By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
Absolute magic!
This is perhaps how best to describe the K-Pop World Festival Zimbabwe preliminaries held at the weekend where Extreme Dreamers won top prizes of ($500 worth Samsung phone).
The six-member Chitungwiza-based Dance group put up a fine performance impressing the judges who included Zimbabwe’s top choreographer — John Cole and Zim Hip Hop Awards founder Aldrian Harrison.
Tanaka Nicole came second and won ($300 worth Samsung phone) while third placed Jaime Marr won ($200 worth Samsung phone) for her Love Dive – Ive performance.
Ashley-Ann won Best Visual ($200 worth Samsung phone) while Team Mamero won Best Teamwork ($200 worth Samsung phone) for their performance of Butter – BTS.
South Korean Ambassador to Zimbabwe Bongkae Do said Zimbabwe has great talent and hopes this year a local team or artiste would get the ticket to the K Pop World Festival final event.
“We received 44 entries in total broken down to 22 in the dance category and 22 in the vocal category from youths of all ages throughout Zimbabwe.
Among those entries, 23 contestants have been invited to today’s event,” Ambassador Bongkae Do said.
“Last year, an American newspaper, the Washington Post asked why K-pop, the mainstream pop music of Korea, is so popular in the world. And they gave us their opinion; K-pop’s main ingredient – a catchy hook song – gets paired with a signature dance move, the entire package is optimized for social media and dedicated fans all have helped make K-pop an international phenomenon.”
He said he believed K-pop originated from the Korean traditional culture’s unique characteristics of ‘heung.’
The Korean word, ‘heung’ implies joy and rhythm and it may similarly mean ‘fun’ in the English word.
“But I think ‘heung’ has a much deeper meaning. When you enjoy music in a group and get into the rhythm, a strong bond is formed between people. A Korean cultural analyst said “the common thread that binds fans together has led to a pop celebrity culture in Korea that dominates the music scene.”
“This is why even in Zimbabwe, the youth are able to experience and enjoy K-pop as they copy the dance moves of the popular artists such as BTS, Black Pink to name but a few. It is my firm belief that the ‘heung’ element is embedded in the DNA of Africans, indeed the Zimbabwean people who enjoy singing and dancing in their daily life,” he said.
He said a Zimbabwean winner for a performance or vocal had a good chance of being invited to join the 2022 Changwon K-pop World Festival in September together with the winners of the other regional rounds.
The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), the Korean version of ZBC will announce the Semi-Final selection in August or early September.
He said he hoped this year a Zimbabwean team will for the first time get the ticket to the final event.
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