“K-POP Festival in Gangwon 2013” invites hallyu fans to South Korea in September to celebrate becoming a successful host of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

“Unlike the last year’s festival, we are promoting a ‘cover dance preliminary’ which will provide a chance to introduce the upcoming Olympics to be held in PyeongChang and also a chance to promote Gangwon Province’s tourism,” an official said. 

Hosted by Visit Korea Committee, a quasi-government organization, Gangwon Province and the city of Wonju, the festival welcomes anyone interested in K-pop to participate in the festival through a two-step online preliminary process.

All participants must submit their cover dance video -- an imitation of a specific singer’s performance -- which will be evaluated based on the number of Web hits and responses. The qualifiers will compete in local finals which are planned to be held in 12 different countries. 

The finalists will then be invited to South Korea to compete in the Grand Finale, at the same time as the “Wonju Dynamic Festival,” which starts Sept. 28. In addition, participants will get a chance to meet their all-time favorite K-pop stars who are to perform at the main event.

Provincial officials hope to introduce Korean culture and attractions as well as the venue for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics to hallyu fans worldwide.

Registration for the cover dance video will open for submission on May 6 via the festival’s official website (www.kpopfestival.org).

Jin Eun-soo, Intern reporter
(janna924@heraldcorp.com)