The Korean Music Festival: Bringing K-Pop Fans Closer to Their Favorite Artists

April 28, 2012 marked the 10th Korean Music Festival celebrated at the world-famous venue of the Hollywood Bowl. Since 2003, the Korea Times newspaper has brought artists directly from South Korea to Southern California for their annual concert. The festival was first held as a commemoration for the centennial anniversary of Korean immigrant to the United States. Tickets for the inaugural concert sold out 18,000 seats within two weeks. Now the festival receives support from corporate sponsors (both American and Korean) and members of the community alike that allows for the event’s success every year with continuously record-breaking ticket sales.
 

The festival organizers make an effort to include Korean artists in their line-up that appeal to multiple generations. Over the years the concert has hosted current pop performers like BoA, Rain, TVXQ, and Girls’ Generation along with stars of the past like Arirang, Love & Peace, Nam Jin, and Kim Kyung-ho. The organizers also employ bilingual artists as MCs for the show to help bridge the language gap for non-Korean concertgoers. To show ties to the local community, the Crenshaw Choir and UCLA’s classical Korean music group are invited to perform traditional Korean songs at the beginning of every concert.

The Korean Music Festival’s website boasts that their concert “puts its patrons at the center of the Korean Wave”. For K-pop fans that are unable to travel to Korea to watch their favorite artists perform, this event gives them an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see their musical idols in person. People of both Korean and non-Korean heritage come from all over the United States and even across the globe to be a part of the Korea Times’ annual festival.

Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUiyHRAXBzY
susie1431’s fancam of Brown Eyed Girls performing “Abracadbra” at the 2012 KMF

Sources:
http://www.koreanmusicfestival.com/index.php
http://www.facebook.com/koreatimesmusicfestival
http://seoulbeats.com/2012/05/the-los-angeles-korean-music-festival-old-versus-new/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ6lysHU0d8