By Angela Lee

Promoters of South Korean music in Vancouver are setting the city up for a drenching from three hallyu (Korean Wave) artists set to hit the 3000-seat Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

"Hallyu" refers to the recent surge of popularity of South Korean pop culture in countries abroad, mainly China, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Korean dramas are huge in Japan, and have begun to pull a growing share of Canadian viewers into their convoluted yet irresistibly engrossing story-lines. Now this success is set to be matched in the worlds of movies and popular music.

Vancouver-based Key West Entertainment has staged a bit of a coup by convincing pop sensation Ivy to perform on this side of the Pacific. The sexy 25-year-old singer has been shunning the spotlight since her ex-boyfriend reportedly threatened to release a taped tryst of theirs to the media.

Ivy and the events’ other two acts – the currently scandal-free DJ DOC and Tei – embody K-pop’s hottest styles: hip-hop, R&B and dance, respectively. See their profiles, below.

The 2007 K-Pop Concert with Fido will take place at 7.30pm, Sun Nov 25 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (649 Cambie St). Tix $125/95/65. Info: 604-461-9335.

Ivy

The singer known for her racy music videos opened for the South Korean leg of Christina Aguilera’s Back to Basics Tour. Ivy’s popularity has recently begun to skyrocket with the release of her second album, Vol. 2 – A Sweet Moment, and her slickly produced live shows have made her one of the highest-paid female singers in South Korea.

DJ DOC

Extremely popular in the late 1990s, DJ DOC (which stands for "Dream of Children") last released an album in 2004. They’re still popular with fans in their 20s and 30s, however, and the group has become a staple on the tour circuit.

Tei

Plucked from the obscurity of a Korean karaoke website, singer Tei has gone on to win fans with his gentle and soothing ballads. The artist marked the end of a two-year hiatus with a pair of successful concerts in Japan, and currently hosts an evening radio show on KBS called "Tei’s Music Island."