What is K-pop and why did it attract thousands of fans to Budokan 2023?

This Saturday, September 30 and Sunday, October 1, the festival took place at the Palacio de Cristal in Guayaquil. Budokan 2023which once again brought culture lovers together in its eleventh edition geekanime, comics, and also K-pop. But what is the latter?

pop culture and idol South Korea may seem like a recent rise, but it is nothing new. What initially started as a popular Korean music genre in the 1990s has grown into a global cultural phenomenon.

Seo Taiji and boys It is considered the first K-POP group to exist, followed years later by bands like TVXQ, big bang, A pink one, EXOAnd Girl generation. Nowadays groups love it blackpink, aespa, Lesserafim, NCT 127And Lost children They lead the positions of the most listened to artists of this type, in addition to the Billboard and Spotify charts.

This style of music is characterized by catchy choruses with some English phrases, choreographies that require a lot of skill, and highly produced music videos. But the interest of visitors to Budokan goes beyond K-pop this year. He Hallyu or ‘“Korean Wave” is an industry that generates billions of dollars per year. The international spread of South Korean culture in Ecuador appears to be here to stay.

That is why during this festival a large space was reserved exclusively for stands, ventures and activities related to South Korean pop and its offering in general. K-Playground was the name of this area where you could find photos in the style in addition to places idolto the position of the club fans band official Seventeen in the country, founded in 2012.

Sharon Avilés, founder of the association SEVENTEEN ECUADOR Fanbasehas been following them since before the group debuted since he knew who they were thanks to the teasers or trailers uploaded by the company they belonged to (Pledis Entertainment). She says she and the other members meet monthly, have birthday parties, Halloweenthey celebrate the birthdays of the 14 members of the band, and also every February 14 they get together to celebrate the band’s birthday fandom.

“The opening for Budokan We had it for about 10 years, when it was still done at La Salle School, we looked for a space like that until we found it and over time we have grown.” confesses the woman from Guayaquil who also states that they have offices in Quito, Riobamba, Machala, Ibarra, among others.

The Guayaquil native became familiar with this culture thanks to K-dramas (South Korean TV series with different themes) in 2009, when he watched all twenty episodes stairway to Heaven which premiered for the first time in Ecuador at the time via the Ecuavisa. “I think that’s how the flowering started here with that novel,” he added.

On the stage of the K-PlaygroundVarious activities such as Korean game dynamics, song presentations and dance numbers were also performed.

The group Wolf Dance Academyarrived through the back door of the Crystal Palace around 1.20pm, for his 5.50pm presentation, which was a to blend multiple singles of bands with a choreography in which male and female steps merged in the style idol.

“It’s a lot of fun, we love to dance and even more when we do it to songs from K-pop bands that we like too much,” say Brittany and Dani, both 16 years old, two of the eight members who make up the group dance corps, who have been practicing and performing their choreographies since October 2020.

The sale of Korean food could not be missed. Seoul Marketsold from snacks and sweets, even the traditional ones tteokbokkiwhich consists of small ones cakes rectangular rice in red pepper and chive paste. This is how hundreds of Ecuadorians gathered at this convention to spread the word about South Korea’s cultural popularity through K-POP, K-dramas and gastronomy.