Happy Chinese New Year Hallyu Fans! — What Did Popular K-Pop Acts Like EXO, BTS, TWICE, And Red Velvet Do For The Year Of The Rooster?

Throughout the year, certain Hallyu events celebrate holidays. Many Hallyu stars, especially those who specialize in K-pop, K-dramas, and K-movies, celebrated the new year with end-of-the-year shows. The Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), and the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) held their respective K-drama awards ceremonies, and also their music festivals, SBS Gayo Daejeon, KBS Gayo Daechukji, and the MBC Gayo Daejejeon respectively.

Around this time of the year, people celebrate the Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year. In 2016, Girls’ Generation stood out among all other K-pop stars for being the only act invited to perform on a Chinese New Year event on Chinese television. But what about this year? Here is what popular K-pop acts like EXO, BTS, Twice, and Red Velvet did to celebrate the Year of the Rooster.

Despite the fact the Chinese New Year is often a season to spend with families and friends, it might actually be one of the busiest times of the year for K-pop acts. According to AllKpop, representatives of the entertainment labels and agencies representing EXO, BTS, and Twice revealed what the popular K-pop acts will be doing for the Chinese New Year.

Starting with EXO, SM Entertainment is apparently rewarding them with rest and relaxation after a very busy year. A representative from SM Entertainment spoke on EXO’s behalf, providing an official statement on the matter.

“EXO had a busy year with numerous performances and activities. We would like to give this opportunity for the members to spend quality time with family and friends.”

BTS and Twice might not get the same luxury as EXO for the Chinese New Year. Both K-pop acts will be participating in their first K-pop comebacks of 2017, sometime in February, and they might be busy working on their respective comebacks. Even more so for BTS, as they will be kicking off their world tour. Fortunately, both Big Hit Entertainment and JYP Entertainment revealed that BTS and Twice would also be able to enjoy their Chinese New Year with family and friends.

“The boys [BTS] will be taking a break during this Lunar New Year season,” said Big Hit Entertainment.

“There isn’t anything specifically planned, the girls [Twice] will be personally taking time off to be with family,” JYP Entertainment said.

For Red Velvet, it is more than likely they spent time with friends and family, but they actually had to do something work-related (though it looks like they had more fun than actually work). As shown in the video attached above, Red Velvet competed in a “Happiness” cooking contest for the Chinese New Year.

Red Velvet was divided into two groups. Irene and Seulgi versus Yeri and Wendy. Joy was not a part of the contest, most likely to keep it fair. Their “mission” for the “Happiness” cooking contest was similar to their K-pop comeback concept in which it is either “Red” or “Velvet.” Irene and Seulgi had the “Red” mission and Yeri and Wendy had the “Velvet” mission. The winner would have their dish featured on the official SM Town menu.

Just like BTS and Twice, Red Velvet will be making their K-pop comeback later this week on Wednesday, February 1, as they will release an EP or mini-album titled Rookie, which features a title track of the same name.

[Featured Images by SM Entertainment, Big Hit Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment]