All India K-Pop fans, to Delhi

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and

India, Korean Cultural Centre India & LG Electronics India are operating

All-India K-Pop Contest 2023 Semifinals and K-Pop Academy

10,000 participants in the 1st online qualifier,

2nd 11city preliminaries 200 team performances 4,000 spectators

Korean Cultural Centre India will host the All-India K-Pop Contest 2023(presented by LG) semi-finals on 22 nd July, this Saturday 5 pm followed by K-Pop Academy from 23rd to 27th July in New Delhi, India.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and India, the semi-finals of the All-India K-Pop Contest 2023 will be held at the O.P. Jindal Auditorium, and the participants will be the winners of each regional qualifier gathered from 11 cities across India which were held in May and June this year. About 200 teams selected in the first online qualifier out of about 10,000 applicants, participated in the regional qualifier, and 4,000 spectators from all over India gathered to watch the regional rounds of K-Pop contest. A total of 22 teams and 67 participants qualified for the semi-finals through the regional rounds.

The event of the semi-final competition will be attended by Chang Jae-bok, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India as the chief guest along with Mr. Gary Kim, Director of Home Entertainment, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd. and the 500-seat concert hall is expected to be filled with Indian fans who love K-pop and Hallyu, Korean Cultural Wave. At the opening of the contest, there will be a congratulatory performance by three members of Mbitious (Kim Pyeong-ya, Roh Tae- hyun, and Lee Ho-won), who gained popularity during the airing of 'Street Man Fighter’, the South Korean dance competition franchise TV program. It premiered on Mnet channel on August 23, 2022, and aired every Tuesday. It revolved around eight male dance crews fighting for the position of Korea's best male dance crew to represent street dance in the country (loosely marketed under the term "K-dance"). They will also participate as judges for the semi-finals this time. Korean Cultural Centre India directly selected MCs for this semi-final contest through an open audition, 66 people applied for the audition revealing local youth`s enthusiasm for K-pop and the K-pop contest.

The judging criteria for the semi-final competition will be based on five criteria in the category of vocals: pitch, tempo, expression, pronunciation, and stage control, and for the dance category, four evaluation factors will be accuracy, choreography, technique, and stage control.

After the semi-final competition, the K-Pop Academy will be held at the Korean Cultural Centre and IFBC Studio in Delhi for a total of 10 teams that won the semi-final from July 23 to 27. Through the five-day class, the participant's skills are expected to be improved further, and they would show a better stage in the long-awaited final of the All-India K-Pop Contest 2023 scheduled for this September.

As special lecturers at the K-Pop Academy hosted by Korean Cultural Centre India, singer 'Hyeon-soo', who appeared in 'Voice Korea 2', one of the famous Entertainment TV program in Korea, and 'Yamakasi', a former BTS dancer, will come to India to teach K-pop intensively for 5 days.

Hwang Il Yong, director of Korean Cultural Centre India said, “K-pop is at the center of the growing popularity of the Korean Wave in India. We would like to thank the fans for their endless love for K-Pop, Korea, and K-Pop Contest for the past 12 years as our Korean Cultural Centre has held the “All-India K-Pop Contest” every year. To express our gratitude, we have prepared a stage where fans who love K-pop and Korea can fully enjoy it together with LG Electronics India. I would also like to express my special thanks to LG, who has been with us for this big event, and I will look forward to seeing you at the final stage in September with even more special stages and events.” 

Mr. Gary Kim, Director of Home Entertainment, LG India said, "We are delighted to see overwhelming response for K-POP. At LG Electronics we believe in connecting with people through innovative marketing campaigns and K-POP sponsorship is certainly enhancing our connect with youth."

- Link to the social network posting of the Ambitious promotional video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPM-L1d0mZQ