K-Pop Fans, Groups Gather for ‘2016 K-POP World Festival’ in Changwon

by YuGee / Oct 03, 2016 06:50 AM EDT

WONJU, SOUTH KOREA - SEPTEMBER 28: Fans cheer during the K-POP festival hosted by Visit Korea Committee on September 28, 2013 in Wonju, South Korea. K-POP Festival in Gangwon 2013 is a cover dance contest using Korean pop music, K-POP. Eleven teams have m

On September 30, K-Pop fans from various parts of the world gathered in Changwon, a South Korean city, for the finals of this year's worldwide K-pop singing and dance competition, Yonhap News reported.

There was a total of 15 teams who reached the final stage to take home the title in the 2016 K-POP World Festival in Changwon. These teams topped the preliminaries in the regional competitions in 65 countries worldwide.

Changwon is a city approximately 398 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

This yearly K-pop competition is considered the largest of all existing K-pop-related contests in the world. The event is hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, state-run television channel KBS, and the Korean Culture and Information Service to further introduce and promote the Hallyu wave globally.

For the sixth edition of the global competition, groups from different countries such as Nigeria, Nepal, Russia, Malaysia, Mexico, the United States, Vietnam, Sweden, Israel, Italy, India, Indonesia, Japan, China, and Hungary competed for the grand title.

The contest is categorized into two divisions, stage performance and vocal performance. Last year, a group from Nigeria took home the crown for their performance of the song "Dope" by K-pop boy band Bangtan Boys, more commonly known as BTS.

After the performance of each team, the judges gave them feedback and other helpful insights. The judges were comprised of K-pop composers, producers, and choreographers. They carefully evaluated each group's performance based on vocal skills, stage presence, choreography, and technical assets.

Popular K-pop groups such as BTS (Bangtan Boys), EXID, TWICE, Monsta X, and Astro graced the event with their presence and stage performances.

The competition was broadcasted live in about 100 countries on KBS and its broadcasting app "KBS myK", as well as through Naver Cast and YouTube.

Changwon Mayor Ahn Sang-Soo and some officials from SM Entertainment were also present at the event.

Ahn said, "SM Entertainment gave its word to pick outstanding performers and foster them as K-pop musicians. I hope the global popularity of K-pop will blast like flames, to have more world talent make efforts to become excellent K-pop artists."