Cheonan K-Culture Expo attracts over 1,000 applicants for K-pop audition

A poster for the K-Pop World Audition at the Cheonan K-Culture Expo / Courtesy of Cheonan Foundation for Arts and Culture

More than 1,000 people from 22 countries — including Turkey, Russia and South Africa — applied for the K-Pop World Audition, a K-pop song and dance competition to be held at the Cheonan K-Culture Expo running from Wednesday to Sunday.

The host of the upcoming event, the Cheonan Foundation for Arts and Culture, said Friday that 406 teams of 1,026 people from around the world submitted online application forms and performance videos to join the contest.

Among them, 790 were foreign, and 236 were Korean.

"Their love for K-pop stood out," the jury said. "Numerous talents with stage manners and performing skills have participated in our audition, making it challenging to decide who will advance to the next round. But we still singled out 24 teams based on the quality of their performances and their potential."

The jury includes Lee Sol-lim, the former director of SM Academy — an academic institution of K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment — producer Kim Seung-nam from YG Entertainment and Song Hee-soo from the dance crew TURNS, the winner of the first season of the popular dance competition show "Street Dance Girls Fighter" (2021-22).

The teams composed of Koreans are going to vie against each other on Thursday, and the foreign teams will compete the next day.

The finals on Saturday will feature 12 teams.

The winner, who will be chosen based on a jury vote and audience poll, will receive 10 million won ($7,400) as a prize.

An Dong-soon, CEO of the Cheonan Foundation for Arts and Culture, expressed admiration for K-pop's global reach.

"I was very surprised by K-pop's globally heightened status and people's keen interest in it," An said. "Please visit our expo to witness the sincerity of the contestants and take part in our on-site voting to handpick the winner."

The K-Pop World Audition is the main part of the Cheonan K-Culture Expo, an event seeking to present the essence of Korean cultural content. It had its first run in 2023, drawing some 130,000 visitors.

This year's expo will take place from Wednesday to Sunday at the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, featuring diverse events such as Korean music performances, hanbok (traditional Korean garment) fashion shows and exhibitions chronicling the history of K-pop.