K-Pop fans assemble for an immersive experience at HYBE INDIA pop-up park in Mumbai

THe growing K-Pop fandom in republic of india found a localise in bombay to pull together and fete their love for the Korean pop bands. The HYBE INDIA pop-up park at Inorbit Mall, Malad on May 9 and 10 gave a platform for all fans to mingle and immerse themselves into their shared love for K-Pop bands.The experience featured a high-energy K-Pop DJ party, random dance sessions and live sets by artistes Shriya Rao and Kayan on Saturday. The fans danced along to the music by their loved artistes as they came on screen and they also got to enjoy Interactive zones like carpool karaoke, photobooths, make up stations and also express their love on a fan wall. The fans also got a chance to stop by the on-site audition booth for an opportunity to connect with casting directors working with HYBE INDIA, as the organisation is on the lookout for emerging music talents from the country. The HYBE INDIA Audition is part of a 15-city global tour open to female participants born between 2005 and 2011. The audition invites aspirants to showcase their talent across categories such as singing, dancing, and rap, with evaluations led by HYBE’s global experts. An 18-year-old K-Pop fan Stella from Thane insisted that getting this opportunity to experience this kind of a first-time event brought in a lot of emotions. “I am overwhelmed and excited at the same time. I hope we get to attend a lot more such events in the future. I have been a K-Pop fan for six years and while initially it wasn’t so popular, I am glad that it has become so big in India today,” she says.Resonating with the excitement, 24-year-old Rahul June says it is exciting to see how Indian youth is inclining towards the K-Pop culture more and more. “K-Pop popularity has crossed so many boundaries and it is such an admirable thing. While I like the music, this experience just made me interested in getting more into it,” he says. Immersed fully in the zone and dancing along with the music, 17-year-old Vismay couldn’t hold his excitement for the event. He says, “As a K-Pop fan in India, we didn’t have much representation before, but it feels so special being surrounded by people who share the same music taste as me. It’s really a dream come true to get this experience in my own country.”And it’s not just the teens that enjoyed the experience, 31-year-old Nikita Golatkar says, “People have waited pretty long for such an opportunity. Since 2016, the craze of K-Pop has seeped in and if such an event would have happened then, it wouldn’t have been so grand. But now, it’s flourishing and we didn’t expect so many people to come.”