Korean artists take to the stage for Expo 2020 Dubai

K-pop

Published: 17 Jan. 2022, 16:33 Updated: 17 Jan. 2022, 19:03

Korean artists take to the stage for Expo 2020 Dubai

Over 6,000 people attended Korea's National Day K-pop concert on Sunday in Dubai to see live performances from Korean acts such as Stray Kids, (G)I-DLE, Psy, Sunmi and Forestella. [NEWS1]

Korean artists such as boy band Stray Kids, girl group (G)I-DLE, singers Psy, Sunmi and classical crossover vocal quartet Forestella performed for the Expo 2020 Dubai on Sunday, at Jubilee Park, the biggest outdoor venue of the World Exposition.

The artists were able to feel the global popularity of hallyu, or Korean wave, for themselves, performing for more than 6,000 fans over the course of two hours and 30 minutes from 7:30 p.m.

The majority of the audience was young women, who cheered for the performers and filmed them on stage.

President Moon Jae-in and the First Lady Kim Jung-sook wave to the audiences at the K-pop concert. [NEWS1]

The Korea pavilion K-pop concert was hosted to celebrate the Republic of Korea’s National Day at Expo 2020 Dubai.

President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook also attended the concert to offer support to the artists.

President Moon and the First Lady waved to the audience as Psy introduced them.

Singer Psy performs for the K-pop concert held in Expo 2020 Dubai. [NEWS1]

At 10 a.m. Sunday before the concert began, a string of cultural events related to Korean traditions and hallyu were hosted with some 1,000 people gathering to participate at Al Wasl plaza.

Some of the highlights included traditional janggu (hourglass-shaped drum) music which was accompanied by elegant traditional fan dance by the children’s folk ballet group Little Angels. K Tigers, a taekwondo team, performed a synchronized taekwondo demonstration.

The peak of the ceremony was the performance by Stray Kids, the official ambassador of the Korean pavilion for Dubai Expo 2020 who are hugely popular in the United Arab Emirates.

The Expo Dubai is one of the world’s largest cultural exhibitions and features pavilions from a total of 191 countries worldwide. The six-month event was postponed for a year because of the Covid-19 outbreak but returned on Oct. 1, 2021. It will wrap up on March 31.

The Korean pavilion is the fifth largest venue at the exposition and features a combination of traditional culture and the latest technology. The exposition has seen some 500,000 visitors as of December.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]