My Adventure at the MBC K-Pop and Korean Culture Festival Concert!

My Adventure at the MBC K-Pop and Korean Culture Festival Concert!
Written by Julia 

  

So after two days of moving out of university accommodation and settling back into London, it was time to get ready and make my way to the O2 Arena for MBC K-Pop and Korean Culture Festival Concert. I had arrived at the location around 3-4PM and met up with my sisters aka the JJLProject, who were there from 9AM, showing their appreciation for EXO with their amazing customized Union Jack flag! 

There were already about twenty people along with them who were eagerly waiting in the queue. Although, I was really excited to meet and talk to new people, I was also very nervous. I had the questions prepared but I just needed to take the next step and approach people. However, after a wonderful, quick interview with Korean Candy, I was motivated to start my own! 

Fans and their thoughts on Korean culture and K-Pop music!

During my ‘before the concert’ interviews, I met a range of fans that raised some interesting points and told me their wonderful stories about how they got into K-Pop. One of which was KpopKimi, a 24 year old fangirl from Kings Lynn, Norfolk who was introduced to Japanese music 12 years ago after her cousins came back and gave her CDs from their trip in Japan. Amongst those CDs, were popular and well known Korean boy band Shinhwa. Kimi stated that although she was excited for the entire concert, she was really looking forward to seeing the cultural performances for the reason that “it would be good to learn a few things from it, since the Korean culture is a lot different to the culture in the UK. For example, respect towards elders is a very strong aspect in Korean culture.” 

Some of the reasons that were given through these interviews on why these fans liked K-Pop so much were interesting too. Mimi aged 18 and from Moscow, Russia stated “I like how K-Pop is marketed, the musicians have very different advertising to Western artists”, her friend Asha, 18 from the UK said that “the songs feels much more diverse because there are lots of different genres that are used and mixed with pop music.” 

Since the Hallyu wave, the popularity of Korean music and the culture have been growing immensely and I wanted to know the concert attendees’ thoughts on this. Jasmine (14) and Herwina (16) from Essex and London are two friends that both had a different say on this subject. Herwina said that “it’s a good thing, although it is a new language, it never feels like there is a language barrier because we are drawn to the music and people, not just the words” whereas Jasmine answered that she had a mixed feeling about this: “because people make assumptions about it at first, they don’t like the idea but then as soon as they research for themselves, they quickly change their mind to liking it.” Being a music fan myself, I could see where they were both coming from as it took me a while to learn the language and adapt to the sounds of the music and the different aspects of the culture but it didn’t take me very long to become heavily interested in it.

It also seemed that EXO were the ones majority of the attendees were most looking forward to seeing too!

Concert fashion!

Being at an event like this, there were plenty of concert goers with amazing outfits! And for Coordinuna’s lovely readers, I wanted to show you guys some of them.

Name: Katy
Age: 16
From: UK
Talk to us through your outfit: The shorts are from Hong Kong, my cardigan is from Korea and I brought the shirt is from H&M. I am also wearing pink converses.
Did anyone or anything inspire your choice of outfit? I like the Korean fashion a lot and I am very inspired by ulzzangs and the looks that they have.
Do you have any fashion/style tips for anyone who is going to an event like this? If you are interested in Korean fashion like me and want to go for a outfit that resembles that, then you should look at websites like Yesstyle, images of ulzzang models and and fashion videos on Youtube!
Do you have a style icon in the K-Pop industry? 2PM’s Nichkhun because he suits any style, especially casual clothes.
Who do you think is the best dressed in K-Pop? 4Minute.
Out of the three K-Pop acts playing at the concert (4Minute, Norazo and EXO-K) who would you like to be a coordinuna for? I would like to dress 4Minute’s Hyuna because she follows the Korean fashion style too. I would like to dress her in either a floral dress, ballerina shoes with bows or a shirt with peter pan collars and shorts.

