Students Shine in First-Ever K-Pop Battle of the Bands
Fullerton School District's inaugural competition celebrates Korean culture and performing arts
On a recent evening at an outdoor mall in Buena Park, 25 Fullerton School District students bubbled with excitement behind a giant stage.
They had spent months preparing for this moment. After several auditions, weeks of rehearsals and trainings, and culturally enriching outings, five teams representing five FSD schools were about to sing and dance their hearts out in the district’s first-ever Korean Pop Music Battle of the Bands finale.
“I’ve never seen anything like it at school!,” professed K-pop fan and Ladera Vista Junior High School of The Arts team member Fionna S. exclaimed backstage.
April 9 was the big night for Fionna and the other sixth, seventh, and eighth graders competing in the inaugural contest where students emulated K-pop groups known for impeccably synchronized choreography, energetic vocals, and flashy fashion. In addition to Ladera Vista, the other FSD campuses represented were: Beechwood School , Fisler School, Parks Junior High, and Nicolas Junior High.
“With K-pop being such a popular genre of music right now and in conjunction with our efforts to connect with our growing Korean community in Fullerton, we saw this as a fantastic way to foster cultural appreciation while giving students an engaging, high-interest performing arts platform that resonates with them,” FSD Educational Services Director Phil Ling said in a district press release. Ling oversees the district’s performing arts programs for its more than 11,000 TK-8th grade students at 21 schools.
It was not an easy road to the finals. The competition started with 120 hopefuls at the first audition in October. The final 25 spent weeks practicing with professional dance instructors and vocal coaches from BBcat Afterschool, a K-pop training organization.
Students also visited the Korean Education Center in Los Angeles “deepening their understanding of Korean history and traditions to enrich and integrate into their performances,” according to FSD. The Center also provided grant funding for the program. (Go behind the scenes of the months-long competition in this video series produced by Fullerton School District alumnus Christian Lomeli.)
A video series shows how students experienced the Fullerton School District's first K-Pop Battle of the Bands competition.
“I thought the experience was very fun,” Seoyoon C., a seventh grader at Fisler said in an interview moments before her performance. “It’s my first time dancing on stage,” she shared, her eyes lighting up.
Annabel C., a seventh grader at Ladera Vista said she is a huge fan of K-pop. “I like music that is loud and energetic,” she said. Annabel credited the district’s K-pop competition with boosting her confidence to overcome stage fright. “It makes me feel loved.”
As an excited crowd grew inside the courtyard of The Source OC, students made final adjustments to their outfits inspired by K-pop stars including BLACKPINK, BTS, and Stray Kids. A teacher walked around with a can of hairspray asking students if they needed a last-minute spritz. Directly across from the stage was an elevated platform where the judges would watch the show. They included K-pop industry professionals.
The five teams each performed one song during the show. Photos by Jeannette Andruss
One by one, the teams took the stage. The students bounced in sync to the K-pop beats and exuded confidence like their idols. Teams were judged on criteria that included dance performance, vocals, stage presence, and charisma. Families, students, district and school staff and administrators, school board trustees and more screamed, clapped, and cheered in approval.
In the end, the team from Parks Junior High took the Grand Prize for performing the BLACKPINK song “Pink Venom.” The team now gets to make a music video and have a professional vocal recording. The team also won $500 from the nonprofit Kids Fish On. FSD Superintendent Bob Pletka, Ed.D., is on the Kids Fish On board.
“It was such a joy watching our young students grow as performers through the K-Pop Battle of the Bands,” Parks Junior High team's instructor Salvador Hernandez, director of instrumental music at the campus, wrote in an email to Spotlight Schools. “I am incredibly proud of how hard they worked as a team and how they kept each other accountable to be the best teammates possible for each other.”
The team from Nicolas Junior High won the trophy for Best Dance and Best Vocals was awarded to the team from Fisler. All participating students also earned a field trip to Disneyland.
“It felt really good,” Winter C. of team Fisler said after the performance, her proud family nearby. “I just feel really, really happy with the vocal award,” she said before being mobbed by her friends wanting to take a picture.
When asked what he learned from the experience, Winter’s teammate Brandon K. said, “I learned I could dance and sing without being embarrassed.”
Inspiring kids to get out of their comfort zones is something Jini Shim, a Korean language teacher at Parks, said she loved about the program.
“I remember being blown away by some of my more 'shy' students in class sending in their audition videos or coming out for the in-person auditions,” Shim wrote in an email to Spotlight Schools. “I have never seen another school district carry out – and successfully at that – such [an] engaging and dynamic program and I hope the students will cherish this experience for a long time."
This all started out as an idea from Dr. Pletka as a way to connect the district’s growing Korean community while highlighting the performing arts. “This was just one more way for the kids to express their passion for the arts and celebrate culture,” Dr. Pletka said in an brief interview shortly after the competition wrapped up.
His advice to other districts looking to implement a similar program is to avoid putting a ceiling on it. “Aim high, dream big and bring the right people in the room together,” he said.
Doris Cho, a parent volunteer with a student at Parks, was at the finale handing out pom-poms to students to cheer on their team. “It’s quite remarkable,” Cho said of the K-Pop Battle of the Bands. She said she appreciated the program and how it highlighted Korean culture. “Our identity is being seen,” she said.
The district has a Korean dual-language academy at Laguna Road Elementary and Parks is hosting FSD's 4th annual Korean Culture Night this week.
After the main event of the K-pop competition wrapped up last Wednesday, a group of elementary school-age dancers took the stage. “You’ll see them again in a couple of years,” Ting said of the young performers, a sign that the district’s K-pop program has a future in Fullerton.