Events

HallyuPopFest Brings An Incomparable Hallyu Experience to Sydney

August 16, 2022

The biggest K-Pop event, HallyuPopFest, hit the shores of Australia in 2022. K-Pop fans from all over the country swarmed to Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena to see 10 mammoth K-Pop acts perform over the huge 2 day event that took place on the 13th and 14th of August.

Both days were jam packed with busy schedules with everything from Hallyutown, Red Carpet events and the concert itself. The Red Carpet events were held in the Grand Ballroom prior to the night’s concerts. It gave a chance for the Artists to interact with MCs and their fans before dazzling us on stage.

Day 1 saw P1Harmony, EVERGLOW, Chung Ha, SF9, and Chen – Day 2’s line up consisted of Kep1er, ONEUS, Oh My Girl, ASTRO, and Kai. Both EXO members headlined HallyuPopFest Sydney, 2022, and all artists exceeded expectations.

P1Harmony kicked off HallyuPopFest Sydney 2022 with peak charisma. Their setlist started with “Black Hole”, contained their viral hit “Doom Du Doom” and finished with “Do It Like This”. Although Intak was injured and couldn’t join Keeho, Soul, Jongseob, Jiung and Theo in their choreography, it didn’t stop any of the members from performing with high energy and providing fan service the entire time.

EVERGLOW performed with only 4 members, E:U, Mia, Onda, and Sihyeon – but that didn’t stop them from hyping the crowd and giving their all to their powerful choreography. Their unique “EVERGLOW” was shouted at the top of their lungs by the audience at the start of songs like “DUN DUN” and “Pirate”. They also performed their debut track “Bon Bon Chocolat”, and latest hit “First”. EVERGLOW’s performance was one of the biggest highlights of the night.

Next up was Chung Ha, who used HallyuPopFest Sydney as her own personal concert. She spent her time conversing with the audience, showing love, taking selfies and above all connecting with her fans. Amongst some title tracks, including “Roller Coaster”, “Gotta Go” and “Sparkling”, Chung Ha performed a number of B-Sides that the audience really loved, especially “California Dream”. Chung Ha’s set was out of this world and really proved herself as one of the biggest Queens of K-Pop.

SF9 returned for their 3rd time to Sydney after KCON 2017 and OL-A Fest in 2019. Chan-Hee, Yoo Taeyang, Dawon, Jaeyoon, Zuho, and Hwiyoung brought their mature and charismatic performance to HallyuPopFest Sydney. SF9’s incredible performance featured hits like “Tear Drop”, “Good Guy”, and “Scream”, and their energy levels brought the fan filled arena to their feet.

EXO’s Chen took charge of the final stage of Day One’s concert. Chen’s not known as a Ballad King for no reason, his powerful vocals and exceptional story telling abilities reached every corner of Qudos Bank Arena. His soft yet mighty voice brought songs like “Beautiful goodbye”, “My Dear”, and “Everytime” to life and moved his fans. It was truly an incomparable experience that had to be seen and heard in real life.

Day 2 of the concert starting off with a bang. Monster rookie girl group KEP1ER kicked things off with their hit debut track ” WA DA DA”, followed by their mature B-Side “MVSK”. Yu-jin, Xiaoting, Dayton, Ye-seo, Hikaru, Huening Bahiyyih, Chaehyun, and Youngeun made the most of their first visit Downunder. KEP1ER’s stage presence was impressive and exciting, especially from such a new group in the K-Pop world. They concluded their set with their most recent comeback song “UP!”, effortlessly hyping up the crowd for the rest of the night’s performances.

The 6 membered boy group, ONEUS, took control of the stage next. Hwanwoong, Ravn, Leedo, Xion, Seoho, and Keonhee gave one of the most powerful performances fans had ever seen. ONEUS performed their songs in a dramatic and theatrical fashion, while managing to fit in 7 massive songs into their set – including “Lit”, “Black Mirror”, “LUNA”, and “No Diggity”.

Oh My Girl took the stage next with their endless fan service and charm. This stage was a bit different, Arin, Hyojung, Mimi, Seunghee, YooA, and Yubin showcased their talents with a rock rendition of their song Guerilla, as well as powerful performances of their title tracks “Dolphin” and “Dun Dun Dance”. It was refreshing to see a group take advantage of the whole stage and interact with their fans for parts that weren’t necessarily part of their usual choreography.

ASTRO took it in pairs to absolutely demolish the stage. First was Rocky and Jinjin, they performed “LOCKDOWN” and “Just Breathe”. Both songs were carried out with precision and power, not to mention the impressive amount of high quality choreography and theatricality. Moonbin and Sanha then took their turn. This duo was a stark contrast to the pair before. Performing more mature stages with songs including “Bad Idea” and “Who”. The audience was wild for both Rocky and Jinjin, and Moonbin and Sanha. The subunits then came together to perform “Candy Sugar Pop”, it was amazing to see ASTRO as their peak energies throughout their exciting choreography.

Last but not least was the Artist everyone was waiting for, EXO’s Kai. “Peaches” was the first song he performed, and of course, the whole arena fell in love. Kai seduced the crowd with B-Sides like “Vanilla” and “Hello Stranger”, and finished his set with everyone’s favourite “Mmmh”. It was incredible to see Kai in his element in person. His charisma electrified the stage and it’s clear to why he’s been labelled the Dancing King.

After each day’s final stage, all artists (respective of their concerts) joined one another on stage for one final goodbye. Lightsticks and excitement were raised simultaneously as fans screamed at the top of their lungs for one last time. Waves were shared between idols and their adoring fans, love hearts made with fingers, arms and bodies were created and Qudos Bank Arena was filled with cheers and love as HallyuPopFest Sydney 2022 came to a close.

The team at KMusic can’t wait to see another massive event like this soon in Australia!

A huge thank you to Imagikai and Qudos Bank Arena for making this opportunity possible for KMusic, K-Australia and Australian K-Pop Fans.

Image credit to Jay Wennington.