‘K-pop concert was a gift to the community’

Press conference at the Saipan Mayor’s Office yesterday afternoon was held to discuss about the K-pop concert cancellation. (LEIGH GASES)

Organizers of the cancelled K-pop concert that was supposed to take place today and tomorrow apologized to the CNMI community yesterday, saying the concert was supposed to be a gift and a gesture of thanks to the community.

In a press briefing yesterday at the Saipan Mayor’s Office conference room, the planned “2022 Saipan Tourism Fanival,” which was supposed to be a free K-pop concert was intended as a gesture of thanks by Hong Kyun Kim, who is the president of P&A Corp. and a businessman of 25 years on Saipan.

Speaking through a translator and through Ho Joon “Jonathan” Joo, Kim said he wanted to have this concert because “I appreciate Saipan for my life. Saipan is my second hometown. I’m a businessman…I want to return to the community because of things I received from this community.”

He said he feels sorry for the cancellation of the concert, but “Saipan is my second hometown and I want to continuously live here with my family and I want to work together with the local people.”

When asked what the mayor’s office role was in the event, Apatang clarified that his office’s role in the event was just logistics. “We’re here helping with logistics. When they came and asked for help, we did that, kind of guiding them through…but we did not receive any money from anybody…because the way the [Customs and Border Protection] was asking was like we’re getting paid. But we don’t do that here in this office. Coordinating the group from Korea is P&A– that’s their responsibility.”

He added that it was a free concert provided by Kim and the P&A group. “They’re not paying anybody to do it; they put it on the newspaper, it’s free for the community,” Apatang added.

When the 17 persons who were supposed to perform at the concert arrived on Wednesday, CBP did not allow the group to leave the airport due to not having the proper work visas. The day before, on Tuesday, six members of the stage crew arrived on tourist visas and were allowed to leave the airport.

When the organizers were asked whether or not they knew the performers had to get work visas, they said they were not aware of that. The organizers said the CBP previously allowed Korean citizens to enter, but this time the performers were not.

“We had no idea that the performers had to secure a [work] visa before they come here. Tourists have been coming here left and right from Korea, and I thought they can come in and visit the CNMI,” Apatang said.

“This was the first time that they’re going to perform here. …Now the way this group was treated…is so bad. Right now, they’re still in the departure room– and they’ve been there for [one] day… just imagine that treatment. I don’t think it’s right.”

He added, “People have been asking, are we getting paid or not? We’re not getting any money out of these people, not the mayor’s office. We’re just helping with the logistics. Mr. Kim of the P&A is the one who coordinated [with his] good heart.”

It was said that along with some South Korean agencies, Kim paid some of the expenses for the event, along with the South Korean government and other South Korean sponsors, but that the local CNMI government paid no expense.

When asked whether the artists were paid to perform here, the organizers said they were not.

Apatang added that “maybe [CBP] thought the performers are getting paid to come in and they have to probably declare whatever we’re going to get—but it’s free. Mr. Kim, from the goodness of his heart, he’s always working with us with the student exchange program.”

When asked if the mayor had authority to request a waiver with CBP to allow the performance to continue because it was a nonprofit event, Apatang said it was too late as the performers were already awaiting their flight home. The group was scheduled to leave yesterday at 4pm.