RELIVE IT: KBS New York Korea Festival brings K-Pop to New Jersey!

Hanbok-clad musicians, free Shin Ramyun and K-pop idols — the KBS New York Korea Festivalhad it all this weekend! Running through the weekend of October 8th and 9th at Overpeck Park in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, the New York Korean Festival attracted K-Pop lovers from all over the East Coast (and even some who flew in from the West coast!). Booths lined the perimeter of the grassy park, offering Korean delicacies, K-pop shirts and other merchandise; it was a cultural mecca for all those who wanted to learn more about the Korean culture while enjoying performances from their favorite K-Pop artists.

After hosting a hugely successful booth at the Korean Music Festival in Los Angeles a few months ago, we teamed up with SK Planet to throw a second event at the KBS festival. This time, we had double the number of prizes and giveaways for an epic two-day event!

The sunny afternoons were filled with song and dance cover contests as well as cameos from celebrities like Decipher, who autographed free albums for fans. Everyone who dropped by the booth also had the exclusive chance to sign up for the upcoming international release of Starcall, a free smartphone app that allows fans to directly receive video messages from K-Pop celebrities in real time.

As dusk began to settle in on Sunday, scores of attendees began to flock toward the main stage en masse in anticipation for the concert to begin. Those who were lucky got to sit in the fenced general admission and VIP sections; others got to spread a blanket on the grass and scream for their idols, as performances flashed across huge broadcast screens.

The night saw performances from a star-studded lineup comprised of idols TVXQ, 2PM, 4minute, B2ST, G.NA, SISTAR, SHINee and Kim Tae Woo. With legendary singers like Insooni and Jang Sa Ik also making an appearance, there was something for everyone to enjoy, from young fangirls to older generations.

We’ve got the full coverage of the festival, our two-day booth event, and the concert itself coming up this week, so stay tuned for the rest of allkpop’s RELIVE IT series! Until then, get a taste of the event with allkpop’s photo and video teasers:

cr: allkpop

Free NYC Concert moves to New Jersey!

We’ve just received some amazing news — the Free NYC K-Pop Concert has been confirmed once again!

A concert organizer revealed exclusively to allkpop today that they had finally secured Overpeck Park in New Jersey for their venue. The free concert was on the verge of cancellation due to capacity issues, but it seems that’s blown over for now.

Organized by KBS, the Free NYC K-Pop Concert will be part of ‘The 29th Korean Festival’, ‘The 15th Agro Exhibition’, and ‘The 20th Anniversary UN Admission New York Korea Festival’. This two-day event will focus on Korean culture on the first day, and be entirely dedicated to K-Pop on the second day.

Not only will the concert see performances from the hottest K-Pop stars, but there’ll also be a special mystery guest who’s only going by ‘Mister K-Pop Idol’ for now!

allkpop would like to emphasize that fans refrain from contacting Overpeck Park for additional information. Again, please do not contact the park for additional information. The park will not have enough resources to handle the huge surge of interest from K-Pop fans, and it could aggravate another venue cancellation. Also, there will be no overnight camping at the park for this two-day event. If you have a burning question that you absolutely must ask, please hit up @eunduklee on Twitter.

allkpop will be there for both October 8th and 9th, so stay tuned for another surprise announcement!

Exact details and information about admissions and everything else you have questions about will be revealed soon through allkpop, who will be the first to update on this exciting event. Be sure to check back for exclusive updates, only on allkpop.

cr: allkpop