Parents vent anger after walkouts at K-Pop  show ahead of Cork date

Furious parents walked out of a K-Pop tribute show in Belfast on Thursday night, sparking hundreds of online complaints — but Aiken Promotions has defended the event as a solid genre tribute.

The show arrives in Cork on Tuesday for the first of seven sold-out shows, including two Live at the Marquee on June 10 and 11

“They were grinding on each other at one point. There was one of the men in the background who looked like he was doing Magic Mike,” said one parent.

The K-Pop Forever! Tribute show opened at the SSE Arena on Thursday, with performances due to take place across the country over the coming months.

K-Pop is characterised by elements of pop, hip-hop, and dance music filtered through a Korean lens, and has seen huge global success through acts such as BTS, Blackpink, and the Netflix film K-Pop Demon Hunters.

The description of the K-Pop Forever! Tribute show says the concert features “all-live performances of smash-hits including: Blackpink, BTS, Twice, Soda Pop, Golden, and many more”, as well as “songs inspired by the record-breaking film K-Pop Demon Hunters”.

The show did not live up to the expectations of some concert-goers, however, with a number of parents voicing their concerns about the quality of the performances, sound issues, and “inappropriate dancing”. Videos were posted online showing people walking out.

One parent who attended the SSE Arena with her two daughters told RTÉ Radio 1’s Liveline that the show as “terrible”.

“I just felt it was very inappropriate for kids. It should have been age-restricted. Younger kids shouldn’t have been able to go to it,” she said, raising concerns about the dancing and how the performers were dressed.

Others claimed complainants hadn’t read the concert’s description and that it was never intended to be a K-Pop Demon Hunters tribute show, but rather a tribute to K-Pop as a genre.

“The dancing and the music and the atmosphere, it was all very fitting. We got exactly what we paid for. I see people giving out online that there wasn’t as much of the K-Pop Demon Hunters in it, but if you do your research, you see that K-Pop Demon Hunters itself wasn't advertised; it was more the K-Pop itself, and that's exactly what you got,” said one parent.

Aiken Promotions, in a statement, said: "We are aware of some feedback received following the K-Pop Forever tribute show.

“The show played in Belfast tonight as part of a world tour, and the content, design, and choreography has been built to represent the full K-Pop genre, featuring songs from BTS, Blackpink, and Katseye, as well as eight hits from Demon Hunters, including 'Golden', 'Takedown' and 'Soda Pop'.

“Whilst the majority of customers enjoyed the show, we understand that this was not what some expected; however, we are content that the show delivered was an arena-standard tribute to the entire K-Pop genre.”

The show is also slated to take place at the 3Arena in Dublin, with three shows sold out, Leisureland in Galway, and Gleneagle Arena in Kerry.