1. The final round of the “K-Pop World Festival 2015” will be held in Changwon on October 30, co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Korea Broadcasting System (KBS), Changwon city, and the Korean Culture and Information Service (KCIS), and sponsored by Kyongnam Bank.

◦ The “K-Pop World Festival,” which marks its fifth anniversary in 2015, is a global Hallyu (Korean Wave) festival participated by foreigners who like K-pop. In this year’s event, a record-high 12,000 people in about 4,000 teams participated in the preliminary competitions in 84 regions in 67 countries across the world.

2. In the final round of the “K-Pop World Festival 2015,” the finalists from 14 countries*, who advanced to the final round after fierce regional preliminaries and thorough evaluations by experts, will stage K-pop performances. The event will also feature performances by leading K-pop stars, such as “Shinee” and “4Minute,” to celebrate the occasion and offer encouragement to the competing teams.

* The 14 countries are Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Finland, Nigeria, Morocco, Romania, Ecuador, Japan, the Philippines, the UK, Mexico, Uruguay and Germany.

3. During their visit to the Republic of Korea, the 14 teams which made it to the final round will not only compete in the final round but also be offered opportunities to learn more about traditional and contemporary Korean culture, including a meeting with K-pop stars, visits to the KBS as guest audience for its music television program “Music Bank” and Korean landmarks, and first-hand experiences of traditional Korean culture,.

4. The final round of the “K-Pop World Festival 2015” will be broadcast in the ROK and 100 other countries across the world on KBS 2TV and KBS World, respectively, in November. In addition, a documentary on the activities of the finalists in the ROK will be produced and aired across the world.

◦ For Hallyu fans around the world, the show will be available for viewing in real-time on YouTube, Naver Live Streaming Service and KBS mobile application channels.

5. It has once again been proven by the record-breaking 67 countries’ participation in the “K-Pop World Festival 2015” that K-pop is the flagship “Hallyu” content that is loved across the world. Going forward, the ROK Foreign Ministry will seek to enhance the ROK’s image as a charming Korea in the international community through a variety of public diplomacy projects.


* unofficial translation