The K-Pop Club at Southern Methodist University held its final event of the academic year with an entertaining bang on April 30, featuring dance and vocal performances, trivia and a wide range of Korean snacks.
The event, titled “SMUisc,” at the Hughes-Trigg Student Center in the Oren Family Auditorium, opened with K-Pop-themed trivia, testing fans on group members, album release dates and more. Winners received plush animal figures, while the audience waved light sticks to cheer on the performances that followed.
Dance performances covering popular K-pop songs featured SMU’s student group Vektor, UT Southwestern’s Sway, and the DFW-based professional cover team Amplify. Members of SMU’s all-female a cappella group Belle Tones also performed under their mini group H2D, delivering a vocal cover of KATSEYE’s ‘Gabriela.’
Sheridan McAtee, a senior computer science major and Vektor’s dance coordinator, said the group typically recreates professional choreography from music videos.
“Usually we just use the choreography that has already been made by these professionals,” McAtee said. “Sometimes for special events like Diwali, we have this girl Megha Reddy… and Shreya Soundar and Inaara [Virani], who all help us with choreography.”
Inaara Virani, the president of the K-Pop Club, said the showcase was a culmination of club activities, including weekly dance practices, social crafting events and watch parties, all of which foster community.
“We’re just here to have fun and develop our interests,” Virani said. “I feel like this is the perfect safe space where you can find other people who are similar to you.”
Since the release of the global sensation Netflix film “K-Pop Demon Hunters” and the rising fame of KATSEYE, both Virani and McAtee cite these media pillars as catalysts for a spike in interest in K-Pop culture, even at SMU.
“Oh yeah, 100%— like from my freshman year to now, I have never seen this strong an interest in it,” McAtee said. “They’ve been huge in getting people interested in this.”
Attendee Rachel Kim, a first-year student and Korean herself, said she was impressed by the turnout and grateful for the appreciation for Korean culture.
“I’m just surprised a lot of people are into this— into my culture, and I’m thankful for it,” Kim said.
After the main event concluded, participants mingled, making bracelets and lining up for an assortment of food from Korean rice hot dogs, boba tea, Korean-style fried chicken and Taiyaki, a fried fish-shaped dessert.
Oracle, the founder of Amplify, which has about 57 members and recently celebrated its second anniversary, highlighted the sense of connection they witnessed at the event.
“It’s definitely the people,” Oracle said. “It’s really heartwarming to see so many people who are so close and enjoy being around one another— because community is everything, especially in the K-Pop community.”
