Students express “Hallyu love” with fan art in Smart design contest

PHOTO: Ku’s “Feel the Beat” design is inspired by Korean sensations BTS

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Young Filipinos across the country rode the Korean wave and showed their love for “hallyu” in the “K-reate for a Cause” sustainability design contest, organized by leading mobile provider Smart Communications. The campaign highlights the youth’s passion to create, and their drive to give back to their community. Students from 50 universities hopped on the K phenomenon and submitted fan art that express their passion and purpose.  

“The K-reate for a Cause design contest allows the youth to express their passion through visual art. The initiative also provides an opportunity to help causes that are close to their hearts. Just like their Korean idols, Smart encourages the youth to live life with purpose,” said Jane Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart.  

The Korean wave or “hallyu” has gripped the Filipino Gen Z, creating a loyal fan base that follows their every move. The Filipino youth have embraced Korean idols and have supported not only their careers but their passions as well. 

Wynnona Ku didn’t expect to fall in love with Korean music. But after listening to a popular BTS beat, the Tourism major from Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) found herself expanding her playlist to include their songs. She says the diverse sounds she listens to help her in her other passion projects.  

“Music helps me to be productive. The different beats I listen to help me in generating new ideas or content. Music gives us different emotions. It can exude joy or sadness. Music enables us to express our feelings, in my case, through my visual arts,” said Ku.   

Just like how BTS’ tunes have inspired her entry called “Feel the Beat”, the youth leader also acknowledged that music has helped young Filipinos cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Ku recalled that even when the country was placed under varying degrees of restrictions, she saw her fellow Gen Z post dance videos, jam online, and create their own music to express their emotions. 

“The power of music is to inspire, influence, and give positive thoughts to everyone nowadays because of all the negativity and challenges that we are facing,” Ku added.  

Ku is among the 50 young artists whose designs have been chosen by Smart for production. Smart will print winning designs on Php 50,000 worth of merchandise. The winners can then sell these items to raise funds for their chosen beneficiaries. The designs can be printed on water tumblers, tote bags and T-shirts just to name a few. The principal designer also gets to take home a Samsung Galaxy S21, Smart Prepaid 5G SIM, Php 1,000 worth of Smart prepaid load, and a Smart Passion+Purpose mystery box.  

Smart continues to spread the “hallyu” love among its customers. Smart is giving fans who have missed out on the exclusive Smart+BTS Photo Cards a chance to win these limited edition photos through a raffle.   

Partnering with Viu, Smart has launched the Smart Giga K-Video packs that allow subscribers to enjoy the best of Korean entertainment through the Viu Premium Experience. With 1 GB of data for K-videos daily, subscribers can watch the latest shows as quickly as eight hours after they were aired in Korea. They also enjoy unlimited downloads and access to all content on Viu without advertisements.