Busan's annual K-pop fest to kick off online next month

BUSAN -- The Busan One Asia Festival (BOF), a major annual K-pop event, will kick off online next month in this southeastern port city due to concerns over the new coronavirus pandemic, organizers said Sunday.

According to the Busan Tourism Organization, BOF 2021 will be streamed online from May 6-9 from the second-biggest South Korean city, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to reach more fans amid the pandemic.

The festival's three main events -- K-pop Concert, Park Concert and BOF Land -- will introduce K-pop acts, artists from different music genres and the culture of Busan, respectively, to viewers.

NCT Dream, a teenage sub-unit of SM Entertainment's popular boy band NCT, and two other rising boy groups -- The Boyz and WEi -- will headline the K-pop concert.

An additional list of performers will be announced later this month, according to the festival organizers.

Founded in 2016, BOF has been held annually in Busan and has developed into one of the largest K-pop festivals the country. Last year's edition, however, was canceled for the first time due to COVID-19. (Yonhap)