By Ochiaka Ugwu
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nigeria has deepened cultural ties with Nigeria with 2025 K-pop festival event held Saturday at the Continental Hotel, Abuja.
The event led to the fusing of the two cultures of Korea and Nigeria making it possible for Korean culture to mingle with that of Nigeria.
The festival organised by Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria (KCCN) was aimed at showcasing Korean heritage and strengthening cultural ties between both nations.
While welcoming participants to the event, Director of KCCN, Mr. Jeon, Ju Ho informed that K-pop Festival was the celebration of the value that continues to arise globally, which stands as its core project in connecting cultures and inspiring millions round the world.
Continuing, he said the festival emphasis on celebration of culture, creativity, and friendship of a global trend born in the heart of Korea.
Jeon informed that the trend birthed in the heart of Korea had found bright and special home in Nigeria, a country rich in musical talent and vibrant youth culture.
His words, “it is a celebration of the Hallyu wave, that continues to thrive globally, and K-Pop? it stands at its forefront—connecting cultures and inspiring millions.
“Today, we’re here not only to enjoy music and performance but to celebrate culture, creativity, and friendship.
“K-Pop, a global phenomenon born in the heart of Korea, has found a vibrant and passionate home here in Nigeria, a country rich in musical talent and vibrant youth culture.
“From dance crews and vocalists performing tonight, to the dedicated fans who follow every comeback—your enthusiasm shows that Korean culture is truly appreciated here.
“At the Korean Cultural Centre, we are proud to be a bridge between Korea and Nigeria—offering language classes, cultural programs, and events like this festival to deepen mutual understanding”.
He said that Korean culture was truly appreciated in Nigeria with KCCN being proud of Nigerians.
Speaking on the side line after the event, Jeon stated that the event was to promote Korean culture by popularizing K-pop, as well as strengthening the cultural exchange between Nigeria and Korea.
“We really want to promote Korean culture and K-pop is really popular and we are so happy to present K-pop festival. This will encourage cultural exchange between Nigeria and Korea. We have done this in Lagos and we are here in Abuja.
“Abuja and Lagos are cultural hubs; the reason we focus on them. Nigerians are really good at what they do and we hope for the best Nigerians to win again at the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) K-pop Festival.
“We decided to do it a bit earlier so that we can send the videos at the appropriate time. We have 35 Korean cultural centres around the world and hope that Nigerian contestants win in Korea,” he said.
The festival which featured raffle draw, guest performance, audience live voting, video show, award ceremony, dancing and singing competitions hosted 18 teams made up of eight dance and 10 singing groups who participated in the competitions.
An Abuja based dance group ‘The Xtreme Movement’, who performed the song: “Ice On My Teeth” by Ateez with the trio of Stehpen Dominion, Micheal Kings and Damina Jethro as leader, dazzled audience with their superlative dance steps. It took the first position by defeating seven contestants and got N800, 000 cash prize and an opportunity to perform in Korea.
The group also won the popularity prize after the audience live votes and took away the sum of N200,000.
The ‘Xtreme Dance Crew’ another dancing group based in Kaduna, trailed behind the winner in the dancing competition and received cash reward of N600,000. Third position went to Zoned -In DC, a Port Harcourt based dance group which won N400,000 cash reward.
The singing category saw Macwhitney Myles-Iranyohe coming first and got N500,000 cash prize with a chance to compete in Korea.
Goodness Ohwodiasa emerged the first runner-up in singing category and received N300,000 and the third position went to Onuh Blessing who received a cash reward of N200,000.
Speaking on behalf of the group after the event, leader of “The Extreme Movement” Damina Jethro who expressed his happiness said his feelings cannot be expressed verbally given the hard work that they embarked before the contest.
Jethro said the group was excited and expressed gratitude to God, noting that it was not an easy task.
He said the motivation came from the original group that owned the song due to their unique personalities.
He said, “They have these special personalities, each of the boys has their different styles. We literally just tried to replicate what we saw from their previous performances.
“Then we infused it with our own Nigerian style. We have been rehearsing since February for this competition,” he said.
The leader appreciated KCCN for the great opportunity given to them to showcase their talents and get fulfilled.
“Korean Centre is not only investing in talents but promoting culture among Nigerians.
“We hope to bring the win back to Nigeria during the international competition. But after the international competition, we intend to start K-pop dance classes in Abuja.
“The community here in Africa needs to be exposed to the K-pop culture and be infused with the Nigerian style for such will go a long way,” he concluded.
MaWhitney Miyle-Iranyohe, who carted away first position in the singing category, said she was able to achieve it owing to efforts and given the fact that she practiced for more than one year.
“I prepared for over one year for this great moment, though I had learnt the song before now.
“I have been contesting for the past four years and I won the third position in 2024,” she said.
One of the judges in the festival, Mr. Praise Nelson, who is a K-pop enthusiast, said he felt so excited to see K-pop grow in Nigeria, based on the fact they were the only team from Nigeria that won the grand prize in South Korea.
Nelson, who was a past winner of K-pop competition, informed that picking the best crew to represent Nigeria was not that easy.
“To tell how tough it was, the winner won by a point. But my greatest excitement is seeing the growth of K-pop in Nigeria,” he said.
However, it is important to know that K-pop Festival was an event that celebrates Korean pop music and culture, bringing fans together to enjoy concerts, dancing and singing competition and other activities related to the kind.
Featuring performances by popular K-pop artists, showcasing talented dancers and singers, and providing opportunities for fans to connect with each other was one of the objectives of the festival.
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