Why has a K-Pop star been in Dorchester?
Hoony visited the popular Dorchester Beerex with local YouTuber Emily
Last updated 10th Feb 2023
This year’s Dorchester Beerex festival “exceeded all expectations” said Chris Davies, and even had a unique surprise in store for attendees.
Lee Seung-hoon, otherwise known as Hoony, a South Korean rapper visited the popular beer festival along with local YouTuber Emily, who now lives and teaches in Korea.
West Dorset CAMRA press officer, Rich Gabe said:
“When I was initially emailed by the Korean production company, I thought it was a wind up, but soon realised it was for real when a film crew turned up.”
The pair turned up to the beer festival for a South Korean TV show in which the presenter Hoony visited Emily’s home county of Dorset. Mr Gabe said:
“I think it was for a travel and culture show, a bit like The One Show.”
He noted that when Hoony walked through the Dorchester Beerex festival he held some gravitas:
“As he walked through, people parted like they knew he was someone and a couple of people recognised him straight away.”
This year’s beer festival generated the most revenue since its conception in 1988 earning a net profit of £23,000.
An excellent return considering members of the Beerex committee were concerned about “businesses looking after their pennies” amidst talks of a potential recession.
Ultimately, the Beerex festival managed to attain 107 sponsors including the ciders, the beers and even the band, “We were in profit before we even sold a beer or opened the doors Friday”, Mr Gabe noted.
He added:
“With the ticket sales, the ticket sales on the day, all the sponsorship packages we managed to negotiate, we were in profit as soon as we opened which was a really nice position to be in.”
The main sponsor was Cerne Abbas brewery near Dorchester, and they were also swept the “Beer of the Festival” awards taking home gold, silver and bronze medal in a public vote. This was another Beerex first as no brewery has ever taken all three top spots.
The event was rounded off on Saturday night with a set from Britpop cover band ‘That Britpop band’. Mr Gabe said Saturday night was “a bit of a party” as he called That Britpop Band “absolutely superb” and their musicianship “spot on.”
Reflecting on the festival, Mr Gabe said:
“It was very upbeat event and I think one of the good things I like about Beerex is people quite often associate negativity with alcohol but we didn't get any trouble.
“People are very passionate about the events, it’s organised and run by people who really care about the event and they are so professionally executed. In turn, that means that when customers come through the door, they're relaxed and they're having a good time.”