K-Pop World Festival

[Anchor Lead]

The K-pop World Festival 2016 kicks off on Friday night in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. Some 13,000 contestants from 65 countries competed to advance into the main competition of the festival. Let’s check it out.

[Pkg]

In the final round of the K-pop World Festival, 68 contestants from 15 countries will compete for the title of the best of the best. They all come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, but they have one thing in common -- they are enthusiastic fans of K-pop. The final contestants visited Korea on September 20 for a 13-day stay, during which they watched KBS Music Bank and experienced the Buddhist lifestyle through temple stays. Fifteen teams have been selected to compete in the final round after passing a strict screening process that was evaluated by K-pop experts. The competition ratio was 1:300. This year the contenders came from 65 countries, almost doubling from the previous years. They include not only Japan and Southeast Asian nations, but also Europe and South America. This is further proof that the popularity of K-pop and Korean culture is rising fast. This year's K-pop World Festival will feature a number of K-pop stars such as BTS and Twice. The final round of the festival will air in 100 countries on KBS TV2 and KBS World at 11 p.m. on October 11.