Fifty Fifty cheers on young K-pop hopefuls at Hwacheon youth festival

K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty traveled to Hwacheon-gun in Gangwon Province to show their support for young K-pop hopefuls.

The move echoed the grassroots spirit of groups who built their followings from the ground up — much like Brave Girls once performed at military bases during their pre-fame years, or RESCENE, currently topping K-pop buzz rankings, who consistently won over fans by showing up at children's sports days and village festivals. Fifty Fifty, a mid-tier act still building their profile, followed that same humble path.

The occasion was the celebratory stage at the 16th T&U National Youth Song Festival, hosted by the Hwacheon Youth Training Center.

The festival was held Saturday night on a special stage at Hwacheon Gymnasium, with Hwacheon-gun County Chief Kim Se-hun, participating youth and local residents in attendance.

Twenty teams of teenagers aged 14 to 19 from across the country competed, having qualified through preliminary rounds in two categories — vocals (singing and rap) and dance.

Residents, tourists, Fifty Fifty and County Chief Kim all cheered on the young performers — future stars of K-pop and those who simply brought energy and joy to the crowd from wherever they stood. The winning team in each category took home 1.5 million won ($1,090).