Nikhat Parveen (New Delhi), Smriti Lakra (Guna, Madhya Pradesh)

Itanagar Regional Round of the K-Pop India Contest 2021 was conducted online on 15 October 2021 at 3 p.m. IST on the YouTube channel, Korean Cultural Centre India. Here is the excerpt from the statements of the Winners of the Dance and Vocal categories and the Regional Round Organiser Arunachal Kpop Hub, regarding their experience of this event.

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Dance category

The Trend (Winner)

Hello!! This is the leader (Aku Bengia) of the group and our group consists of 13 members. We have been together as a group for about 5 years now and we have been taking part in K-Pop contests since 2017. We started as a group back in 2017. We started with a 7 member group covering K-pop songs that we really enjoyed listening to. Prior to being the leader of the group (Aku Bengia) was doing K-pop cover songs as a solo, then he came to know about K-Pop contest, and Moji Riram now co-leader of the group, approached him and fished him the idea of participating in K-pop contest as a team and from there onwards we started recruiting members for a 7 member group. Eventually there were 7 people who were eager to participate in this too who loved and were into K-pop, namely Raju Nilling, Prem Yangfo, Arjun Rajbhansi, Raja Rabha, Gopal Thapa, Aku Bengia and Moji Riram. Our first ever K-pop contest was in 2017. 

We made it to only regionals (Mizoram) acquiring 1st runner up. It was our first ever experience of achieving something and thus we were born with a burning desire to win the competition and represent Arunachal Pradesh in a big stage. Throughout the years we tried out in every single competition to raise our potential. In 2018 we made it to  Kolkata regionals as a 13 member group. In 2019 we were not able to participate because we were late for submission. In 2020 Danny Poyom represented us in the solo category and went to the finals and now in 2021, we finally made it to the final as a group despite having all the ups and downs because of the pandemic . And this time we gave it our best because the older members are gonna move on with their life, and in some way, this might be our final moment as a group.

We have always been fans of K-pop in general. Despite all the harsh criticism. We never gave up on our dream of being the winner of the K-pop contest India. It has been our ultimate goal before we all move on in our life. Being a fan of K-pop we have always admired Artists for their hard work and dedication towards their craft. it is not easy to become an idol and what they do. Not only the music but the lyrics they write are meaningful and touch your hearts. the way they carry themselves and self discipline is on another level. In many ways they motivate us to move forward and learn new things in life. Being in a group has taught me so many things that I will be able to implement in my life, And the memories that we had together throughout all these will always stay for the rest of my life. K-pop has given me brothers as group members. And I’m really proud of them and what we have achieved as a group throughout all these years. And even if we move on and part our ways in life I wish them best of luck on whatever they do and be successful in their life. Thank you AKH and Hallyuism India for this opportunity.

With Nine (First Runner-up)

Hello we are With Nine!

Members: Khoda Yaha, Teli Mecha Camdir, Jumyir Haider, Dumeen Bayor, Gangte Rinia, Rinium Tana, Hannah Makcha, Indra lism, Indrani Lism

Firstly we would like to thank KCCI for conducting such a big event and would also like to thank all the viewers for their support. We will surely cherish the day with the members, who worked tirelessly every day, following all the leads and instructions given by our leader and most of us had also participated in these kinds of events which really helped us to cooperate with each other and we came to know the different sides of the K-Pop world. Our practising hours were about 6-7 in a day, where we learned the choreography, more practice the better,so we worked really hard everyday and made it up to the “runner-up” of the Arunachal K-pop-contest 2021. We would lastly Thank again, for an unending support. With Nine would continue to do the best in future.

Ms. Nani Gora (Second Runner-up)

Hello, this is Gora Nani here, second runner-up the regionals (Itanagar) in the category of Dance. Coming to the exciting part of this very talk is my journey throughout the K-Pop contest 2021 held by KCCI (Korean culture centre India) along with other associates, of course it has been one of the greatest experiences I have experienced, especially me being a crazy k-pop fan. It’s an opportunity one would not wanna sit on. Though it was conducted online I must agree to the excitement and the thrills I got in participating. I couldn’t reach the finals but to be very honest coming across such an opportunity is actually what matters and then comes the results.

