼굴) is one of the historical TV shows that gave me a remarkable understanding of Joseon politics and love.

Showcasing the rich history and traditions of Korea in many TV soap operas, including values-driven plots, make them hits and that is why the masses love them. I'm guilty of loving them episode-by-episode, especially if it’s a historical soap opera based on Joseon times.

By watching Korean soap operas, you’ll learn a bit of a typical Korean’s normal life, their beautiful language and ancient habits and traditions that are still valued today, including the wonderful places and attractions all across the country that are really inviting and postcard-worthy. Besides all this, due to my passion for watching historical soap operas, especially the famous series "Jewel in the Palace" (대장금), I’ve learned to love and appreciate not only the Korean language but also the colorful and healthy Korean cuisine that is one of the world’s best.

These are just some of my Korean language notes from college that I still use to learn Korean.

My background with historical soap operas has encouraged me to learn the official Korean language and the alphabet of Korea that's considered to be one of the most efficient alphabets in the world because of its scientific basis and design! In college, I had the chance to be part of a pilot language program for Korean language that my school introduced in partnership with Kyung Hee University, a well-known private research university in Seoul, in return for teaching Korean exchange students English while they stayed in the Philippines. The Korean language classes we had went well for months, but unfortunately the program was cancelled and we ended up learning just a few basics.

The popularity of Korean pop music, TV shows and movies across East Asia and elsewhere has also hit the Philippines, with popular publications and magazines featuring special issues about all things Korean regularly hitting the shelves.

In my college years, the growth in Korean media was all over the Philippines and East Asia. With the continuing success of Korean TV shows with exports and with episodes shown on almost all local TV stations in the country, accompanied by the new wave of Korean pop music, many Philippine fans openly embraced Korea's ever growing national popularity. When radio stations started to play K-pop music, like top hits popularized by Big Bang and 2NE1, stars like Sandara Park, who started her career as a singer-actress in the Philippines, was even more famous. Korean fashion, Korean hip hop and Korean modern dance all make K-pop trendy, and the genre gains followers all around the globe. With the growth in popularity of Korean music, TV shows and movies, combined with all the fans, it’s no surprise Korea’s soft power has dynamically conquered the globe.

For years working as a freelancer and web administrator, I've witnessed the growth of the K-pop music industry in the Philippines. Although I'm not really a fan, you really can’t avoid becoming one, as K-pop songs are played on just about every street corner in the country. Moreover, with the use and wide acceptance of different social media and networking sites as marketing platforms, K-pop is made even more popular and everything and anything from Korea is even further introduced online. It was at this time that the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines opened its doors to promote everything about Korea with its classes, activities and events.

At least once per year, I venture to try something new again, every since I finished college. It took me some time to finally have the courage to continue to study a second language, one that I learned to love since my college days. Armed with a background in how to read and write Korean, with a few phrases that I speak and understands fairly well, in 2015 I finally enrolled in the basic language class that the KCC Philippines offers three times per year.

The students pose for a photo with our lovely teacher in the basic Korean language class. 

Toward this learning process, it's not just about the language but also the diversity of the Korean Peninsula. It may be about the food, music, technology, traditions or the people as a whole. While studying, I didn't stop as a language student, as I'm aiming beyond this immediate goal and I can’t help but grab another opportunity and maybe be able to learn more about Korea at the Korean Cultural Center or its affiliates. Thus, I've made it as a member of the second batch of the "Krew Manila," an official fan group for the cultural center.

As part of KCC events and since we're part of the support club, we volunteer at various events and activities organized by the cultural center, in the aim of further promoting Korea among the Philippine audience and to strengthen the strong relationship that exists between Seoul and Manila. I really enjoyed being a supporter, whether it be as a program assistant, a tech booth staff, a content writer or a photographer. You’re not just enjoying every event you attend, but also the opportunity to expand your knowledge about everything Korean. Not only that, I also had the opportunity to write content for the KCC supporters' blog. The certification I received from them as a token for being an active affiliate made everything worth the journey.

