On Apr. 16, the Tainan World KPOP Online Concert premiered globally on Youtube. Hosted by handsome Korean singer Cha Eun-woo, the concert featured new-gen groups THE BOYZ and fromis_9. The event has accumulated over 200,000 views and 820,000 online exposures, showing that the combination of KPOP and Tainan elements is unstoppable!
THE BOYZ and fromis_9 performed an attentively designed program that featured songs related to the concert’s five main themes (“Water, Wind, Fire, Earth, Love”) and introduced the culture and beauty of Tainan as well. After seeing the presentation video of Tainan, the Capital of Culture and Arts, the Korean idols expressed that they would love to visit Shennong Street and Tainan’s landmark attraction - Tainan Art Museum Building 2 - to experience the quaint, nostalgic side of Tainan in person.
Moreover, the singers have already listed out their must-try Tainan foods which include beef soup and shrimp rolls. Members who love fruit also mentioned the pineapples and mangoes grown in Tainan. In the end, they expressed that they hope to be able to fly to Tainan and greet fans and enjoy Tainan’s delicacies soon.
Many Taiwanese audiences responded that they like the idea of combining KPOP with city marketing and hoped that there will be more events like this in the future. They felt emotional when they saw cultural elements of Tainan City incorporated into the KPOP performance and are happy to see that this event presented Tainan to the world. Some thought it interesting to hear their idols introduce Tainan.
The online concert also garnered a lot of comments from fans around the world. In addition to expressing that the Tainan video clip is very pleasing, oversea fans also mentioned that they would love to visit Tainan after the pandemic is over. Many foreign fans commented it was wonderful that the concert video offered English subtitles, even the Taiwanese audience mentioned that the subtitles were very considerate.
Mayor Huang Wei-che said that during these times when international tourism is restricted, Tainan City Government turned to the high popularity of KPOP groups to promote Tainan’s culture, tourism, and delicacies, which is a first in Taiwan. He also reminded audiences who missed the livestreaming to enjoy the exciting Tainan World KPOP Online Concert on the Youtube channel TAINANYOUNG.