‘Korean wave’ arrives in Paris

Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris is crowded with French fans Wednesday
to greet “hallyu,” or Korean wave, stars including the boy band Dongbangshingi. They are scheduled to perform there on Friday and Saturday. / Yonhap
By Park Seung

Vancouver, Melbourne and Paris. At first glance, these three cities ― located on opposite ends of the globe ― may not have much in common. Paris is known for fine dining, Vancouver is famous for hosting international events and Melbourne is known as the “cultural capital of Australia.”

Although the three cities have vastly different personalities, there is one thread that connects all of them together: Korean music, otherwise known as K-Pop. On the eve of the first large-scale concert in Europe by Korean artists ― SM Entertainment is taking their performers to Paris on June 10 ― the fever surrounding Korean culture is growing faster than ever, and bearing down on countries worldwide.

On May 20 at The Rogers Arena, home of the Vancouver Canucks, the stands were filled with fans of a different kind as JYJ, a popular three-piece Korean idol group, took the stage as part of their second world tour. That night, one thing was clear: for the hundreds of thousands of fans watching around the globe, it was going to be a good night. The crowd erupted in rousing cheers as JYJ stepped onto the stage.

Simon Stawski, a Canadian-turned-Korean-blogger now working in Bucheon, west of Seoul (www.eatyourkimchi.com), said the reason why K-Pop has become a worldwide phenomenon has to do with how the Korean music industry works. “The K-Pop music scene is like a well-oiled machine,” Stawski said. “There’s a science behind it, and it just seems like a perfect factory.”

Meanwhile, in Australia, fans organized events of a rather different nature. On April 21, over 500 people showed up in downtown Melbourne to show their love for Korean music with a spontaneous dance-off. Jacqui Tran, one of the organizers of the event, said she had been very pleased with the turnout and the enthusiasm. “We never expected there to be so many K-Pop fans in Melbourne,” she said.

The heat from Vancouver and Melbourne is spreading to Paris, where the arrival of Korean idols is creating palpable waves of excitement among young Parisians.

Maxime Paquet, the founder of the France-based Korean culture society, the Korean Connection (www.koreanconnection.org), said that the upcoming concert is a particular triumph. When SM Entertainment started sales for the June concert, the tickets sold out in 15 minutes, leaving many European fans high and dry.

The show will be staged Friday and Saturday at the Zenith Auditorium in the French capital.

“We could almost feel the tears (of the fans),” Paquet said. Feeling that The Korean Connection had a duty to stand up for their members, they decided to start petitioning for a second concert in Paris. “We knew there was a chance for a second date. That is why we decided to launch a flash mob” that took place in front of the hallowed Louvre Museum in downtown Paris, May 1.

By all accounts, it was a resounding success: Hundreds of supporters from all over the country descended upon the city. The demonstration was covered by international media, and focused attention on the fans themselves and their demand for a second performance.

With mounting pressure from all sides, SM Entertainment finally revealed that they would offer a second concert in Paris to satiate the demands of the thousands of disappointed fans.

On Twitter, French K-Pop fans were ecstatic over the news. “I can’t wait to meet SuJu!” one user commented, referring to Super Junior, a popular group. Other Twitter users expressed jealousy that Parisians would get to meet their idols in person. “Bring SMTOWN to Peru!” commented another user.

For the Korean Connection, it was the culminating moment in their role as the bridge between foreign K-Pop fans and South Korea. “We can say that the Korean Connection was involved in K-Pop at the very beginning of its existence,” Paquet said.

As the stars began arriving at the jam-packed Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, the fans started to swarm the arriving idols. Even their short appearance in the arrivals hall caused some to dissolve into tears. “I waited for more than three hours, but I never saw their faces clearly,” a fan said. “At least I got to see them in person.”

The writer is an intern at The Korea Times. He can be reached at o2manycash@yahoo.com.

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