AB6IX
Gangnam District, Seoul, held concerts from July 15 to 17 with twelve popular groups to promote the district to Koreans, but especially foreigners.
AB6IX, CHERRY BULLET, EVERGLOW, YOUNITE, ONLYONEOF, P1 HARMONY, SECRET NUMBER, LABOUM, WEKI MEKI, KARD, MIRAE, and HIGHLIGHT were selected by Gangnam District to represent them at G-KPOP CONCERT, a festival that held for free at the Coex Artium from July 15-17. It is also an opportunity for many fans to come and meet their favorite group for three songs, no more, and a few words exchanged with the MCs.
DAY 1
On the 15th, the very young boysband YOUNITE opens the day, composed of members EUNHO, STEVE, HYUNSEUNG, EUNSANG, HYUNGSEOK, WOONO, DEY, KYUNGMUN, and SION from the BRAND NEW MUSIC agency.
The group takes the stage directly to perform “1 of 9“, a song marking their April 20, 2022 debut. They are the youngest group to be present at this festival, which will present big names such as HIGHLIGHT, which will close the festival on the 17th. After performing “1 of 9“, the young boys greet the audience and say they are happy to stand on stage on July 15 to promote their debut. In addition, they talk about their upcoming comeback, with the title “ Aviator ”.
But we have to continue, so YOUNITE takes their places to sing “I got the feeling“, before briefly speaking again, in order toto question the meaning of the G, in the title of the festival, G-KPOP CONCERT. So, we learn that the G stands for four concepts: global, grand, giving, and graceful. The speaking time for each group is only five minutes, so quickly, “Everybody” is performed, then YOUNITE leaves the stage to make way for the girlsband, CHERRY BULLET. Consisting of members HAEYOON, YUJU, BORA, JIWON, REMI, CHAERIN, and MAY, the group debuted on January 21, 2019 under FNC ENTERTAINMENT.
The young women begin by interpreting a very soft title, “ Aloha œ ”, and they introduce themselves to the cheering crowd. They then continue with “ Love so sweet ”, and it’s time for them to promote Gangnam. According to the singers, it is a pleasant place to shop, recalling that it is the largest underground shopping center in the world. In addition, it is close to the Apgujeong Rodeo area, popular for its many Kpop agencies, as well as a street decorated with bears of popular bands. It is also a significant district for its many cafes and activities related to art in general.
CHERRY BULLET ends its appearance with the song “ Love in space ”, which was a great success. It was then the turn of the controversial group ONLYONEOF to make its first performance, with “ Skinz ”. This 8D ENTERTAINMENT boysband, debuted on May 28, 2019, and currently consists of members KB, RIE, YOOJUNG, JUNJI, MILL, and NINE. This group recently caused a sensation with its song “Libido“, with its choreography with sexualized movements at times. It is with this title that the group continues its mini-show after having presented itself to the public.
Next, they talk about the positives of Gangnam District. They say they enjoy walking in Dosan Park, which is best known for hosting the memorial hall of AN CHANG-HO, a former independence activist who went by the pen name DOSAN. ONLYONEOF also likes to get lost in the mall in search of birthday gifts, and before singing its latest song, member JUNJI dances a few steps to rapper JESSI‘s title “ Nunu nana ”. The group thus leaves the stage, after the performance of “Sage“, smiles illuminating the face of each of the members. The latter then gives way to the group closing this first day, AB6IX.
AB6IX is a BRAND NEW MUSIC group, consisting of four members: WOONG, DONGHYUN, WOOJIN and DAEHWI, and is definitely the highlight of the show. The crowd rushes to get closer to the stage, and fans pull out their lightsticks bearing AB6IX color. And it is with power that the group begins its performance, with “ Savior“, flames coming out of the stage. The wait was all the longer because until now, DAEHWI was the MC of this concert day.
The group continues with “ The answer ”, then takes a few minutes to discuss a commercial the members shot to promote the district. DAEHWI says it was particularly difficult to shoot a scene where they had to cross a road, without it being blocked for filming. A lot of takes were therefore filmed because the cars kept interrupting the clip, which was quite difficult for the boys, as it was relatively cold during the filming. Finally, they conclude this first day of the concert with the song “Cherry“, before making a special announcement: of the seven hundred people present, four will leave with a signed album.
Indeed, at the entrance to the festival, seven hundred people received a numbered bracelet, and this is how four people were chosen at random by the group to receive a random album from one of the artists present today. What a good way to leave beautiful memories to a handful of people. Once the happily selected holders of their album, it is time to turn off the spotlights, and leave the Coex.
DAY 2
Day two opens with INTERPARK MUSIC PLUS girlsband LABOUM, consisting of members SOYEON, ZN, HAEIN, and SOLBIN.
Although the group is not much talked about internationally, it is actually very popular in Korea. The fans are therefore delighted when the song “Kiss kiss” resounds in Gangnam. The singers introduce themselves afterward, as and jump when at the same time, we can hear firecrackers bursting in the distance. They “thank” this warm welcome “being addressed to them”.
As with YOUNITE the day before, the group is asked what the name of the festival means, something that will be repeated the next day as well with the group that will open the last day of the concert, MIRAE. LABOUM expresses its joy to be present on this day, after performing “ Aallow, aallow ”, having only too rarely the opportunity to be in contact with its fans.
As places that the singers prefer in Gangnam? Apgujeong, because there are delicious restaurants and it is pleasant to shop. The group ends its appearance with the popular title “ Journey to Atlantis “, and it is P1 HARMONY‘s turn to take the stage with the song “ Siren ”. This FNC ENTERTAINMENT group is composed of KEEHO, THEO, JIUNG, INTAK, SOUL and JONGSEOB and recently made a comeback on Wednesday 20.
