K-Pop is here stay in the UK

“This will be the chance to light the fire and mark a new phase in K-Pop,” Hong Seung Sun, the CEO of Cube Entertainment, 2011.

Since the Uk’s first K-pop concert was held, that spark continued to burn for eleven years, igniting in Southwark park, 21 miles from the original academy. 10,000 Kpop fans screamed under London's second heat wave of summer, waving lightsticks, banners, and their hands in the joy that it had finally happened.

MIK (Made In Korea) Festival was billed as Europe’s largest ever outdoor Korean music festival. I was promised summer vibes, full 30-minute sets, and a festival lifestyle that brought Korean pop music culture to life: and they delivered.

Now that I have recovered from the adventure of discovering 16 artists over a weekend I wanted to share my first impressions, highlights, and hopes for the future of these talents.

DAY 1 K-POP

Given the integral role marketing plays in K-pop it was no surprise that the K-pop acts were deliberate about introducing song titles, updating the audience on their upcoming activities, and doing the staples we all love but don’t always know why the introduction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szXTzNEzu4Y

They were sent with a mission, to capture the hearts of new fans. The audience was quite separated with people coming for particular artists apart from Red Velvet, who everyone I spoke to said they came for, from all across Europe.

So in the order, they appeared

HOLLAND

He stepped on stage with the confidence of someone who has fought to own their identity. He paired a daring Black cut-out t-shirt, displaying his toned abs with black lace sleeves and his crimson hair, blaring in the summer sun. He started with a statement we would repeat throughout his set. A statement that seemed to give him strength and a calling card for his fans: I am not afraid anymore. It was more than a title of a song, it seemed like a mantra he had held through a life journey that seemed full of circumstances that had tried to replace his strength with fear.

He started introducing his story and stumbled over his words, before standing tall to proclaim “I’m fucking gay”. The whole audience erupted with laughter. Whilst there was sadness in the melodies of some of his songs and his tone, he sang with heart. He sang with defiance and transferred a sense of empowerment to the audience that we too should put aside our fear. It was very warming how genuinely close the bond between him and his fans seemed to be like they support each other deeply. After his set, he was eager to walk around the crowd meeting them for an unscheduled, free fanmeet.

For the opening act, without the accompaniment of dancers and a band, he was not visibly nervous though there were some notes where his nerves got the better of him.

Future: I’d like to hear more stability in his vocals. There were notes where his voice seemed to be stretched. So perhaps, with more accompaniment, not being the opening act etc they would sound in a more comfortable range like his other notes.

CHERRY BULLET

Infectious is the best word to describe them. Their smiles were infectious, their giggles were infectious, their dance moves were in infectious and even the way they cheered their name was infectious. They omitted the R’s in Cherry Bullet, with sweetness and innocence, it shot straight to my head.

Their songs were certainly catchy too, mixing sweet melodies with short statement’s in a taking tone to enhance the variety of the song and spotlight individual members.

Their dresses were made of chiffon or silk that puffed at the arms or skirt to enhance the movements where they jumped up and down in a diagonal fashion.

They had a lot of energy, bouncing across the stage with intricate choreographies. They sang with ease, even on high notes and whilst gliding into their positions. Their visual formation was very interesting, creating levels, waves, and moving behind each other to create the illusion of a bullet. I was left with a strong sense of their cheerful personalities, they had lots of personalities, taking every chance they had to wave at fans.

Future: I’d to see them try more mature concepts, perhaps rooted in an R’n’B beat. There were some beautiful voices that I think could carry those styles well.

GOLDEN CHILD

Just as golden symbolises something special and rare they uniquely presented themselves. When they first arrived on stage, I was confused, why are they called ‘child’, they are men but yet they were incredibly cute. They blended aspects of an idol, which we are used to seeing beautifully. Precise choreographies, vocal flairs, bright vibes, and varied emotional expresson. This was an important stage for them, clear through their precise execution of the performance and marketing plugs for their new album.

They brought a calm, bright presence with their bouncy choreographies. Their formations were very intricate, like a series of wrapping paper being unraveled with the singer walking forward to be unveiled every 30 seconds. They used tempo changes and vocal flairs to create variety in their vocal and visual performance. They were deliberate about interacting with fans on every axis of the stage, waving and having exchanges that lasted in my memory as long as their personalities did with me. They were charming and endearing, in a way only authentic personalities can be.

Future: Their vocals with lower levels of the backing track as the tones I heard were beautiful and deserve to be heard clearly.

CHUNG-HA

I was struck by how matter-of-fact and almost stern she was at first. It was giving

“I know what I'm doing, I'm good and I know it.” It wasn't arrogance after the first song she introduced herself. Maybe you don't know me but the screams took her by surprise and told her she is known.

For a soloist, she has as much stage presence as groups. She filled the stage effortlessly from the front to the back her sultry voice echoed. I appreciate that she was fully live, fully exposed, we could hear each intonation. Her range is wide and the depth of her tone is beautiful.

