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Winners of the S.F. K-POP Festival to go on to Korea

July 21, 2014
Participants of the 2014 San Francisco K-POP Festival at the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto.

Participants of the 2014 San Francisco K-POP Festival at the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto.

Two teams saw victory on Saturday at the 2014 San Francisco K-POP Festival, where about 300 fans cheered on 10 teams hoping to advance to the next round of the K-POP World Festival.

Spark Crew, a trio who put together a medley of songs from K-pop girl group Sistar’s “How Dare You,” “Give It To Me” and “So Cool,” and Joy Joo, a solo vocalist who sang Lyn’s “You Are My Destiny” from the soundtrack of this year’s popular hit drama “Man From Another Star,” won the event’s top prizes.

The festival, put on by the San Francisco Korean Consulate General and the Korean Language and Culture Foundation, was held at the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto and attracted 10 performing teams who had auditioned via YouTube videos to show off their love for K-pop.

Spark Crew and Joo have been invited to perform at the Korean festival at San Francisco Union Square on Aug. 9.

Afterward, they will go on to Korea on an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the 2014 K-POP World Festival, which brings together regional winners from around the world. The festival, held in October, is organized by Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an effort to promote K-pop worldwide.

Spark Crew said they learned of K-pop through TVXQ and that they worked hard to put on a creative performance with attention to choreography.

“I felt their love for K-pop reflected in their skills,” said San Francisco Consul General Han Dong-man, one of the judges of the event. “I hope people continue to give attention to Korean culture and Korean language.”