By Honorary Reporter Ing Yeen Oh from Malaysia

The joint music festival Round between Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held from June 21-22 at Zepp Kuala Lumpur, an indoor concert and event venue, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Marking its fifth year, the event seeks to foster bilateral exchange through the universal language of music.

The music festival Round featured top music acts from Korea and Southeast Asia. (Ing Yeen Oh)

The lineup of artists included Korean singer-songwriter Paul Kim, who was also the event’s host.

Certain ASEAN performers who appeared had direct ties to Korea, reflecting the depth of musical collaboration. 1st One was formed and trained by the Korean agency FirstOne Entertainment, and made history as the first Philippine boy band to perform at the Seoul Music Awards.

The Philippine boy band 1st One (top) and the Malaysian girl group DOLLA (bottom) perform at the music festival Round in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Ing Yeen Oh and NewsWire).

DOLLA was the only Malaysian girl group to have performed at the 2023 Seen Festival, a major K-pop event in Kuala Lumpur and featuring K-pop acts like NCT DREAM, KARD, Alice and WayV. DOLLA's second single "Impikan" was composed by Swedish producers known for working with top K-pop groups like Red Velvet, Girls' Generation and PENTAGON.

This year's Round also coincided with the 65th anniversary of official relations between Korea and Malaysia. 

Organized by KBS World, the festival was sponsored by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund and received support from the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ASEAN Secretariat.

Round marked its fifth anniversary this year. (Ing Yeen Oh)

msjeon22@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