A first-of-its-kind taekwondo exhibit in the Philippines is hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines. Philippine taekwondo icon Monsour del Rosario III made an appearance, together with members of the Philippine Taekwondo Association.

The previous year's Global Taste of Korea Contest is held at a famous Philippine culinary institute. The winner was sent from Korea to compete in the finals.

After completing a semester of basic Korean, I decided to not pursue the next module, which was the elementary Korean class, to concentrate on being a supporter for all the events hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines. Every now and then, if I had some spare time, I signed up to help with the activities and events that the KCC would organize. There was a Korean speech contest, a quiz about Korea, the Global Taste of Korea cooking competition, the K-pop World Festival, a Korean Film Festival, the Phil-Kor Cultural Exchange Festival and a series of "culture Caravans." These were just few of the events that we covered over the past two years. I'm proud to say that I'm enjoying the privilege of being able to share Korea with the world. I treasure my time as a supporter of the KCC in the Philippines because I know that I have something new to learn every time we have an event.

At the Korean 'culture caravan,' held at different universities across the Philippines, the Korean Cultural Center is able to actively promote Korea and can provide smiles to the students there as they try on some traditional Korean Hanbok attire.

Traditional paper dolls are made out of traditional Korean Hanji mulberry paper, illustrating samulnori (사물놀이), a famous version of traditional Korean drumming. 

I was in my second term as part of the Krew Manila when Korea Clickers, the official Facebook profile for the Korean Culture and Information Service, was in search of its fifth group of honorary reporters. These people work with the team at Korea.net. Of course, missing such a great opportunity wasn’t in my vocabulary, so I immediately sent in my application in the hopes of becoming a Korea.net honorary reporter based here in the Philippines. Luckily, I was chosen to represent my country and to be one of the 76 members of the group.

Korea.net's fifth group of honorary reporters based in Korea poses for a photo during the induction ceremony and a three-day tour of the country. (Korea.net DB)

As the term began for us honorary reporters and as we began to fulfill our duties and responsibilities, I made sure to participate in all the activities and to write feature articles for the team. My eagerness to promote Korea and my passion for cooking Korean food has made one of my dreams a reality: to be an ambassador in my own little way as a content contributor to Korea.net.

Cooking Korean food for my family is my way of expressing myself, aside from writing content.

I still remember my first article, “Cooking Korean food at home,” which was published on both the official website and at the Korea Blog. I feel so accomplished, as my article about home-cooked Korean food was put out on various websites where it’s globally read by Korea fans and avid enthusiasts for all things Korean. I was doubtful at first whether or not I was doing it right, since Korea.net has a large number of readers, but then I realized that it wouldn't publish a write-up if it weren't interesting to share.

Furthermore, my post was also published on different social media sites managed by KOCIS, including some related organizations. It was actually a rewarding feeling because apart from being an active supporter of the KCC in the Philippines, I'm also part of the amazing team at Korea.net. Every so often, I write content about the exciting events and activities that the Korean Cultural Center is hosting all year-round, not to mention the different events related to Korea that are happening across the Philippines.

In autumn last year, I was surprised to be invited by KOCIS and by Korea.net to have an all-expenses-paid tour of Korea and to experience Korea first-hand. Korea is the first country I ever visited outside the Philippines. I'm so overwhelmed with all of the experiences we had during our week-long tour there that Korea.net prepared for us. We were a carefully selected team of honorary reporters from all around the world. It was indeed an honor to finally see and experience Korea myself. Without a doubt, Korea is beyond beautiful in every way, and it wasn’t just about the autumn foliage but also the new knowledge gained and the whole new experiences and friendships made.

Honorary reporters from eight countries are invited to Korea in autumn last year by Korea.net and by KOCIS for a week-long tour of Korea where they experienced first-hand the cultural diversity of the Korean Peninsula. (Korea.net DB)

A sumptuous set of food awaits you on your culinary journey across Korea.

Korea.net honorary reporters pose for a photo along with Sohoorang (수호랑) and Bandabi (반다비), the official mascots for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. (Korea.net DB)

It was a dream come true. Korea.net is indeed our “Gateway to Korea!”

