K-pop boyband with Vietnamese member brings heat to HCMC festival

TEMPEST, the headliner of the festival, performed for the first time in Vietnam following the invitation of musician Huy Tuan, the director of HOZO. The group came to HCMC one day before the main event and saw hundreds of fans waiting at the airport. Their seventh member Hwarang was injured and couldn’t go to Vietnam.

The group performed a series of hits like “Vroom Vroom”, “Dangerous”, “Can’t Stop Shining”, and “Taste the Feeling”. Member Hyeongseop said the city “feels like home” with the support of thousands of fans.

Hanbin, real name Ngoc Hung (C), is a Vietnamese member of the group. His name was constantly chanted by the fans. The 25-year-old said he was proud to perform in the first show in his hometown as a K-pop artist.
His breakthrough came in 2020 when he participated in the reality show I-Land of Big Hit Entertainment, the management company of superstar group BTS. After that, he joined Yuehua Entertainment as a trainee and became one of seven members of TEMPEST.

Hanbin wore the Vietnamese conical hat on stage. He said before the show that TEMPEST enjoyed Vietnamese delicacies like bun cha (rice vermicilli with grilled pork) pho and banh xeo (sizzling pancakes).

At the end of the show, the group said they hoped to see Vietnamese fans again at a concert with all seven members.
TEMPEST was the first choice of the organizers for the event because there is a Vietnamese star in the group. They debuted in 2022 with their extended play “It’s Me, It’s We”, which was chosen by Billboard as one of the 25 best K-pop albums of the year.

The festival also featured other local acts like Van Mai Huong (R), My Anh, Erik and Vu Thao My.
This year’s HOZO Super Fest takes place on Dec. 22-24 with the slogan “From Ho Chi Minh City with Love”. The event was community-based and was free to enter.