K-pop stars unite for One Korea, world peace campaign
K-pop stars along with their American and Filipino counterparts got together for one night of fun and hope aiming to highlight the global movement for Korean unification and world peace.
The “One K: 2017 Global Peace Concert” at the Mall of Asia Arena last week, featured K-pop stars SHINee, CNBlue, B.A.P, B1A4, BTOB, AOA, and Psy. Also participating were American Grammy-winning songwriters and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Filipino actor Cesar Montano.
Organizers chose the Philippines as the first venue to unveil the new Korea unification song with the working title “Korean Dream.”
“Our new campaign song reflects the strong need for peace and security, not just in Korea but also around the world,” said In-teck Seo, co-president of the One K Global Campaign Organizing Committee.
The new campaign song was an idea launched by Seo, Jam and Lewis during a leaders assembly at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York City last August.
“The Global Peace organization asked us about doing a reunification song for North and South Korea,” Jam told Bulletin Entertainment in an interview. “And we thought about it for a while and wanted to make sure that we were the right people to do it.”
Hosted by AOA’s Seolhyun, SHINee’s Minho and Sam Oh, the concert showcased K-pop hits including Psy’s “Daddy,” B.A.P’s “Skydive,” B1A4’s “Beautiful Target,” CNBlue’s “Can’t Stop,” SHINee’s “1 of 1,” AOA’s “Excuse Me” and BTOB’s “I’ll Be Your Man.”
One of the surprises was when BTOB’s Hyunsik and Eunkwang sang Freddie Aguilar’s renowned song “Anak” accompanied by Montano on the guitar. B.A.P’s Youngjae and Daehyun performed “Almost Paradise,” a song used in the drama “Boys Over Flowers” while B1A4’s Sandeul sang “Swallowing My Heart,” an original soundtrack from the drama “Moonlight Drawn By Clouds.”
Seo said unification is a very important issue for South Koreans ever since Korea was divided by the end of World War II.
“Korea’s division started in 1945. Actually division was not done by the will of Koreans. It was imposed in the Korean Peninsula by the international conflict called Cold War. Two important powers came to Korea and Korea was divided,” Seo explained.
He added, “Since that time, the Korean War (1950-1953) was an international war: UN and 16 nations participated. Philippines participated in it, too. So we now bring the international consensus for the reunification of Korean Peninsula.”
Seo said they want to bring the consensus with the global campaign through music and working with Jam and Lewis.
“Music can heal people. Music can inspire and aspire. I think we can (inspire) change through this campaign,” he said.
From the Philippines, the One K Global Campaign will be brought to the US, Japan, India, and 10 other countries.
‘Music can heal people. Music can inspire and (make them) aspire.