Pinoys go krung krung for K-pop

The love affair between Filipinos and Korean culture started sometime in 2004, when a certain “krung-krung” (or crazy funny) girl named Sandara Park joined a TV talent search. She subsequently captured the local audience with her kooky antics, her contagious smile, and her slight resemblance to then-it-girl San Chai of “Meteor Garden.”   Since then, Korean culture has taken the Philippines by storm, the craze sustained by copious amounts of Koreanovelas, “My Sassy Girl,” imported BB Cream, kimchi, and, of course K-pop, South Korea’s homegrown blend of popular music which combines elements of dance music, pop, r&b, and rock.

The catchy genre has certainly done a lot to fan the Filipino flames of desire for all things Korean. It has a following so massive and so wild, it makes Trekkies and Twihards look calm and collected. Case in point: the 3rd annual K-pop convention last Dec. 30 at the Megatent in Ortigas, where the fans’ piercing screams of adoration managed to fill the big tent almost the entire time.    It's amazing how well Pinoys have taken to songs written primarily in a language we can't understand, but not even the language barrier was able to dim the enthusiasm of droves of fans who braved the heat and lined up at the Megatent entrance as early as 10 am.    By midday, it was sheer madness as participants went hopping around, with more than 60 fan club booths inside where they could meet fellow fans and have their photos taken with standees of their favorite K-pop stars. Hot and crammed as it was, the overflowing tent only meant something good — the P150 entrance fee of the participants was directed to the event's beneficiaries: Gawad Kalinga and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society. Of course, the main attraction was the program, which started in the afternoon and lasted until dinnertime. There might not have been any big K-pop stars at the event, but the various local cover groups more than made up for the idols’ absence as they shook, shimmied, and serenaded the crowd with certified K-pop hits.There were also the competitions—the Philippine K-pop Dance Battle, K-pop Kosplay, K-pop Idol look-a-like contest, and K-pop singing star—that stood testament not only to the incredible amount of undiscovered talent we have, but also to the insane devotion the performers have to the music that inspires them. The winners of the competition were determined by judges and announced at the end of the program, along with the rest of the winners of the Philippine K-pop Awards, which were determined by fans through a poll on a mobile browser. The trophies won by the following K-pop artists were received by their respective fan clubs:

• Rookie of the Year: Boyfriend
• Hottest Male Artist: JYJ’s Kim Jaejoong
• Hottest Female Artist: Girls' Generation’s Kwon Yuri
• Best Male Artist/Group: Super Junior
• Best Female Artist/Group: 2NE1
• Song of the Year: TVXQ’s “Keep Your Head Down”
• Album of the Year: Super Junior’s “Mr. Simple”
• Globe's Kpop Fan club of the Year: Cassiopeia Philippines
• K-pop Dance Battle Champion: Se-Eon
• K-pop Singing Star Champion: Francis Adrian Florendo
• K-pop Kosplay Solo Champion: Marc Pakingan as Ki Kwang
• K-pop Kosplay Group Champion: Geoff Mabasa’s Group as Double A
• K-pop Idol Look-a-like Champions: Dondie Martin as Taeyang of Big Bang, Tasha as Nicole Jung of Kara, Geoff Mabasa as Jang Geun Seok, and Katherine Yagi as Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation 

After the awards were handed out, the crowd that gathered around the giant stage melted away slowly but surely, perhaps finally realizing how tired they were after a whole day of standing, walking, jumping, posing for photos, and screaming. But the stars in their eyes and the smiles on their lips remained as they walked out of the venue.   Clearly the 3rd K-pop Convention was an astounding success, and with the crowd growing bigger and bigger each year, the organizers should start preparing for the next one as soon as they can. – YA, GMA News