Name: (from left to right) Shaan and Marriel
Age: Both are 16
From: M – Philippines S - UK
Talk to us through your outfit:
M – The Superman t-shirt is borrowed from a friend, cap, jeans, space invader belt (not shown in picture) and plain white converses.
S – I’m wearing Modern Warfare t-shirt, star belt, baseball jacket, lots of bracelets, leopard print high tops and a trapper hat.
Did anyone or anything inspire your choice of outfit? Both – We wanted to stand out, show ourselves through the outfits and make a statement with our fashion.
Do you have any fashion/style tips for anyone who is going to an event like this? Both – Dress comfortably and casually.
Do you have a style icon in the K-Pop industry?
S – 2NE1’s Minzy
M – 2NE1
Who do you think is the best dressed in K-Pop?
S - Big Bang’s TOP
M - Sistar
Out of the three K-Pop acts playing at the concert (4Minute, Norazo and EXO-K) who would you like to be a coordinuna for?
Both – EXO-K! Because the band are so fresh, new and they have a good vibe coming from them. We think they carry clothes off well too and if we were their stylists, we would give them a more ‘street’ look or something cute like pyjamas haha!

 

Name: (from left to right) Deesha and Gordon
Age: Deesha is 18, Gordon is 25
From: Both are from London
Talk to us through your outfit:
G – I design my own t-shirts so the ones we are wearing today are made by me. I tend to try and do something different with each t-shirt that I make for K-Pop bands and artists.
Did anyone or anything inspire your choice of outfit?
G - K-Pop groups. I picture their concept designs and their logos and then incorporate that into my own style.
Do you have any fashion/style tips for anyone who is going to an event like this?
Both – Go completely crazy! Make your outfit more fun and vibrant and really colourful!
Do you have a style icon in the K-Pop industry?
D – 4Minute’s Hyuna and 2NE1.
G – Big Bang especially Taeyang and G-Dragon.
Who do you think is the best dressed in K-Pop?
D – 2NE1 because they’re very funky and unique. I also like the fashion that 4Minute and Wondergirls wear too!
G – Big Bang’s G-Dragon and B.A.P!
Out of the three K-Pop acts playing at the concert (4Minute, Norazo and EXO-K) who would you like to be a coordinuna for?
D – 4Minute’s Hyuna because she is a very unique person and she always looks good in whatever outfit she wears.
G – 4Minute because a lot of my friends who are girls tell me that I’m good at dressing women, therefore they tend to come to me for fashion advice.

Name: (from left to right) Sharna, Rebecca, Aimee, Rachel, Jess
Age:  (from left to right) 17, 15, 15, 15, 14
From: UK
Talk to us through your outfit:
S – My Beatles t-shirt is from H&M, shorts are from Malaysia, Doc Martens are from Convent Garden in London. I also have a SHINee fanmade bag (not shown in picture) and my jacket is from Tokyo Toys.
R – My skirt is from American Apparel, my top is from H&M and my bag is from a vintage shop.
A – My dress is from Camden, London. My jumper is actually my Dad’s and my bag is from Topshop.
Ra – My skirt is from Topshop, my bag is from Urban Outfitters and my shirt is vintage.
J – My shirt is fan-made and my jeans and shoes are from New Look.
Did anyone or anything inspire your choice of outfit?
Ra – I was inspired by fashion websites.
S & R – We weren’t really inspired by anyone or anything in particular so we decided just to wear what we felt comfortable in.
Do you have any fashion/style tips for anyone who is going to an event like this?
S – Dress comfortably yet stylish.
R – Buy lots of merch to go with your outfit.
A – For girls who are attending a concert where there are no seats and just standing, wear heels!
Ra – Wear your own style and make sure you are comfortable.
J – Wear clothes that fit the weather conditions at the time of the concert.
Do you have a style icon in the K-Pop industry?
S – 2NE1’S CL.
R – SHINee’s Key.
A – Big Bang’s G-Dragon.
Ra – f(x)’s Sulli and Krystal.
J – f(x)’s Amber.
Who do you think is the best dressed in K-Pop?
R – SNSD.
S – SHINee and 2NE1.
A – Big Bang.
J – Super Junior.
Ra – f(x) and SHINee.
Out of the three K-Pop acts playing at the concert (4Minute, Norazo and EXO-K) who would you like to be a coordinuna for?
S, R, A & Ra – EXO-K!
S – Because EXO-K all have diverse characters for each of their individual members.
J – I would pick Norazo because they have a cool sense of music and I would like to see what my fashion style would be like if it was mixed into their outfits.

