2NE1 to speak at 59th Cannes Lions International Film Festival

2NE1 [YG Entertainment]

K-pop girl group 2NE1 is heading to France as co-speakers at the 59th Cannes Lions International Film Festival, the group’s agency, YG Entertainment said in a press release on Thursday.

Being one of the hottest girl groups in Korea, 2NE1 has been invited to the annual international awards with the girls' co-host SJ Kimm, regional president of Cheil Worldwide in South-East Asia, to speak about “Korean Wave Through Digital Wave” in Cannes, France, on June 18.

“It’s our first time to stand in front of a large crowd as speakers, and not artists. As the representatives of the Korean pop music at the festival, we'll show K-pop’s potential and why they need to pay attention to K-pop music,” 2NE1 said in their statement.

The girls then added that next time, they hope to be invited to the Cannes as artists rather than speakers.

K-pop has been at the center of attention in the music business in recent years, as digital platforms such as social networking services have been allowing K-pop music’s easier access to the international music listeners.

According to global financial news paper Bloomberg’s figure, K-pop puts viewership figures around 2.5 billion won and has fueled the influence of Korean entertainment’s business, in terms of its contents and business environment.

2NE1, who will be a part of taking the lead in K-pop music's global boom, will be heading to the event that will be held between June 17 and 23, with other world-class speakers.

The list of speakers include the London 2012 Organizing Committee chairman Lord Sebastian Coe. the WWP group founder Martin Sorrell and Nike Global Brand & Category Management vice-president Trevor Edwards.

Meanwhile, 2NE1's second mini-album, which is their latest release in July last year, generated hits like "LONELY" and "UGLY," bringing a sensation in K-pop music across Asia and Europe.

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10 아시아 Reporter : Monica Suk monicasuk@
10 아시아 Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@