Florida K-Pop Fan Wins New York Contest

Published on 2011/08/18 | Source

Madison Gunst /Yonhap

Citing her dream to become the first non-Asian K-pop star, 15-year-old Madison Gunst of Florida impressed judges with her song-and-dance routine to win the first New York K-Pop Contest in the city on Tuesday (local time).

The American teen, who fell in love with the genre four years ago when her friend showed her the music video for "Heartbreaker" by G-Dragon, beat off seven other finalists to claim the prize. They had been whittled down from 93 preliminary entries chosen through video clips online.

The contest, which took place at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, attracted over 1,000 fans and tourists. It was organized by the Korean Cultural Service NY and Korean pop culture website.

Gunst said she liked the dynamic performances of Korea's boy bands and male singers, and was especially drawn to the dancing of Jang Woo-hyuk. One of her hobbies is uploading video clips of herself dancing to her favorite K-Pop songs on YouTube.

For her efforts, she will get a round-trip airfare to Korea in order to participate in the Korean International K-Pop contest, which will take place in November.