A Mumbai-based Korean pop fan club’s countrywide expansion aims to help K-culture grow out of its niche status in India
K-pop boy band BTS
Last month, K-pop star Jackson Wang, who enjoys a 33-million fan following on social media, was taught garba during his surprise appearance on comedian Kapil Sharma’s talk show. If that sentence didn’t sound absurd in itself, this is what Wang also said on the show: “This might be my last visit to India. When I was outdoors and in clubs, people saw right through me.” Wang was looking in the wrong places, believes Ayushre Tari, founder of Mumbai’s biggest K-fan group, Mumbai BTS. “He was taken to Bollywood parties and influencer meetings. Of course, he found no real fans there,” she rues.
Members hold up a life-size poster of BTS member Suga at a screening in Mumbai. PICS COURTESY/MUMBAIBTS; Instagram
K-Connect, Mumbai BTS’s new pan-India venture stems from this rise of underwhelming experiences Korean artistes have reported in the recent past. Unlike Wang’s public confession, many more reached the fan circles in hushed whispers, Tari reveals. “The K-wave is still nascent in India and if there’s anyone who knows these artistes well, it’s the fans. Our new venture will ensure that the hospitality team, production crew and volunteers at shows across India, are all real fans who have skin in the game,” Tari says.
On the back of hosting multiple screenings, fan meet-ups, public flashmobs and becoming a byword for Mumbai’s official fan club, Tari believes the countrywide expansion has been a long time coming. The founder has marked 15 cities including Pune, Goa, Guwahati, Mangalore, Hyderabad and Surat, where K-connect communities are being set up. Last month, the community leaders gathered in Mumbai for a training session to learn the ropes from members of the Mumbai group.
Members of WeUnite will conduct a dance camp with the new group. PIC COURTESY/WE UNITE
This Sunday, the Mumbai chapter will kick off their itinerary with a 12-week-long Korean dance camp with dance crew We Unite, who emerged as semi-finalists at the All India K-pop Contest 2024 organised by the Korean Culture Centre India. Open for all, the programme will culminate in a grand performance in November. “The camp is just the beginning. We aim to host food experiences, screenings, fan meets and even community service initiatives like old age home visits to give back to society,” Tari tells us.
Ayushre Tari
The new venture comes right in time with another bit of happy news for the fan community in India. HYBE Corporation, the firm that handles the popular boy band BTS is setting up a regional office in Mumbai, we learn. “We’ve learnt that the office will be set up by September. They recently set up an outpost in Latin America, and are now scouting for talent to sign under their label. If the pattern repeats in Mumbai, we’re hoping our local K-artistes get the spotlight they have been waiting for,” the founder signs off.
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