India united by K-beat

• India’s K-Pop stage gets louder: Rap category debuts in 2025 contest
• 15 Years, 3 Categories, 10 Cities: India’s ultimate K-Pop celebration returns
• Winners will be nominated to represent India at the K-Pop World Festival in Changwon, Korea

The Korean Cultural Centre India presents the All India K-Pop Contest 2025, set to fascinate audiences over an exciting three-month journey that began on May 14 and will culminate with the Grand Finale on July 19. Into its 15th year, the contest has come up with much more excitement and surprises. This year’s contest has seen an exciting new addition—a dedicated ‘Rap’ category—highlighting the evolution of the Indian K-Pop scene and encouraging participants to showcase how they interpret and perform K-Pop rap in their own distinctive styles. With this expansion, there will be a total of three categories this year: Dance, Vocal and Rap.

The competition is structured in three stages: Online, Regional and Grand Finale. The online round was held between May 14 and June 7 and it received a total of 1,278 team registrations from across the country, underlining the nationwide appeal of K-Pop.

After the first evaluation by regional judges from Korean culture fan communities, selected participants will move on to regional preliminaries held in June in 10 major cities. The Regional Round will kick off in Chennai on June 22, and will thereafter travel to Bengaluru, Kolkata, Itanagar, Bhopal, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kohima and Hyderabad, bringing the excitement of K-Pop to cities nationwide. These rounds will be organised independently by each local fan community, with support and oversight from the Korean Cultural Centre India.

The selected winners of the three categories from the 10 cities will compete in the Grand Finale that will be held on July 19 at New Delhi, which will again unfold many surprises.  The final event will also include a fan meeting event and special performances by K-pop idol groups invited from Korea. The winners in each category will receive cash prizes of ₹2,00,000 for first place, ₹1,00,000 for second, and ₹50,000 for third. Moreover, the champions will be nominated to represent India at the prestigious ‘K-Pop World Festival’ in Changwon, South Korea.

Hwang Il Yong, Director of Korean Cultural Centre India said, “This event, which has been held for the past 15 years under all circumstances, is a very meaningful festival for young people in India who love Korea and Korean culture. I would like to express my gratitude to the representatives of the Korean Culture Fan communities in 10 cities who have been of great help as the organisers of the regional preliminary rounds of the All India K-pop contests in recent years. It is touching to see young people in India empathizing and communicating with each other through the unified culture of Korean music and K-pop, despite the large size of the country and the diverse languages ​​and cultures in each region. I hope that Indian friends will participate and continue to create a place for empathy and communication through K-pop culture in India.”

Oinam Surchandra, a candidate who will participate in the newly-introduced rap category said, “I feel incredibly grateful to Korean Cultural Centre India for giving upcoming rappers like us a platform to showcase our love for K-pop and rap. In a country where K-pop rap is still growing, this opportunity means the world. I genuinely hope that the rap category continues in future contests as there are so many aspiring artists who dream of expressing themselves this way.”

To offer a unique and enjoyable experience for K-culture fans in India, the Korean Cultural Centre India held a surprise K-pop Random Play Dance event on June 1 at Nexus Select Citywalk Mall in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Korean Culture India Fan Club in Delhi. Around 400 fans gathered and danced to popular K-pop songs, creating a vibrant and energetic scene. Prerna Tiwari, president of the fan club, said, “Having seen the Korean Wave grow in India for over a decade, the All India K-Pop Contest has become a source of pride for many fans. We are truly thankful to the Korean Cultural Centre India for making this experience possible.”