Move Like Psy

The organisers have also invited a young and upcoming K-pop group from Korea called N-Sonic to judge the auditions. “Each year, there is an increase in the number of participants. Last year, we had 65 teams. So far, over 50 teams have already uploaded their audition videos. So we decided to take it to other parts of India to facilitate more participation,” says Kim Kum-pyoung, Director, Korean Cultural Centre.

A music genre from South Korea, K-pop is characterised by rich audio-visual elements and influences from electronic, rock, house, hip hop and R & B. During the early ’90s, its popularity spread to Japan, China and other Southeast Asian countries. Over the last two years, platforms such as K-pop India have seen many takers. Last year’s winners in the dance category were Crazy Freaks from Delhi. “We learnt of K-pop through YouTube videos. It is difficult dancing to K-pop since it involves swift movements. We would practise in our room for six hours every day,” says Gaurav Mahajan, 19, group leader of Crazy Freaks, who now performs at corporate events.

The Mumbai auditions will be held on July 5 for Mumbai, while the Delhi round will be held on August 2. Two winners from the final auditions, to be held in Delhi on August 30, will be flown to Seoul for the International K-pop Contest
in September.

For further information log on to: http://www.kpopindia.com