Honestly, dance itself has always been a motivation to me but coming across kpop culture and such opportunities is what kept me going, but very imp. Lee Chae-yeon ( IZ*ONE ) has always been my biggest and true inspiration. I might have not succeeded in my first attempt but that doesn’t mean I stop here. All of this was possible because of the opportunity we were given. I wanna convey my earnest regards to AKH (Arunachal K-pop Hub) team for the immense support I received and also to Hallyuism  India and KCCI  for making our dream a little real than it is. I will forever be grateful and thankful to the organising team and every person behind the screen for the heartfelt experience.

Vocal category

Ms. Namgyal Lhamu Dolma (Winner)

I am Namgyal Lhamo Dolma. I participated in the K-Pop India Contest 2021 from the Itanagar region and won the regional round in the vocal category. The competition was really exciting. I got to watch and learn from many talented people across the country, and preparing for the competition introduced me to some really cool music and made me a better, more well-versed musician overall. It was my first time participating in a competition, in the online mode, so this was a completely new experience for me. Regardless, I had a lot of fun! I look forward to streaming the finals, and also participating in similar competitions in the future, hopefully in the offline mode! Thank you KCCI, AKH, and everyone else behind the organization of this competition for the opportunity. : )

I had gotten into K-pop only a few months ago and did not know a lot about the industry and its music (not that I am an expert now lol). In fact, I found out about this competition via a friend, who had sent me the Instagram post for the competition. All I knew was that I wanted to enhance my understanding of K-pop, which is currently a global phenomenon, and thought this would be the best way to do so.  So, once I started looking for songs to sing for the online round, I stumbled upon performances and styles that really intrigued me. The songs that I discovered in this process motivated me to explore and learn more about this genre of music, and I think that’s what inspired me to participate and work hard for the competition.

Ms. Liya Meto (First Runner-up)

Hello, this is Liya Meto. I got second position in the Itanagar region, category was vocal. My overall experience with participating in the K-pop contest was really exciting and eye-opening. I got to know about my vocal ability. By seeing so many greatly talented  contestants I was overwhelmed but was more motivated to improve my performance and to do better and to give my 100%. I was really nervous at first because this was my first ever major competition and wasn’t expecting to get chosen but when I heard the results I was shocked. I am very thankful for the Jury who had thought that I was capable of this position. 

What motivated me to participate in this competition was my passion and love for K-pop songs.  Many artists like IU, BTS, and many more were my main motivations. Seeing them perform made me want to perform on a grand stage like them one day. I wanted a platform to showcase my talent of singing and I wanted to pursue a career in singing so this was my main inspiration to take up the participation in this year’s K-pop contest.

Ms. Tarh Yaza (Second Runner-up)

This was my first time participating in a K-pop contest and it was a really new & fresh experience. It was super exciting, fun, and to be honest a bit stressful as I had my finals at the same time. But thanks to the organisers ( AKH), they really helped me a lot with everything patiently throughout the competition and made everything go by smoothly. I really do appreciate every little help.

I have been a fan of K-pop culture and being a part of this competition made me feel like I’m part of it, even if it’s a small part. I saw many people take part last year and it really gave me a boost of confidence to give it a go and I’m glad I stepped up. Overall, I thank KCCI for giving us this platform to stay connected through K-pop music, despite this pandemic. I also thank all other people behind the scene and also congratulate the winners and wish them the best of luck for future ventures. 

Regional Organisers

Arunachal Kpop Hub 

The Team of Arunachal KPop Hub would sincerely like to thank Korean Cultural Centre, Ultraverse Media for helping us during the regional round; K-pop Contest India 2021. We would also like to thank Hallyuism for being our Media partner and for giving us a platform to share our experience. 

Since COVID; we learned a new experience on how to deal with things while hosting the regional round for the contest virtually on an online platform and this contest has always served as a plethora for challenging ourselves as a team, getting stuff done and redone so that nothing is lacking which in one way or other has imbibed in us more patience, unity and stronger bond with the other team members and the organisers as a whole. It has been an absolute pleasure working with you all and we look forward to seeing more. Thank you. 

You can watch the Itanagar Regional Round here: