[News]Spain catches K-pop fever

[News]Spain catches K-pop fever.
Cr.- Korea.net

On October 29, the international port city of Barcelona welcomed a new kind of visitor to its Mediterranean shores. The Korean pop group JYJ kicked off their 2011 World Concert Tour at the historic Poble Espanyol village courtyard with over 3,000 fans from all across Europe in attendance.(Above picture: Thousands of fans in Barcelona chant for JYJ as they wait for the show to begin – Photo: Yonhap News)

The high-energy event was a first for the popular trio, who had never before performed in Europe, but also a first for the Korean music industry. While the SM Town Live concert held in June in Paris had introduced Europe to a number of K-pop acts, JYJ’s Spain concert is the first time that mainstream Korean artists have performed as a solo act in Europe.

“Te quiero, JYJ!” was the rallying cry of the excited fans, some of whom had traveled from as far as Romania and Finland to attend the event, and many who had camped out overnight to secure their spots. Though fewer in number than the 80,000 who flocked to JYJ’s Japan concert earlier this month, the diverse crowd waving Korean flags and singing along in Korean was a vibrant offline testament to the online K-pop fandom spreading among young Europeans. With novel acrobatic choreography by popular local dancer Rafa Mendez, the two-hour show was also a coming-together of Spanish and Korean talent.

In Spain, the foundations of K-pop’s growing influence can be traced both to an active Internet community and to the prior appeal of J-pop. According to Jang Jin-sang, director of the Korean Cultural Center in Spain, an estimated 2,000 fans follow K-pop within the country, and most are active on the fansites of various Korean artists. Whereas fans in other countries may outflank Spain in terms of numbers, Jang stressed that the tremendous loyalty and cohesiveness among Spanish fans easily rivals that of fans in other countries.

The beginnings of K-pop fandom in Spain, as in other countries, began with the popularity of Japanese pop music. As acts like BoA and TVXQ gained popularity in Japan, followers of Japanese music began to take interest in Korean music, with Youtube and other internet portals offering a wealth of video content and opportunities to participate in the growing trend.

K-pop, with its upbeat tempos and dance beats, offers real appeal for European youth. Jang remarked that whereas the spread of content like Korean dramas is still limited in Europe by requirements for dubbing, the influence of K-pop has the potential to spread much more quickly throughout Spain and the greater European region. JYJ’s next stop is the Tempodrom in Berlin, where the group will perform on November 6. Tickets for the event in the 3,000-seat venue sold out within the first day of release.