Bacolod dance crew wins Changwon K-Pop World Fest Cebu Prelims

A nearly half-day bus journey from their hometown of Bacolod to Cebu City using their own pocket money was worth it for the K-pop dance group X: Encrypted, as they emerged grand champion in the dance category in the Changwon K-Pop World Festival 2025 Cebu preliminaries held June 29 at SM Seaside City.

They wowed the crowd and the judges with their energetic performance of SEVENTEEN’s “Getting Closer,” donning trendy brown outfits reminiscent of what the actual group might wear on stage.

Much like the K-pop idol group they emulated, X: Encrypted has 13 members: Romeo, James, Eleven, Kean, Lester, Jim, JKen, Bryan, Mint, Joshua, JB, Aki, and Suine.

Explaining why they chose SEVENTEEN as their primary inspiration, Lester said the group’s choreography stood out among others, making it ideal for dance covers.

“What we noticed from SEVENTEEN is their choreography. You can’t have a quality performance if you don’t see how the choreography works, especially if you’re participating in a dance competition,” Lester told The FREEMAN.

The members knew each other before forming the group in 2022, having been part of other dance crews in Bacolod.

“It’s a very fun and healthy competition,” Lester described. “There’s always something happening in the dance community in Bacolod because of how diverse it is.”

“You can say that Bacolod is somehow the titan city of K-pop dance covers,” he added. “The groups are quality performers and they know how to perform in front of a crowd. If you are a dance group exploring Bacolod, you better watch out.”

Even though the members are no strangers to one another, it took a trial-and-error process to find their footing and group dynamic. “We had to commit many mistakes so we could find the right chemistry and give quality performances,” Kean said.

X: Encrypted won P20,000 in cash from the Korean Consulate in Cebu and became part of the finalists whose recorded performances will be reviewed by the Changwon K-Pop World Festival organizers to determine if they will represent the Philippines in South Korea later this year.

“We are excited to represent Bacolod and the whole Philippines in Korea. We are thankful, especially since we only had a short span of time to prepare, but we pulled it off,” Lester said.

Also qualifying were the first runner-up, Understatement, and second runner-up, Young Villains – both from Cebu – winning P15,000 and P10,000, respectively.

Impressing the audience with their top-notch rendition of KATSEYE’s “Gnarly,” Understatement deliberately chose the global girl group’s viral song as part of their goal to spread feminine energy in Cebu’s K-pop dance cover scene.

“We always try to embody feminine power with our dances, and that’s the whole point of why we call ourselves ‘Understatement,’” Aidha said.

The group regularly holds rehearsals in Mandaue City. “During our practices, it’s not one person directing us. All of us give comments to each other and push each other to do better. It’s a mix of fun and seriousness, and I think our passion led us to our victory as first runner-up,” Atheena said.

Hailing from Lapu-Lapu City, Young Villains, composed of kids and teens, delighted the crowd with their powerful, idol-like performance of BTS’ “Mic Drop.”

Earlier in the competition, local singers Aines Leigh Atendido, Jhon Rey Pardillo, Jian Kylie Tiu, Lee Haeseong, Seth Luna, and XING performed various Korean songs, some notably featured in K-dramas. All of them qualified for evaluation to determine whether any of these Cebuanos will represent the Philippines in the singing category in South Korea.

The Cebu preliminary round of the Changwon K-Pop World Festival 2025 was organized by the Korean Consulate in Cebu, the Korean Association in Cebu, SM Seaside, Y101 radio station, and its weekly K-pop show HALLYU IL.