She lent into body rolls as if they were as natural for her as walking. There was a song where each note seemed to be accompanied by a roll. The choreography fits the melodies of the songs perfectly, enhancing her voice. She created many ‘wow’ movements through vocal runs, sharp glances, and even swinging her leg over her head.

As the performance went on she showed her personality subtly, sweetly and with lots of shy expressions that didn't match the control, she has over her voice. You can see duality switches in real-time. The second the music stopped she switched from strong expressions to cute smiles.

Future: The festival format seemed to restrict her personality and expression of her story. I would like to see more talking sections to get a better sense of her personality.

VIVIZ

“Sugar, spice, and all things that are nice”. Within this trio was the full spectrum of human sweetness. From the spicy long haired brunette with serious expressions only broken with sexiness, she had full control of and a smile that broke when looking at fans. The redhead blended spice through her subtle hip movements with the sweetness of her smile. The short-haired brunette had such sweetness she would give you a sugar overload. Her giggles, cute expressions, and moments where she struggled with English or displaced her position caused an audience-wide awwwwww. They took every opportunity even mid-song to wave and notice fans.

The moment their motif appeared on the screens and the music started, before they appeared, the screams were loud. When the audience realised that a member had died her hair red, the screams became frenzied.

I enjoyed their chemistry which seemed to be forged over hours of practice and creating friendship. Their choreographies were seamless, as they covered the stage in tune with each other. I can’t overstate their bond enough, it brought a sense of harmony to their performance. Their physical harmony was only surpassed by their vocal harmony. This was a group of 3 strong singers lending their creativity to create something special together. They displaced solid vocals, sustaining high pitches well and without strain. Their vocal chords were fluid, able to adapt to the changing tempo of their songs. They used their songs, particularly the Ballard to exchange emotion with fans genuinely. For a group with such a varied discography of music styles, they presented a signature vocal and visual character throughout.

Future: Songs where they can have fewer choreographed moves and so show their natural movements

PENTAGON

They came out with a bang, so strong they overheated the screens. The screens malfunctioned for a minute, only for them. Thankfully the weather had cooled for their set because they seemed determined to raise the temperature. Their suits were sharp, their expressions intense and their choreography powerful and detailed.

The crowd was completely behind them, the screams became almost feral. At that point, I had been standing for a while so it gave me energy and made me focus to understand why they had caused the audience to react so strongly.

Their production style suited the atmosphere so well, blending their powerful vocals and deep tones. They slipped into rock, pop, and electronic effortlessly. Their use of rock elements to enhance their gritty tones, particularly during ‘call my name’ was so interesting. Their different vocal styles were interchanged to create an engaging performance with string runs, not to show off but just because they could.

The performance felt real, specifically cultivated just for us. There were so many engaging moments, acapella, effortless interactions with the audience, and touching moments hyping each other up. If they didn’t tell me that Kino was a star, releasing his debut this month, his intense glances, teasing fans by regular licking his lips and singing while taking videos of them would. Each of them coloured their performance with personal elements that enhanced their stage.

Future: I would love to hear them perform an r'n'b song

SUHO

He appeared so unassuming, with so much humility I had to ask, isn’t this a member of EXO? Aren’t they a big deal? That humility continued as he was so happy to share his stage with a band. He highlighted each member warmly, praising them as ‘our band’. I felt that showed so much character and security in his ability. He was right to highlight them.

He was the only act with a live band and they added such depth to his set. His voice is so rounded and full, easily comfortable in falsetto and sustaining high pitches. That is such a risk, to be live with a live band, no backup singers. This took it beyond the structured Kpop performance to something tangible that you feel and almost touch. The set was meticulously planned with 80’s elements that ran throughout, feeding into each other and keeping the body whole. The performance was packed with his favorite 80’s songs, and artists and he even bridged the cultural gap with an acoustic rendition of Beatles.

As he appeared daffodils were raised as his natural lightstick. It is a fitting flower as it is a positive, life-affirming symbol, emphasising joy and happiness, a fitting tribute to an artist that presented as such.

Future: I would love to hear him sing up-tempo songs with some dancing

RED VELVET

All around the venue, there was an explosion of velvet, black, red, and pictures that people would tell me are Red velvet. Everyone I spoke to seemed to have come to see them. The anticipation was heightened when SUHO announced he was excited for their set as they are his favorite girl group. The screams were deafening to the point it was hard to even hear them, and the music was loud. What I do know for sure is that people went psycho for psycho. Not only did they shut the bad boy down they shut the place down

Of course, their vocals still pierced through, they had such range, sustained control, and flutters that floated through the air. There was one member who was going to belt a note and held back. She made the spoilt second choice that she’s only going to do it if she can give her best and oh my I was glad she showed that much professionalism.

They owned the choreography as only established, loved artists can.

They seemed so bonded, having inner jokes and smiles constantly that left me feeling warm and fuzzy.

Future: I have a feeling them lending their voices to acapella would be outstanding.