Concert time!

Although, I live not so far away from the venue, I had never actually attended a concert at the IndigoO2 before and when I stepped inside, I was very surprised by how intimate it was. My seat was not right at the front yet I could see the stage very clearly. The concert shortly began after the downstairs seats were filled up, starting with the first few cultural acts. I could feel the excitement around the room already and the display that we were being shown was adding to it! 

The first K-Pop act of the night to come out was 4Minute and the ladies looked absolutely stunning. I was very happy to see them performing Volume Up as that is my favourite concept of theirs, because the maxi dresses that the girls wear are made so beautifully. After introducing themselves to the audience and announcing that Hyuna and Gayoon were going to be the MCs for the night, 4Minute went on to perform Mirror Mirror, HUH and Hot Issue. A few more cultural acts followed after, including a gorgeous six member assemble called Queen, who played traditional string and wind instruments. These ladies also interacted with the audience and got us to clap along with them in time to their music. One of the songs Queen played was a rendition of the Mission Impossible theme tune which was very funky and jazzy! 

One of my favourite acts from the Korean traditional music performances was Samul Nori, who was on after Queen. I was mesmerised by their performance and the range of traditional instruments they were playing including the janggu; a traditional Korean drum-like instrument which B.A.P’s Himchan is known for being able to play! After Samul Nori’s set, they were joined on stage by Queen and another traditional music act and together, they collaborated and performed the famous and well known song Arirang. 

The second K-Pop act to come out was Norazo! Known for their comedic songs, I felt that it was an awesome way for the duo to come on stage, dressed in football kits and the t-shirts were customized with ‘Norazo Korea’. They performed Happy Song, Curry and King of Sales! After their performance, one of the members Jobin brought a football onto the stage and kicked it into the crowd for one lucky fan to catch!

Another one of my favourite acts of the night was a French unisex dance group called Dae2Bak Movement. The group split into two; one was the male dancers and the other was the female dancers. The male group performed Shinhwa’s Venus, Dalmatian’s E.R, U-Kiss’ DoraDora, Kim Hyun Joong’s Break Down and B.A.P’s Warrior. The crowd including myself absolutely loved their dance cover of Warrior and the entire venue was cheering and screaming out the lyrics. I really hope that B.A.P come over to the UK one day and see this kind of reception, themselves! The female group danced fabulously along to TaeTiSeo’s Twinkle Twinkle, Wondergirls’ Be My Baby and T-ara’s Roly Poly. For Dae2Bak’s movement final dance performance, they all reunited on stage and carried on the party by covering Big Bang’s Fantastic Baby!

4Minute’s Hyuna and Gayoon came back onto the stage, dressed in lovely, traditional Korean costumes called Hanbok. Then they announced that MBC had prepared a special performance that was a mixture of traditional Korean music and traditional Korean fashion where the hanbok outfits were designed by none other than Park Sul Nyeo. During this beautiful set, 4Minute’s Sohyun, Jihyun and Jiyoon also took part and wore some of the hanbok outfits. At the end of the set, Park Sul Nyeo came out and bowed while the audience gave her a round of applause which she very much deserved, as her designs were amazing.

And last but not least, the third and final music act to come out was none other than EXO-K. This was a very important and exciting moment for me and my sisters as we were about to see the final result of their lightstick fanproject. Fortunately it was a success!

The rows behind my seat, downstairs were all green!

We had managed to complete a green ocean for EXO-K and the boys seemed very happy to see it. They performed brilliantly with History, Angel (a full performance of the song for the first time) and MAMA!

All of the acts of the night came back on stage and said their thanks and goodbyes to the audience. When my family and I were holding the Union Jack flag up during this time, EXO-K’s Chanyeol saw it and threw hearts at us!

After a long day, I’ve met some great people and I’ve had an amazing time with my family and friends. I would definitely like to see all of the music and fashion acts again and relive that concert, if I was given another chance to.

I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported the JJLProject and made the green ocean happen and another massive thank you to the people who participated in my interviews and were kind enough to let me take photos of them. I hope there are many more events like this to happen in the future, it’s definitely an experience that K-Pop and Korean culture fans should have!