K-Pop World Festival

K-POP World Festival
2013 contestant group photo
Genre	K-pop
Location(s)	Changwon, South Korea
Years active	2011 - Present
Website
k-popworldfestival.kbs.co.kr

The K-POP World Festival is an annual event organized by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of numerous government agencies.^[1] After going through a few preliminary rounds, fans of K-pop are invited by the South Korean government to take part in the final round of the competition held every year in Changwon, South Korea.^[1]

Background

The event is organized by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support from various state agencies including:

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST)
The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS)
Overseas diplomatic missions and embassies of South Korea

According to the organizers, the purpose of the event is to bring Hallyu fans from all over the world to South Korea, thereby fusing the culture of Korea with the cultures of various countries from all over the world.

In an effort to make the event one where Korean culture comes together with cultures of participants, those who reinterpret or rearrange K-Pop by fusing it with their traditional music or instrument sounds, will be given extra points.
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade^[1]

Timeline

2011

The preliminary competition was hosted in 16 countries with more than 30,000 applicants and over 10,000 fans attending the December 7 finals in Changwon. Boy group JAM from Kazakhstan who performed Shinee's Ring Ding Dong won the performance grand prize while solo performer Karla Carreon from Philippine who performed Yumi's Star won the vocals grand prize. Guest performers included T-ara, Secret, Sistar, K-Will, Boy-Friend, MBLAQ, Infinite and CNBLUE.

Region	Country	Performer	Award	Ref
Central Asia	Kazakhstan	JAM	Grand Prize - Performance	^[2]
Southeast Asia	Philippines	Karla Carreon	Grand Prize - Vocals	^[2]

Fan contest winner 2012, Czech Republic's O.M.G.

2012

The competition was hosted in 33 countries before finals on October 28. Girl group O.M.G. from who performed Girl Generation medley won the performance grand prize. According to the Embassy of Czech Republic in Seoul, the Ambassador, Jaroslav Olša, personally congratulated them on winning the contest.^[3] The group received a CD containing a South Korean adaptation of a famous Czech musical.^[3] Duo from Indonesia, Nadya and Marwah who performed Sistar 19's Ma Boy won the vocals grand prize. Guest performers included TVXQ, Secret, MBLAQ, FT ISLAND, B.A.P and Apink.

Region	Country	Performer	Award	Ref
Eastern Europe	Czech Republic	O.M.G.	Grand Prize - Performance	^[3]
Southeast Asia	Indonesia	Nadya & Marwah	Grand Prize - Vocals	^[3]

Fan contest winner 2013, U.S.A.'s Arnelle "Elly" Nonon.

2013

The competition was hosted in 58 cities from 43 nations, with more than 60,000 applicants, and over 25,000 fans attending the October 20 finals in Changwon. Performance grand prizes were awarded to girl group Alladin from Uzbekistan who performed Miss A's Bad Girl Good Girl and vocals grand prize were awarded to solo performer Arnelle Nonon from the U.S. who performed Lee Hi's "1,2,3,4". Guest performers included Miss A, EXO, Rainbow, Infinite and B.A.P.^[4]^[5]

Region	Country	Performer	Award	Ref
Central Asia	Uzbekistan	Alladin	Grand Prize - Performance	^[4]
North America	United States	Arnelle "Elly" Nonon	Grand Prize - Vocals	^[4]

2014

The preliminary competition was hosted in 70 countries before the finals on October 19 in Changwon. Overall grand prize were awarded to girl group GGC Crew from Ireland who performed Girl Generation's I Got A Boy. The performance grand prize were awarded to a group from Finland High Definition who performed BTS's Boy In Luv while a team from Japan, Flashy who performed Ailee's I Will Show You won the vocals grand prize. Guest performers included EXO-K, B.A.P, Block B, IU, Sistar and Apink.