3plus4crew, Shylee Preetam, and Riniya Taku Win K-pop 2025 Grand Finale in Delhi

New Delhi, India – The Grand Finale of All-India K-pop Contest 2025, India’s biggest live celebration of Korean pop culture, was organised by Korean Cultural Centre India in New Delhi on July 19. The event, which has unearthed some exceptional talent in India over the years, marked its 15th edition with high-octane performances by K-pop enthusiasts from across the country.

Delhi-based K-pop group, ‘3plus4crew’ was awarded the top prize in the dance category after a scintillating performance to ‘Super’ by Seventeen. In the vocal category, Shylee Preetam from Hyderabad was announced as the winner after her soulful performance on ‘U & I’ by Ailee. In the inaugural ‘rap’ category competition that was introduced this year, Riniya Taku from Itanagar was adjudicated as the winner after performing to ‘Backpacker’ by Zerobaseone.

LIM Sangwoo, Minister & Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, New Delhi; Ms. Manisha Swami, Dy. Director General, ICCR and Hwang Il Yong, Director of Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI) remained present during the event, cheered up the performers and presented prizes to the winners.

The winners were awarded cash prizes of ₹2,00,000 for the first place, ₹1,00,000 for the second place, and ₹50,000 for the third place in each category. Moreover, the three winners – ‘3plus4crew’, Shylee Preetam, and Riniya Taku – will be nominated to represent India at the prestigious ‘K-Pop World Festival’ to be organised in Changwon, South Korea, later this year.

As the largest and only K-pop event of its kind in India, the contest received a large fan following since its announcement. The highly anticipated finale featured 15 teams, selected through preliminary and regional qualifiers from a pool of 1,278 team registrations nationwide.

To enhance the participation of K-pop lovers from across India, regional qualifiers were organised in 10 cities, including Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Itanagar, Bhopal, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kohima, and Hyderabad, and received overwhelming love and support from local K-pop groups.

One of the highlights of the evening was the scintillating performance by the upcoming K-pop boy band NOMAD, which had travelled from Korea exclusively for the All India K-pop Contest 2025. Indian K-pop lovers were over the moon as NOMAD performed to their blockbuster titles such as ‘No Pressure’, ‘California Love’, ‘Compare’ and ‘Carnival’.

In a special ‘Fan Meeting’ session, the five members of NOMAD – Sangha, Doy, One, Rivr, and Junho – also interacted with their Indian fans and tried their hand at learning some Hindi greetings.

True to its tagline, “One Beat, One India, Over a Decade of K-pop”, the All India K-pop Contest has played a pioneering role in the spread of Hallyu (the Korean Wave) in India. The contest has provided a valuable stage for young fans to express their passion and talent through K-pop music and dance.

It has become a central hub for K-pop communities that have organically formed nationwide. With participation growing each year, the contest has evolved beyond a simple competition to become a symbolic representation of the cultural bond between Korea and India.

Hwang Il Yong, Director of Korean Cultural Centre India, said, “This year marks the 15th edition of the contest. This would not have been possible without the support of Indian fans. As we celebrate over a decade of this incredible journey, the contest stands as a symbol of the deep cultural bond between Korea and India. The love for K-pop and Korean culture in India has constantly been growing, and I wish the bond between our two countries goes on to become even stronger.”