All-Student K-Pop Bands Debut at K-Pop & Beyond Summit The diversity of the artists involved in the collaborative K-Pop Idol project, which developed the two groups, reveals the growth of the Hallyu community at Berklee.
By
Daniel Pesquera
October 9, 2024
Students from X-change and B-Girls, two groups formed out of the K-Pop Idol Project, pose at Berklees 2024 fall K-Pop & Beyond Summit.
Dave Green
In a packed David Friend Recital Hall, with top-level industry professionals in attendance, two student K-pop groups took the stage for the first time. Berklee's 2024 fall K-Pop & Beyond marked the debut of X-Change and B-Girls, who each gave electric performances representing the culmination of the student-driven K-Pop Idol Project.
The K-Pop Idol Project was conceived by students under the guidance of Dr. Ray Seol, assistant professor of professional music and organizer of K-Pop & Beyond. It brings together artists of different cultural and musical backgrounds to envision and create a K-pop band from scratch. Students lead every aspect of the group's formation and development-from auditions, songwriting, and video production to choreography, marketing, and social media management-with the goal of making a K-pop group that reflects the values of today's aspiring industry professionals.
X-Change is a mixed-gender group featuring Dasom Chung, Chrisen Yang, Mingxin Li, and Dolly Zhang as performing members and Kyra Clark and Madi Cores Sailer as directors. Their distinctive original music and choreography celebrates Gen Z culture and lifestyle while embracing foundational elements of the new wave of K-pop.
I am so honored to be a part of something so unique. This project holds a lot of personal meaning to me as it had always been a long time dream to be a K-pop idol, said Chung, who is the casting team lead, choreographer, and performer for X-Change. As I aged out with not many opportunities to pursue this in the States, this project is the closest I've ever gotten to something like it. It immensely aligns with my future job prospects as I am very much into dance and choreography, and getting to choreograph for this group is a great continuing step towards roles.
From left to right: Chrisen Yang, Dolly Zhang, Dasom Chung, and Mingxin Li of the K-pop Idol group X-change make their debut performance at Berklees 2024 fall K-Pop & Beyond.
Dave Green
B-Girls (Berklee Girls) is a dynamic K-pop trio that takes inspiration from the trailblazing K-pop girl groups of the '90s like S.E.S. and Fin.K.L. Made up of vocalists Bronwyn Shae Zoppelt, Veronica Leong, and Sofia Shkidchenko and directed by Christine Lee and Hyeri Han, the group's electrifying remixes and original tracks blend nostalgic vibes with a modern Gen Z flair to create a fresh sound. Guest rapper Samad Grays joined the B-Girls for their K-Pop & Beyond performance.
Im a Ukrainian singer-songwriter and I love exploring different genres of music, said Shkidchenko. I got into K-pop when I was around 12. Before that I hated taking dance classes, but after watching K-pop choreographies I started appreciating dance. The songs also helped me widen my musical interests.
With students from the two teams representing South Korea, China, Ukraine, Germany, Canada, Macau, and the United States, the cultural and artistic diversity within the Idol project is a powerful reflection of the rapid growth of the Hallyu community at Berklee over the last several years.
K-pop is one of the best examples of how a once-peripheral culture can be celebrated globally, said Seol. Understanding the significance of local culture is key to arts education, and K-pop offers everything you'd want to learn at a music college-from music production to technology and business. In my K-pop course, only one or two students are Korean, yet the non-Korean students demonstrate a deep passion for K-pop and Korean culture. I believe this is a very positive phenomenon that can catalyze the discovery of other local cultures with the potential to become the next global icons.
From left to right: Bronwyn Zoppelt, Sofia Shkidchenko, and Veronica Leong, known as B-Girls (Berklee Girls), making their debut performance at K-Pop & Beyond.
Dave Green
2024 fall K-Pop & Beyond is the latest in a series of events that have brought major artists and industry professionals to Berklee. This year's summit featured accomplished K-pop producer and artist Jae Chong, who was a member of the '90s K-pop group Solid and the first Korean-American nominated for producer of the year at the Golden Melody Awards. Previous events have welcomed songwriter and producer KENZIE '99, SM Entertainment CEO Chris Lee, and Nuel Always Cho, chief creative officer of Muzlive and a former executive at Sony, Universal, and Warner Music.
We are thrilled to witness young artists from diverse backgrounds embracing and contributing to the Hallyu wave, said representatives of the CJ Cultural Foundation, a key educational partner and cosponsor of the annual K-pop summit at Berklee since 2022. This collaboration not only highlights the universal appeal of Korean culture but also underscores the significant role the K-pop industry plays in the global music landscape. It is through these shared cultural experiences that we hope to inspire a new generation of artists to innovate and transcend boundaries.
Jae Chong from the 90sK-pop group Solid was the featured guest at the 2024 fall K-Pop & Beyond event.
Dave Green
The K-pop influence at Berklee has stretched well beyond the Boston campus. With the support of CJ Cultural Foundation and CJ ENM, students from Boston Conservatory at Berklee's contemporary and commercial dance programs have performed at KCON LA, the world's largest convention for Korean culture and music, since 2022.
I wasnt at all prepared
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...
All-Student K-Pop Bands Debut at K-Pop & Beyond Summit The diversity of the artists involved in the collaborative K-Pop Idol project, which developed the two groups, reveals the growth of the Hallyu community at Berklee.
