HallyuPopFest To Make Its First Foray Into London This July

When PSY’s Gangnam Style hit the music charts and screened on our TVs in 2012, it would seem that the song was another hit that would be forgotten after six months. But that wasn’t the case! The MV has become the first video to reach over a billion views on YouTube and left the door wide open for the Western audience to explore K-pop.

Not only has K-pop encouraged people to learn Korean – we all want to know what our favourite idols are singing about – but it has also increased the number of tourists entering the country.

However, 2012 wasn’t the birth of K-pop. On the contrary, when Seo Taiji & Boys performed on a talent show airing on MBC in 1992, no one predicted that they would become the “fathers” of K-pop. The boy band’s performance was a shock to viewers who were used to patriotic or harmless ballads promoted by the government-controlled music industry. Seo Taiji became a great inspiration for BTS who are now the biggest boy group in the world. BTS does not only make songs about love, but they also explore important topics such as high societal expectations and mental health issues – topics that many people can relate to.

For the past three decades, K-pop created many generations of great idols. Now, with the third and fourth generations, the world opened its venues to idols who are willing to travel all over the globe in order to entertain their fans.

London has seen the best of the best. From small venues such as O2 Academy Islington to Wembley Stadium (BTS has been the only idol group that has performed at the stadium and managed to sell out their concert twice), K-pop is rapidly growing and becoming a staple for many of us.

After all, since Covid restrictions have been dropped, various K-pop artists decided to visit the UK. And now, with summer approaching, the festival season is about to commence.

HallyuPopFest will be making its first foray into London this July, following huge success as one of South East Asia’s largest Korean music festivals. The best of Korean music and lifestyle will take place between 9^th-10^th July at OVO Arena Wembley. Over two days, the audience will experience K-pop like they have never seen before in London. There will be 14 acts performing in total, with seven acts performing on each day. Saturday will see talents such as Sam Kim [Sam is truly an amazing artist, we saw him live at 2019’s MU:CON in Seoul), ASTRO, EVERGLOW, Hwa-sa of Mamamoo, ONEUS, P1Harmony and Chen of EXO.

HallyuPopFest announced that Sunday’s guests will be as exciting as those performing on Saturday night. And they are right. With Paul Kim, Weeekly, Cravity, CIX, Kep1er, SF9 and Kai of Exo closing the show, it will be a night to remember.

As one of South East Asia’s first and largest K-pop festivals, #HallyuPopFest was the most tweeted hashtag in Singapore in 2018 and, along with the 2019 festival, saw a cumulative 40,000 attendees from all over Asia. Previously, HallyuPopFests has seen K-pop artists such as NCT 127, Monsta X, Super Junior, Wanna One and Taeyeon. This year’s UK edition of the ‘Korean Wave Movement’ promises to be another spectacular event, with even more impressive entertainment for K-pop fans.

Each day of the event, festival-goers get an all-in-one, day-to-night experience, starting with activities at HallyuTown. This includes showcase performances by up-and-coming K-pop and indie artists, the Red Carpet event, Artist Engagement opportunities, and finally, the spectacular Evening Concert featuring the headline acts.

During this year’s first HallyuPopFest event in London, fans will be treated to the best of all things Korean. HallyuTown will function as the main festival square, and will be open to the public, offering a variety of Korean-centric booths and activities featuring K-Food, K-Beauty, and K-Lifestyle.

HallyuPopFest is brought to the UK by global promoter TEG MJR, who specialise in UK events, and H.A.H. Entertainment, a global entertainment company whose HQ is in Singapore. HallyuTown, a marketplace component of HallyuPopFest, is supported and hosted by MBC, Korea’s National Broadcaster, and KOFCA (Korea Foundation for Cooperation of Large & Small Business, Rural Affairs).

“HallyuPopFest came about because we wanted to create a festival experience where K-pop fans from all over, from various fandoms, could come together and celebrate their fervent idol support, boundless energy and love for music and dance that are the cornerstones of K-pop”
Selena Ho, CEO of H.A.H. Entertainment.

“We are delighted to be part of HallyuPopFest. MBC will be hosting and organising HallyuTown, bringing over 30 booths from South Korea, promoting and selling everything from beauty to food to electronics. It will be incredible to be part of the UK’s first-ever K-pop festival”.
Mr Choi of MBC

“We are so excited to bring HallyuPopFest to London for the first time. It will be the UK’s first K-pop festival, as well as HallyuPopFest’s first global landing. It’s an amazing lineup, consisting of a diverse variety of Korean music genres, from pop to rap to adult contemporary to indie artists. There will be something for everyone”.
Richard Buck, CEO of TEG MJR

Every ticket gives festival-goers access to two concert events per day – the Afternoon Showcase and the Evening Concert where headliners will perform individual sets. The shows have been described as a concert within a concert. All the artists have promised to deliver their hits as well as their new songs. There will also be a Hi-Wave Meet and Greet which will allow fans and artists to meet within close proximity, although this event will be adhering strictly to Covid guidelines.

The first HallyuPopFest in the UK is going to be an exciting event. Not only will there be some of the biggest names in the Korean music industry, but it will also be a chance for UK fans to immerse themselves in Korean music and lifestyle, allowing them to fully embrace the Korean wave.

For tickets go to TICKETEK.

_{View of the Arts is a British online publication that chiefly deals with films, music, arts, and fashion, with an emphasis on the Asian entertainment industry. We are hoping our audience will grow with us as we begin to explore new platforms such as K-pop, and continue to dive into the talented and ever-growing scene of film, arts and fashion, worldwide.}