Rising above the festival's cornucopia of ethnic food and multicultural arts, two star vocalists will occupy center stage in this week's Korean celebrations.

Expect to see Janet Oi of Kane'ohe milling about the park, seeking a glimpse of the Korean divas, known in true pop-star fashion by their one-word monikers. Bada and J — who by this reasoning must be really big, since she goes by only a single letter — are featured performers at the festival (see box), hitting the bandstand at 6 p.m. They also are appearing at the inaugural Korean American Foundation banquet set for tomorrow. That event is sold out.

Oi adores just about everything about the Korean music scene, although her true love is pop heartthrob Kim Min-Jong. "I carry his picture on my handbag, on my checkbook," she said with a laugh. "I went to Korea, and when I got off the plane, I thought, 'I'm breathing the same air you're breathing, where are you?'

"I have four pictures of him on the headboard in my bedroom, and none of my husband," Oi added. "He doesn't mind" — a nod to her indulgent spouse — "he's happy I'm in love with Kim Min-Jong."

Now that's a fan, someone hopeful that one of the hot male popsters from South Korea will be the import at next year's festival. And at this rate, it could happen, said Jun Yoo, a member of the foundation and something of a local expert on Korean pop culture. Korean stars have begun to recognize what a following they have in Hawai'i, Yoo said.

"He said he now understands how popular they are," said Yoo, a UH history professor who ran the symposium. " 'Yellow Handkerchief' was never made for outside Korea ... he was flabbergasted that people loved that drama.

"The fact is, they knew every ... drama, and they're craving for more."

The South Korean soaps intersect with the music scene, Yoo said, partly because some of the actors are also recording artists and partly because the pop music has become bestselling soundtracks for the soaps. Rabid fan Oi may be 57 years old, but fans of all ages, preteen on up, are glued to the broadcasts of the dramas and the weekly televised songfest "Music Bank" that airs at 7 tonight on KBFD (Oceanic channel 4).

At last year's festival, members of the Lim Eun-Joo Studio from Suwan City, South Korea, performed a traditional dance. The fourth annual festival takes place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Advertiser library photos

Performance masks are used in stage acts at the festival, including this year's "Kosong Ogwangdae," a traditional five-act dance.

Korean pop culture is big within Mainland Korean-American communities, Yoo said, but the attraction in Hawai'i crosses ethnic boundaries a lot more.

Whatever the reason for the craze, Rex Kim expects it to draw a bigger crowd than ever to the festival. Kim is president of the Hawaii Korean Chamber of Commerce, the festival sponsor, but this year the chamber has involved a broad coalition of Korean organizations in planning the event.

Cooperation within the Korean community is at an all-time high ever since the 2003 centennial observance of Korean-American immigration, Kim said, and he's counting on that to make the event a big success.

There's another cross-cultural draw, of course: Love of kim chee. This year's event marks the debut of the kim chee-eating competition. The Chamber of Commerce is getting ready.

"I need to make sure we have enough breath mints at the contest," he said. "In fact, I think that's one of the prizes. That and Rolaids."