By Honorary Reporter Joanna Pearl Santos from the Philippines

Photos= Joanna Pearl Santos

Compared to the big island of Cebu or the more famous Boracay, Bacolod is a small and more laid-back city on the northwestern side of Negros, the fourth-largest island in the Philippines. Don't let this fool you, though, as Bacolod is the most populous and highly urbanized city on the island.

Known as the "City of Smiles," Bacolod has an undeniable charm expressed not only through its vast and well-preserved heritage but also its warm, affectionate and resilient people. The sincerity and friendliness of Bacolodians are what makes visitors, including many Koreans, always wanting to return time and time again.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the city's largest and most popular event, the MassKara Festival, whose name is derived from the words "mass" or many and "kara" meaning faces.

A little known fact, however, is that this festival was Bacolod's way of bringing back the smiles on its residents' faces following the 1980 sinking of the MV Don Juan that killed 18 people and left 115 missing and the global sugar crisis that affected the island the same year.

The festival has since developed into a grand celebration of the Negrense zest for love, life, music and culture. The growth of both the city and this festival has led to more links with the outside world, especially with Bacolod's sister cities in Korea, Daegu and Andong, Gyeongsandbuk-do Province.

To promote the festival internationally and establish Bacolod as a premier venue for the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry, Bacolod Mayor Evelio "Bing" Leonardia and the city government staged the event's second K-pop concert on Oct. 26 at the Bacolod City Government Center Grounds. This concert was made in partnership with Korea's Federation of Artistic and Culture Organization (FACO) and support from Seogo-gu District of Daegu.

The concert opened with a breathtaking buchaechum (fan dance) performance by the Mugunghwa Dance Group.

Next came an intricate blend of the traditional and the new through Force Dance Company, whose unique artistry was displayed in a fusion performance of contemporary taekwondo-based choreography, modernized costumes and upbeat music. This year, Force won the grand prize at the Colorful Daegu Festival, which also awarded Bacolod's MassKara Festival Dancers the honor of Best Foreign Group.

The ladies of Mugunghwa returned to the stage to perform sogosanjochum (a solo folk dance to a small drum). This enthralling show combined traditional Korean musical accompaniment to a drum dance with the graceful, free-flowing and expressive movements of sanjochum (folk dance).

The audience gave a hearty round of applause in anticipation of the next act, the up-and-coming K-pop boy band Dustin, who is scheduled to debut in December. Comprised of Kim Yoon, Hwani, Seunghan, Bel, JJ, Siu and Daon, the group utilized powerful choreography and pleasant vocals in its performance but only five members showed up for the event.

The Bacolod mayor closed the concert by thanking the attending Korean delegates for the show and their support for Bacolod and the festival. Fireworks then lit up the night sky.

chaey0726@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.