Let’s K-pop in Cairo… Korean Wave Sweeps across Egypt

Let’s K-pop competition was held at the Opera House’s Small Theatre Tuesday evening in accordance with the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Cairo.

The show started from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and consisted of three segments; singing, dancing, in addition to special performances from the K-pop Academy’s students. The concert featured 10 bands in the vocal and dance categories.

The singing segment included songs like; "Playing with fire" by Blackpink, "U R" by Taeyeon, "Psycho" by Red Velvet, and "Okey Dokey" by Mino ft. Zicom while the dancing segment had exciting songs like "LALISA" by Lisa, "The Stealer" by the Boyz, "Hit" by SEVENTEEN, " Black Swan" by BTS, "Boombayah" by Blackpink.

Finally, a number of students from the K-pop academy rocked the stage with firing performances such as "Likey" by Twice, "Dynamite" by BTS, "Crazy" by 4 Minutes, and "Lift and Right" by SEVENTEEN.

The panel of judges included Korean Ambassador Hong Jin Wook, Cho Chan Ho, the chairman of the Korean Association; together with Atef Awad, acting dean of the Higher Institute of Ballet, and Former Director of the Academy of Arts Dr. Ahlam Younis.

In the vocal category, Christine Lewis won the first place and Zela Amr in the second place while Yasmin Ahmed won the first place in the dance category and Lilia Al Khatib in second place. A dance group composed of Mohamed Nabil and Mahmoud Mohammed won the popularity award.

Korean Ambassador Hong expressed gratitude for the Egyptian people's interest in Korean culture and their participation not only in enjoying k-pop songs but also through participation in this competition and demonstrating their talents and artistic abilities.

“I am afraid I will not attend the event next year as the choice is very difficult. All of you deserve the first position,” he joked with the audience during his speech. “Therefore, I let the experts decide.

Moreover, the ambassador asserted that he is lucky to be in Egypt where the fascinating scenery embraces ancient civilization and rich cultural heritage, pointing out that Egypt enjoys promising human resources in various fields.

In a remarkable analogy, he said that the cultural combination between the Korean and Egyptian people looks like a "Koshari" dish which is filled with different ingredients but at the same time compatible with each other.

In like manner, this is the basis of the cultural exchange between the two countries, although there are some differences, the similarities and harmony between them remain significant.

On the sidelines of the concert, a photo gallery of the most famous K-pop groups and stars was held, where attendees enjoyed taking photos and selfies.

On her part, Younis congratulated those who learned at the k-pop academy in Egypt and said the competition is extremely tough, affirming that it was difficult to choose a winner. She also called on the Korean ambassador to repeat this experience again in the future.

Moreover, Awad expressed his immense happiness to see such phenomenal performances, adding that he was honored to be on the jury.

“All of you were outstanding but we had to consider small details to decide the winners, other than that, all performances were spectacular,” he affirmed.

The chairman of the Korean Association also expressed his astonishment, noting that he has not seen anything like this during his 26-year-stay in Egypt.

Last week, Korean Culture Week kicked off with Korean Movie Gala Evening which run over four days. The Korean Art Exhibition held at the Ahmed Shawky Museum will continue until 30th October.