Hello and welcome back to HallyuTones — always focused on sound, stage and substance.
In today’s article we’ll be expanding more on the K-Culture scene in South Africa by recapping my experience at the ‘Ubuntu with Korean Culture Festival’ hosted by the Korean Culture Centre (KCC) of South Africa at the SunBet Arena at Times Square in Pretoria. Quite frankly it was such an overwhelming experience to be surrounded by fans, artists, and distinguished guests alike all to celebrate diverse cultures and to show what can happen when we fuse them.
Witnessing friends brought together over ten years by K-Pop meeting for the first time, an array of K-Pop Demon Hunters cosplay, the profound words of a South African praise singer, and fans who gave performers a warm, hearty welcome, the Korean culture scene in South Africa truly is alive with Ubuntu.
As previously mentioned in our article with K-Events organiser Sasha-Leigh Henkemann, for fans of pop music and culture, specifically K-pop, finding people to share the joy of the genre and its contents with in person can be extremely difficult. Group chats, fan pages, YouTube channels, all of them add to the experience of fandom and creating community around the shared interest. These spaces have become a core part of creating friendships and community, especially since COVID, but also are central to growing interest in the thing that’s brought us together. When the opportunity arises to take these connections out into the real world, it seems like South African Hallyu fans are ready to grab it with both hands.
On arrival at the Sun Times Square, I was already taken aback by the amount of people that were there. Over the past five years the K-Pop community in South Africa has grown exponentially, as evidenced by increasing K-pop radio airplay, TV segments, and even a DSTV channel dedicated to bringing K-Dramas to every day series enjoyers. To see this manifested in the physical presence of hundreds of fans almost felt sobering. Sometimes it hits me like a brick that the same lyrics that have comforted me, continue to comfort others and form part of the soundtrack to their lives too. Between that realisation, and having the festivities of the day introduced by Imbongi, a praise singer, gratitude feels too small a word to describe the moment.
Imbongi can also be referred to as a poet. The word defines someone, primarily from Nguni ethnic groups like amaXhosa or amaZulu, who opens a ceremony by singing the praises of the host (traditionally the King and his court), attendees, and invoking the power and knowledge of the ancestors to tell the stories of the people. This splendid introduction of the event is a form of greeting that not many performers and visitors get to see unless they travel to specific cultural centres on their visits to South Africa. However, one thing the nation is known for is our love for music, the vibrant nature of the people, and of course, being the rainbow nation.
The audience was graced with a Hanbok Fashion Show, presenting various hanboks in different styles, colours and modeled by both local and Korean models. The show presented the work of multiple artists who imagined hanbok in vibrant South African colours. The flag of South Africa alone has six colours. Being able to place them in the already rich tapestry of the Hanbok, with its own rich culture, presented the audience with an opportunity to wonder what exactly makes each culture so distinct yet so perfectly poised for collaboration.
There were also performances by South African K-pop cover groups. The KCC hosts a K-Pop Academy where dance enthusiasts can audition and join girl group and boy group dance lessons. The performances of these groups were so dynamic they had the audience cheering from beginning to end. With covers of songs by AESPA and BLACKPINK, the energy of these dancers felt like they were showing off their own headline show.
When describing the peak of an event, usually people will pick one moment. Unfortunately for us, the night was still to peak several times with the much anticipated performances by the critically acclaimed Ndlovu Youth Choir, K-Tigers, the iconic choreographers behind K-Pop Demon Hunters, as well as one of K-pop’s greatest voices, Ailee.
The Ndlovu Youth Choir is a group that gained their international fame from their appearance and placement in the top ten of America’s Got Talent Season 14 before returning to take the stage again for the All-Stars season. The group has become a symbol of national pride in South Africa not only for this great feat, but also for platforming their indigenous languages and introducing a global audience to the nation’s talent by performing popular songs in a unique style. The group took the stage of the SunBet Arena that night by starting with a rendition of Circle of Life and then a medley of South African Jazz legend Hugh Masekela’s greatest hits.
Not to be outshone, the K-Tigers presented a performance of the Korean Martial Art form that is Taekwondo. The Tiger is a symbol in Korean culture that is historically known as a symbol of royalty, but also of strength and courage. Both of these are a core theme of the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters which the K-Tigers participated in choreographing for by fusing their athleticism with eye-catching dance moves. The audience was able to see the group as the Saja Boys when they performed ‘Your Idol‘. I’m sure for many in the audience, myself included, it was their first time experiencing Taekwondo practiced in person. The K-Tigers did a splendid job of showcasing their own talent and presenting a key part of Korean tradition and their sincerity was felt throughout their performance but also in the heartfelt speech they gave the audience.
The audience’s excitement was uncontainable as soon as the MC’s introduced Ailee. As fans of Korean entertainment, many people’s first K-Drama that they watch is Goblin, almost as if it’s some sort of rite of passage. It’s through the OST of the series that Ailee gained a large portion of the international audience that she has today. Starting off her set with a powerful performance of her smash hit ‘U&I’, Ailee had the audience singing and screaming right from the first note. As someone who has been in the industry for over ten years, Ailee has gained the respect of not only her peers but listeners too for her dedication not only to her fans, but to the art of singing.
For that reason, and because the song was written by a now late mentor who saw her drive, there was not a single dry eye in the room when she sang the ballad ‘Singing Got Better’. By the time Ailee’s set was done, and the night was drawing to a close, the audience didn’t want her to leave, and it seems neither did she.
The entire night summed up in one word would have to be astounding. From local art, to international talent, to the presence of so many communities, every single aspect of the event felt magical. As someone who keeps up with current affairs, it was a pleasant surprise to realise that this event was organised to commemorate South Africa hosting the first G20 Summit on African soil. As someone who loves K-Pop, it felt almost like vindication to witness just how influential music and language can be in facilitating and maintaining strong bonds across borders and navigating more rapidly paced global cultural shifts. There were fans who had driven for hours to be there, friends who had met at dance classes, friends who had met online sharing music and series, dignitaries and their families invited to witness a new culture, as well as school children witnessing a new experience.
The HallyuWave is so much more than just music in a different language and series with impeccable stars. It is a labour of love, Korean artists and creators dedicating time and effort to sharing their skills and passions with the world. This sentiment rang most true when Ailee looked around the room and said that she didn’t know she would have such a great fanbase in the country. A window into Korea’s remarkable culture, the Ubuntu K-Culture Festival presented South African attendees a chance to show just how welcoming the country is to diversity and how it looks manifested, but also how dedicated we are to celebrating and appreciating great talent, no matter where it comes from.
To end the night off, Ndlovu Youth Choir returned to the stage to present the audience with a rendition of BTS’s Billboard Hot 100 #1 single, ‘Dynamite’ with an Amapiano twist to it, in isiZulu. The crowd went wild for this, and the energy was only heightened when all of the day’s performers returned to the stage for a performance of Pata Pata by the great Miriam Makeba. All in all, it would seem that the festival was the first but definitely not the last of such great cultural exchanges between two countries with a world’s worth of charm to discover.
HallyuTones 
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