With the accomplishments I achieved so far as an enthusiast of all things Korean, from being a student to becoming an honorary reporter, to actually experiencing Korea myself; all of this has been a great opportunity for me to be able to effectively write inspiring stories about Korea and its warm people, interesting history, diverse culture, attractive places, modern technology and lovely food. As the slogan goes, “Imagine Your Korea” came true right before my eyes, and undeniably Korea is blessed to be such a beautiful nation.

Beautiful dosirak Korean lunch sets (도시락) are overflowing with delightful Korean dishes paired with purple rice, including a number of side dishes. These lunch sets are one of my inspirations to start my own Korean food business.

I was so inspired by what I experienced in Korea, especially the people, their food and their traditions, arts and history. I can’t hide my happiness every time I talk about it to my family and friends. As I said, the best way to share beautiful stories about a certain place is to experience them personally.

The food was remarkably one of the tastiest discoveries during our stay in Korea. Because I love everything served on the Korean table, and because I'm a good cook, I'm encouraged to finally start my own small Korean food business, delivering food just like they do in Seoul and other big cities. Again, I'm very much thankful, as one of the inspirations was the promotional video that we had to watch during our visit to the Korea.net office in Seoul.

  

Inspired by street food served at pojangmacha street tents (포장마차), this is my own version of Korea’s favourite picnic and take-out food, gimbap rice rolls (김밥). 

A Korean dosirak lunch set is filled with great tasting Korean delights, including bulgogi marinated beef (불고기) as the main dish, steamed white rice, kimchi (김치) and good side dishes including two of the most loved Korean rice cakes, injeolmi (인절미) and gyeongdan (경단).

I started my own small Korean food business called Hanbap. The name is derived from the Korean words Hanguk (한국) and bap (밥), which, when combined, means “Korean Rice.” About three months ago we started serving delicious Korean food in a casual manner, without compromising the authentic taste or traditional way of cooking. With the good feedback that I'm receiving, I think it’s a good start for me as a first-time entrepreneur. I really can’t forget the beautiful lunchboxes that we shared along with the honorary reporters while enjoying a comfortable KTX train ride from Seoul to Busan. It was beyond ordinary for me to see and taste traditionally prepared Korean dishes packed in a visually appealing lunchbox, including a set of delicious side dishes. That's what gave me this business inspiration.

This is the first time for me to see all the different types of kimchi sold in the Jungang Tradition Market in Tongyeong, Korea.

Aside from writing content, I also express myself through every meal that I prepare for my family, and through the start-up business that I launched. I guess it’s one of my own simple ways to share the flavors of Korea with my community. I want to, at least, offer something different. Although it’s kind of hard since I'm still just starting out, it’s getting more and more interesting every day as I grow as a business person.

Until today, I'm eagerly learning Korean on my own while busying myself with innovating the Korean menu for my business. So far, it has been a fun, awesome and exciting journey for me and the story doesn’t end here, for sure. I know there’s still a lot in store for us to learn, discover and explore about everything Korean.

wisdom117@korea.kr

BTS becomes first K-pop group to win at Billboards

BTS receives its award as Top Social Artist. (Big Hit Entertainment)

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Akansha Arya

The pop group BTS, whose name is an acronym for Bangtan Sonyeondan and which is commonly translated into English as “Bulletproof Scouts,” has become the first-ever K-pop group to win a Billboard awards.

BTS took home the award for Top Social Artist, defeating the famous singer Justin Beiber who had won this award for the past six years.  BTS has also become the first Korean pop group to crack the top 40 of the Billboard 200 album chart with their album "Wings" released in October last year.

BTS, a seven-member pop group that debuted in June 2013 with the single "No More Dreams" from their album "2 Cool 4 School," tells the story of everyone who gives up their dreams to live according to society’s expectations and asks everyone to live their own dreams. They have won several “New Artists of the Year” awards. However, BTS’s first breakout came after releasing the album “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1” in 2015, which showed their mature side. The title song “I Need You” brought them their first win ever on SBS MTV's “The Show,” and it was also a hit in various major Korean charts.

