YG stars take a walk for the kids

Cha Seung-won, Kim Sae-ron, Son Ho-jun, Sean of hip-hop duo Jinusean and other stars from YG Entertainment laced up their shoes and went for a stroll in a charity event held Sunday to help children.

Musicians and actors from YG took a four-kilometer walk around Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul in the first YG X UNICEF Walking Festival held at Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul.

“I’m proud to take part in such a meaningful event. I think I’m giving back some of the love we (Jinusean) got during our 20 year career,” said Sean. 

The event was originally planned to be held last year to commemorate the company’s 20th anniversary, but was cancelled due to inclement weather.

YG officials said they were unsure as to whether the festival will be an annual event, but expressed cautious optimism due to the turnout of 5,000 participants.

The event was jointly hosted by YG, its charity organization MUJU YG Foundation and was sponsored by Woori Card. All profits from the event were donated via the Korean Committee for UNICEF for children suffering from malnutrition.

The walking festival was followed by a concert, boasting a lineup of iKon, Winner, Black Pink, Akdong Musician, Epik High, Lee Hi and Jinusean.

Epik High took the stage with “Born Hater,” and the crowd’s hype jumped even higher with a surprise appearance of Sandara Park in the next song “Love Love Love.” 

The hip-hop trio capped off their gig by getting everybody on their feet with “Don’t Hate Me.” 

The fans got a chance to cool off with Lee Hi’s “Breathe,” but not for long as she turned it up a notch with “1,2,3,4.”

Next up on the stage was boyband Winner who performed without Song Min-ho who was out of the country to shoot a TV drama.

“We originally planned not to come, but we felt like we had to sing for you since it was such a good cause,” said the band’s leader Kang Seung-yoon.

It was then time for Akdong Musician to take center stage, singing hits like “Give Love” and “200%.”

“It’s been while since YG ‘family’ has gathered like this, and it’s all thanks to you,” said Lee Chan-hyuk of the brother-sister duo.

As iKon showed up, the seats turned red – the official color of the boyband. The boyband started off with its debut single “My Type” and capped it off with “Rhythm Ta.”

Up next was Black Pink, who sang “Whistle,” “Playing With Fire,” and “Boombayah.” The group said it was an honor to be on stage with fellow YG stars.

The final stage of the night belonged to veteran Jinusean, who gave the fans a proper send-off with its passionate performance along with collaborations with fellow musicians on its hits like “Tell Me One More Time,” “A-Yo,” and its 1997 breakthrough hit “Tell Me.”


By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)