The U.K. daily Financial Times on Aug. 3 raved about the excellent performances by Korean pop acts by covering this year's MIK (Made in Korea) Festival, an event that is also the biggest outdoor K-pop event in Europe. (Screen capture from FT website)

By Kim Hayeon 

The leading U.K. daily Financial Times has hailed K-pop performances through its coverage of this year's MIK (Made in Korea) Festival, the biggest outdoor K-pop event in Europe.  

The newspaper on Aug. 3 described the heated atmosphere at the July 30-31 event at London's Southwark Park in the article headlined "Made in Korea music festival sets the tills ringing with K-pop extravaganza."   

"Made in Korea brought out heavyweights of a genre defined more by global earning power than national identity," the daily said.  

"For thousands who shelled out up to GBP 168 (KRW 267,346) to stand in a parched field with shambolic catering and a site-wide alcohol ban, the otherworldly talent onstage was worth every penny."

The piece introduced the impressive lineups and performances held on the festival's two days. The first day saw nine groups appear including Golden Child, Chungha and Red Velvet. The Times said the shows featured "cutesy and innocent images," adding, "(The performances) offered relentless positivity and unattainable perfection."

The second day saw performances by eight acts like Jessi, Epik High, Gray, Loco, Lee Hi and Jay Park, with the daily saying Westernized Korean music and hip-hop were displayed.  

"It seemed that Made in Korea really had brought 'K-music' to London: the thrill of fandom and fantasy," it added. 

The poster for this year's MIK (Made in Korea) Festival, which ran from July 30-31 at London's Southwark Park (MIK Festival's official Facebook page)