The first K-Pop festival in Europe started in Frankfurt am Main on Saturday. 44,000 fans of Korean pop music celebrated their stars in Deutsche Bank Park. On the first day of «KPOP.FLEX», six bands and one solo artist performed, to deafening cheers from almost exclusively young, female fans. More groups should follow on Sunday, the second day of the festival. A total of ten bands have been announced.
Fashion shows, dance competitions and merchandising
Even before the concerts started, there was a fan festival in front of the Waldstadion. There, visitors could take part in dance competitions, watch fashion shows, buy merchandise and eat Korean street food. After a preliminary program with dance performances and a fashion show with traditional clothing, the actual show began in the evening. Boy and girl bands took turns, interrupted by video messages from other groups that did not come live to Frankfurt but were just as cheered.
Monsta X, Mamamoo, Enhypen – if you don’t belong to the sworn community of K-Pop fans, you’ve probably never heard of these names. These groups have millions of fans all over the world, including Germany. “In addition to the music, the artists also inspire with their sophisticated choreographies,” explained festival organizer Peter Kötting. Frankfurt is “the prelude to other festivals that we want to offer in Europe. Our plan is to establish KPOP.FLEX as a hub for the European K-Pop community.”
Despite the success, there is also criticism, because behind the glittering facade is a tough business. Event agencies are already taking children under contract. Whoever fulfills the expectations best gets a place in one of the constantly emerging groups. But even then, being a K-Pop star is mostly hard work. As court disputes have brought to light, the artists hardly see any of the income, are bound by long-term contracts and have almost no influence on their lives. (dpa)