The boys introduce themselves one by one, before continuing with “ Scared ”, flames springing up on stage. Then they talk about the district, and one of the members, JONGSEOB, reveals that he studied at a private institute a few blocks away from the festival, and is thus a great connoisseur of Gangnam. But it’s already time to say goodbye to the public, once “Do it like this” has been performed.
The girls are back with SECRET NUMBER, a group consisting of JINNY, SOODAM, DITA, LÉA, ZUU, and MUNJI under VINE ENTERTAINMENT. They start with “ Doomchita ”, setting the stage on fire. Many men are present in the crowd on this day, and seem delighted to see the singers on stage. They also perform “Got that boom” after greeting the audience, and then they must select the future winners of the signsigned albums.
While the winners had been selected at the very end of the concert the day before, today they are selected by SECRET NUMBER but will be revealed after the last group. The singers, however, give clues to the numbers chosen, between one and five hundred and fifty, as being their birthday or key dates for the group. The young women once again thank their fans after singing “ Who dis ” and give way to WEKI MEKI to close the day.
Consisting of members SUYEON, ELLY, YOOJUNG, DOYEON, SEI, LUA, RINA, and LUCY, the group debuted under FANTAGIO ENTERTAINMENT. The girls begin their mini show with the song “Siesta“, then introduce themselves as night falls on Gangnam. The singers continue with the title “ Tiki-taka ”, perfecto for the summer season. They then invite the crowd to visit Dosan Park to relax, and end the concert with “ Who am I “.
As the group leaves the stage, the MCs announce the lucky winners of the albums and invite everyone to come back the next day for the very last day of the G-KPOP CONCERT, which will feature many popular groups among the public.
DAY 3
MIRAE is therefore the very last group to open this festival day. Consisting of members JUNHYUK, DONGPYO, KHAEL, SIYOUNG, LIEN, YUBIN and DOUHYUN, the group debuted under the agency DSP MEDIA. The boys begin by performing “Marvelous“, warmly welcomed by the public, numbering more than a thousand people. The group continues with “Splash” and “Killa“, before giving way to the group KARD with their new title “Ring the alarm“.
KARD is also a group under DSP MEDIA composed of four members: J.SEPH, B.M, SOMIN and JIWO. The public is particularly happy to see them again, since they had to take a break while J.SEPH performed his military service. The latter also talked about his absence, declaring that the army took place relatively quickly since having the right to use his telephone, he was able to be in contact every day with his relatives, and the other members of the group. KARD then offers a second performance, with the title “Oh nana“.
After that, J.SEPH even reveals that JIWOO lives a few streets away from the Coex, and thus they are all very familiar with this neighborhood. Of course, the latter does not seem to appreciate that he reveals this information, maybe fearing meeting extreme fans (sasaeng). Before saying goodbye to the group, the MCs compliment them on their performances and recall that they have just made their comeback after a two-year break. KARD then leaves the stage, after singing “ Hola hola ”. It is now the group EVERGLOW that takes place, with the performance of “ Adios “.
EVERGLOW is a group of YUEHUA ENTERTAINMENT, consisting of E: U, SIHYEON, MIA, ONDA, AISHA and YIREN. However, they are only four on stage today, the other members being either in China or sick. Nevertheless, even at four, they manage to unleash the crowd with their charisma on stage. They continue with “ Dun dun ”, flames surrounding them.
During their second speaking time, they discuss their very first concert, having been held last year. They express their frustration because it was online, but it still remains a happy memory, being their very first. The preparation for the concert was rich in emotion, but above all in fun. For this day, they hope to show a cuter and refreshing image of themselves when they chat, because the next performance is just as charismatic as the previous two. This is how “ Pirate ” resonates in Gangnam, as the last performance for the singers. It is therefore around the famous group HIGHLIGHT, formerly known as B2ST, to make its entrance.
The highlight of this festival, the group alone has forty minutes of time on stage, in the one and a half hours of the evening. Composed of members DOOJOON, YOSEOB, GIKWANG and DONGWOON under the agency AROUND US ENTERTAINMENT, the group begins its show with the title “ Daydream ”. More than a thousand people are in the crowd tonight, with a capacity of seven hundred, so security is forced to intervene when faintings start. Fights also break out between the staff and journalists who do not respect safety rules, but HIGHLIGHT remains professional and continues with the song “Not the end“.
The MCs then present to the members of the group characters created in their effigy, forming part of the metaverse (virtual spaces accessible in VR). They marvel at their character, before changing the subject to discuss the singers’ MBTIs, their personality types. This is something that is very popular right now in Korea, which you can find out here: Free personality test, type descriptions, relationship, and career advice | 16Personalities. Thus, DOOJOON reveals to be INFP (Mediator), GIKWANG is ISFJ (Defender,) and YOSEOK INFJ (Lawyer). DONGWOON made the audience laugh, saying he was CUTE. The group ends its appearance with the song “ Plz don’t be sad“, leaving saddened fans on stage. At least, that’s what they thought, because HIGHLIGHT returns for an “encore” on the track “Beautiful Night“!
Once again, people are selected to receive autographed albums, and this is how these three days of the festival end, in joy and good humor!
The words of our reporter: “ How lucky to have been selected among the winners of the first day, and especially to see all these groups, for free, after so many years! »
Journalist: Pillet Anaïs
Photos: Pillet Anaïs
Sources: KSTATION TV, 1THEK