After that, the follow-up of the first album was “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2.” It became their first album to break into the Billboard 200 charts, debuting at No. 171. In 2016 the final version of “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life” was released. It was an extended version of the earlier two versions, with a few more tracks added. It was titled “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever,” landing again in the Billboard 200 charts at the 107th spot. The title song “Fire” scored the group its first No. 1 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart.

After that, they never turned back. In 2016 BTS became the first Korean pop group to crack the top 40 of the Billboard 200 charts, coming in 26th with its album "Wings," released in October last year. Again, the group hit the Billboard 200 charts in 2017 with the album "Wings: You Never Walk Alone," an extended version of the "Wings" album.

BTS also became the first Korean pop group to hit the Billboard charts four times. This is not the first time BTS has gained international attention. Recently, BTS has also won the Shorty awards for its strong social media presence.   

At home, BTS has won many awards, including two daesang or grand prizes -- one of the biggest awards in the Korean music industry -- in 2016. The first was for its album "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever" at the Melon Music Awards in the “Album of the Year” category, and the second daesang in the "Artist of the Year" category was won at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards. By winning two daesang, BTS became the first artist not from one of Korea's three largest entertainment agencies -- SM, YG, and JYP -- to win a daesang award.

BTS has slowly been moving up the Billboard charts over the past few years. Here, the pop sensation performs on the show M-Countdown on Mnet, a music channel. (Korea.net Flickr)   

The group is known for composing and producing its own songs. Min Yoongi, whose stage name is Suga, has earned a name as a producer, as has Rap Monster, the leader of the group. The group is known for its playful and cheerful personalities. BTS is growing at a rapid pace on all social media platforms, such as Twitter and VLive. Its interaction with fans through media and, of course, its good music has created one of the strongest fan-bases out there, officially called the BTS Army.

However, the journey for BTS has not been that easy to reach this point. All the members have struggled to reach here. Almost all the members come from a rough background, struggling for their dreams, struggling to escape from society, from their parents. We can all learn from them that hard work really pays off and that there's no shortcut to success. 

BTS recently successfully wrapped up its tour to Chile, Brazil, the U.S., Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong. This sold-out tour started in Seoul. BTS will now head to Australia for a concert to be held on May 26, 2017 and then to six cities in Japan from May 30 to July 2 for the Wings Tour.

The growing popularity of Korean TV shows and pop music in East Asia and elsewhere -- abbreviated as the "Korean Wave," or Hallyu -- is already spreading across the world. The question arises, "How will this winning affect K-pop at home and around the world?"

K-pop is spreading around the globe. Winning this award will affect K-pop at a huge level. It will not only draw attention from all over the world, but it will also change the perception at home, and also increase competition. While many Korean pop bands shy away from controversial topics, such as loneliness, mental health and bullying, and instead focus on love or party songs accompanied by dance-heavy music videos, BTS has been singing about socially and politically relevant topics. As Rap Monster said in a recent Billboard interview, “These topics, like you said, they're important, right? They should be spoken about by someone. Someone should talk about it. If someone should talk about it, then it feels like we have to talk about it. It's very much an honor that we have the power and get attention from our fans when we use our voices more.” Suga has also pointed out that, when asked about these issues and the way in which they are uncommon in Korea and in K-pop, “Worldwide, our young generation shares the same issues socially and politically. I think that young people feel the same way about similar issues, and BTS wants to cheer them up with our songs and talk about our feelings and social issues. There are people who think negatively and there have been people who react negatively towards BTS' music. However, I think it's way more important to make music with those issues because I think it's important to encourage people to fight for those issues.”

BTS is not only succeeding in the domestic music industry as well as at the international level, but is also setting a standard for pop bands that will come after them. The group is setting an example to deal with different social and political issues and reaching the masses through its music. It might affect K-pop songs, changing them from just being love, party and beautiful songs, helping them to deal with different social and political issues with music. It will also help Korean pop get more recognition in parts of the world where no one has ever heard of K-pop. There was a time when listening to K-pop was considered absurd, but now the time has come. K-pop has become a trend.  

wisdom117@korea.kr