By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Nistha Thapa Shrestha from Nepal
Photos = Nistha Thapa Shrestha

The Nepal preliminary of the Changwon K-pop World Festival was held on May 25 at Tribhuwan Army Officer's Club in Kathmandu, where 16 groups competed for the right to represent their country in the final this fall in Korea, specifically Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province.

The judges included Lim Yoon-sang, regional manager of Korean Air, and Park Sun-hee, a representative from Korea's Employment Permit System in Nepal from the Korean side and singer An Mina and Suresh Moktan from the Nepalese K-pop group Strukpop from the Nepalese side.

The venue had long lines of K-pop fans eagerly waiting to watch the performances and support their favorite groups. Korean Ambassador to Nepal Park Young-sik opened the event with a speech. Then the competition started, and as the participants danced to their favorite songs with maximum gusto, the audience responded with loud cheers.

The contestants performed to songs by popular K-pop groups such as BTS, Blackpink, NTC 127, Stray Kids, MonstaX, G-idle, Ateez and Seventeen. The performances by the participants were so refined and organized that the contestants could have easily been mistaken for K-pop groups. From the choreography to their makeup and outfits, a lot of effort undoubtedly went into their acts.


A major highlight was the performance by An Mina, who sang the popular song "Don't Worry" from the Korean drama "Reply 1998" and Jaurim's "Magic Carpet Ride," exciting the crowd as they sang along to both songs.

A K-pop concert is never complete without fan chants, which feature a well harmonized and perfect synchrony of chorus and cheering to pump up the ambience. The fans here created a white ocean of light by turning on the flashlights of their mobile phones as they swayed to the music.

When all was said and done, Dreakpop was declared the winner, followed by Credo-in-Crew (second) and BMK (third). Dreakpop and Credo-in-Crew will first undergo regional auditions for the right to compete in the grand final in Changwon, where they will have the opportunity to share the stage with major K-pop groups.


wisdom117@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.