The South Korean Embassy in Dhaka Saturday announced the winners of the K-pop contests in Dhaka. The event was organised by the embassy in collaboration with the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).Many talented Bangladeshi people, especially youngsters, interested in Korean culture and K-pop participated in the event. Eighty-six videos were submitted on K-pop performances this year. Twelve teams – Omada, Noor E Saba, Mahfuz Ahmed Mahee, Ruquiyah Binte Kalam, Mavericks, Zafrin Siddiqui, After Game, Knight Sisters, A-Maze, Savage Girls, RaRaLava, and Rumaisa Islam – were selected for the stage performance today at the IUB auditorium. Mavericks won the first prize. Savage Girls and RaRaLava became second runners-up. Rumaisa Islam and Knight Sisters earned third place. These five best teams were awarded at the performance stage.The K-pop World Festival 2022 will be held in September in South Korea's Changwon after taking stock of the Covid-19 situation. The national winners of Bangladesh will be recommended to the K-Pop World Festival 2022 organiser for its final selection for an invitation to the festival. If selected by the organiser, they will be invited to the global competition in Changwon. South Korean Ambassador Lee Jang-keun said this is the first physical K-Pop event arranged by the Embassy after the K-Pop contests were held online for two consecutive years. Ambassador Lee highly appreciated all those Bangladesh young girls and boys who showed great interest in K-pop by participating in the contest. Professor Tanweer Hasan, vice-chancellor of IUB, was present as the special guest, and Syed Ashik Rahman, CEO of RTV, as a judge. The South Korean Embassy in Dhaka regularly holds various cultural events, such as Korean film festivals, taekwondo competitions, and K-pop contests, to deepen the mutual understanding between South Koreans and Bangladeshis through culture and strengthen bilateral ties. As Bangladesh and South Korea will celebrate 50 years of their diplomatic ties next year, the embassy will host more dynamic cultural events to commemorate deepened bilateral friendship. The mission encouraged more talented Bangladeshi youths to participate in the next year's K-pop contests.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun on Wednesday said the future of Bangladesh is very bright for its young people who are smart, talented and eager to make a better life and better future. He made remarks while addressing a function held at the Embassy of South Korea.  Six winning teams of the "2021 K-pop World Festival Bangladesh" audition were awarded at the function. The six teams are LXS, EXD, Lost Dynasty, Dxverse, Heaven's LAW, and Blue Poppers. LXS, the first prize winner, received $1,000 and EXD, the second prize winner received $500. Read: S Korean envoy shares historical documents with FM Momen The ambassador wished the young winners’ dreams come true.  He told the young winners that if there is any message that Korea can give to the world, it is a message of hope and dream. "K-pop stars such as BTS and Black Pink are giving a message of hope to the young generation around the world," he said. The 2021 K-pop Bangladesh audition was held virtually between June and July with a  co-sponsorship of Samsung Electronics in Bangladesh. The works of the six teams were sent to the organizer of the 2021 K-pop World Festival in Korea who showed interest in the work of the two teams, EXD and Heaven’s Law. Read: S Korean envoy discusses investment opportunities in Bangladesh The organizer will select 10 teams for the final competition among those selected at the country level competition around the world.   The six talented teams of Bangladesh youths were selected among 142 teams who participated in the contest by submitting their K-pop performance video clips. The Korean Embassy has been hosting  the K-pop festival annually since 2015, but due to the corona pandemic, the festival was held virtually in 2020 and 2021. Shefa Tabassum who had won the best prize for solo K-pop dancing performance   at the 2018 Changwon K-Pop World Festival in Korea participated in today’s ceremony as an Master of Ceremony(MC).   The video works of the six winners can be found at the Embassy's YouTube Channel.

The Embassy of South Korea in Dhaka has announced six winners of the 2021 K-pop World Festival Bangladesh audition. The winners will be awarded by the Embassy, and their performance videos will be submitted to the organizer of the 2021 Changwon K-pop World Festival, which will be held in October in Korea depending the COVID-19 situation. The award-giving ceremony will be organized at the Embassy in the coming weeks, depending the COVID-19 situation. The competition was held virtually in June and July with the support of the Korean government and Samsung Electronics Bangladesh. Read: Rabindra-Nazrul Jayanti celebrated in Korea The six talented teams of Bangladesh youths were selected among the 142 teams who participated in the contest by submitting their K-pop performance video clips. The evaluation and screening were done by selection panel composed of five professionals in various sectors including the media and scholars in two stages. Originally, the organizer was planning to have the second-phase evaluation on stage on July 30 but it was not possible due to the COVID-19 situation in the country. Read: Delwar Hossain next Bangladesh Ambassador to South Korea Those who are chosen by the Korean organizer will be invited to the K-pop World Festival and have a chance to compete with other qualified performers around the world. Shefa Tabassum, who was awarded the first prize at the Embassy-organized K-Pop contest in 2018, was invited to the 2018 Changwon K-Pop World Festival in Korea and won the best prize for solo K-pop dancing performance. The video works of the six winners will be shared on the Embassy's YouTube Channel.

It's no secret that K-pop has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry with artists bred here becoming global household names supported by fans from all over the globe.

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea on Wednesday announced the winners of the first digital video contests on the K-pop and Korean culture held from August 17 to September 17.

Concerts and shows are being canceled, not just in China but across much of Asia, as a virus outbreak that has killed more than 300 people and reached more then 20 countries spooks the entertainment industry.