On June 16th, participants from all over Germany will have the chance to audition in this annual event and become the next K-Pop star. The initiative is undertaken by South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is held through a joint collaboration between the Korean Cultural Center and the Cultural Department of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.

The competition for the K-Pop World Festival is held in sixty-three countries globally and includes the selection of the two best groups from each country, which in turn will be short listed for the grand finale taking place in the city of Changwon, Korea. Fourteen groups will be selected and invited to travel to South Korea. The event is open to all who wish to attend, both as a participant in the competition or as a member of the audience.

As stated by the organizers of the event, the purpose and mission of the competition is to spread and blend North Korean culture with other cultures around the world. A statement from the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that, “in an effort to make the event one where Korean culture comes together with cultures of participants, those who reinterpret or rearrange K-pop by fusing it with their traditional music or instrument sounds, will be given extra points.”

The spreading of Hallyu, the Korean term to describe the global expansion and success of Korean entertainment and pop culture, is one of the focal points of South Korea's foreign policy. This is truly a remarkable and successful example of cultural diplomacy, especially seeing how the overseas diplomatic missions and global embassies of South Korea play a fundamental role in the execution of this project.

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