Cheers filled the UP Bahay ng Alumni last May 27 as everyone anticipated the latest installment of HallyUP’s flagship event, HallyUniverse 8: The Infinite Beyond. This unique Hallyu convention consists of K-Pop cover performances, P-Pop stages, merchandise booths, food stalls, crowd-interactive mini-games, random play dance segments, and various prizes for the event-goers to enjoy!
UP Diliman’s premier K-Pop organization, the University of the Philippines Society of Students for Korean Popular Culture or HallyUP, launched its first onsite flagship event, HallyUniverse, after four years and it was a definite shining spectacle. Themed after the cosmos this season, the gathering was headlined by the rising P-Pop girl groups Calista, G22, and BINI, who performed covers and their original tracks.
Setting the stage alight alongside the P-Pop acts are HallyUP’s very own members and other Filipino cover groups: Wildcards, Dee Omega, XPG, Joshua Kim, æons, FAVE:, and Principium. TikTok star Junjun Salarzon also showed up to perform a popping performance and cater to the humor of Filipino K-Pop fans. Coming up to the stage virtually was also Prof. Dr. Dal Yong Jin on K-Pop and Transnational Fandom in the Digital Platform Era, covering the necessary aspect of analysis within any culture.
Of course, the crowd got their share of the limelight, too! The forever iconic Random Play Dance segment enabled certain audience members to showcase their dancing skills and K-pop know-how, serving as the real rocket fuel during the event.
Partner fanbases, shops, and organizations also lined up their products for sale ranging from fan-made art prints and decals, official albums and photocards, to an array of foods ready for open wallets (though a few were for free!) — adding to the buzz from the night’s stages.
The 8th HallyUniverse stands out from the previous installments as a part of it was a greeting event for BINI Maloi’s birthday, giving Filipino Blooms the opportunity to personally sing happy birthday and give gifts to her on her special day.
More than just spreading the love for K-Pop, HallyUP has also strived to give back to its community and create events like HallyUniverse to forward their cause, specifically to help the Kopino Children Association, the main beneficiary of this event and a wonderful organization that promotes the welfare of Korean-Filipino youth in the Philippines. So after the triumphant onsite return of HallyUniverse, Hallyu fans are sure to expect more from the University of the Philippines’ premiere K-Pop organization. This year was simply just the takeoff; next time, get ready to touch the stars and witness the limitless possibilities HallyUP has to offer! See you then!