The K-pop girl group CSR, called Cheotsarang (First Love) in Korean, on June 17 poses for photos by making a heart-shape gesture at a concert in Brussels, Belgium, as part of the event "Hallyu Town in Belgium." The two-day festival attracted more than 47,000 visitors. (Screen capture from CSR's Instagram account)

By Yoon Sojung

A festival last weekend featuring K-pop artists and Hallyu (Korean Wave) in Brussels, Belgium, attracted nearly 50,000 visitors, the first event of its kind in two years.

Korean media including Yonhap News on June 20 quoted the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Belgium as saying the day before that over 47,000 people visited the two-day festival "Hallyu Town in Belgium" from June 17-18 at the public square Place de Brouckere in central Brussels.

To mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the European Union, the event was held in Brussels, where the EU is headquartered.

The number of attendees equaled 4.1% of the city's population and was 18% higher from that of the previous festival in 2021, the KCC said.

Held in the form of an interactive exhibition to display a diversity of Hallyu-related content, the event was organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Ministry of SMEs and Startups and hosted by the KCC and Korea Foundation for Cooperation of Large & Small Business, Rural Affairs.

A K-pop concert was the highlight of the festival, featuring four acts including singer-songwriter Paul Kim, boy band OnlyOneOf and girl group CSR aka Cheotsarang (First Love). In addition to fans from Belgium, those fans from neighboring countries like the Netherlands, Spain and Denmark flocked to the concert to attest to the worldwide popularity of K-pop.

Fans arrived at the venue early to secure good spots and sang along in Korean during the two-hour performance.

The festival also featured interactive programs for visitors like children's games featured in the Netflix smash series "Squid Game" such as Red Light, Green Light and tug-of-war, trying on Hanbok (traditional clothing) and sampling Hansik (traditional food).

Small and midsize companies in Korean cosmetics and food ran sales booths, with some sold out before the festival ended. On June 16, the day before the festival, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency opened export consultations at the venue, where 16 small and midsize companies secured an estimated USD 5 million in orders.

The Belgian broadcaster RTL Belgium aired the festival live on its prime-time evening news and the leading Belgium daily Le Soir provided major coverage with a full-page article.

"The festival once again confirmed strong interest in Hallyu here (in Europe)," KCC Director Kim Jaehwan said. "We will actively support the advances of our companies into this market through connection with cultural events."

Visitors to the festival "Hallyu Town in Belgium" on June 18 pose for photos while trying on Hanbok (traditional clothing). (Yonhap News)

Export consultations are held from June 17-18 for Korean companies at booths near the festival "Hallyu Town in Belgium" in Brussels. (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency)