SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, OCT 21
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
ZOOM
RSVP Only
K-Pop & Beyond Opening Zoom Session
K-Pop meets Hip-Hop: A Dialogue for Development
Hip-hop artist and scholar Queen Herawin and K-pop songwriter and producer Jae Chong will join a panel discussion on “K-Pop Meets Hip-Hop: A Dialogue for Development,” related to the main theme of this year’s K-Pop & Beyond. Moderated by Toki Wright, Chair of Professional Music, this session requires an RSVP.
TUESDAY, OCT 27
Music Industry Career Consultation
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Career Center Conference Rooms
(Valencia Room 921-2-212)
921 Boylston St.
2nd Floor
Danny Chung and Aria McKnight will meet individually with students to discuss career development. A sign-up sheet will be available in early October.
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
The Immersive Tech Room (150 Mass Ave) RM. 106
Academic Seminar
When Korean Sounds English: Language and Hip-Hop in K-Pop
What happens to language when musical styles travel across cultures? This talk explores the interplay of language, music, and identity in K-pop, with a particular focus on the influence of hip-hop on how Korean artists use and pronounce language.
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
The Immersive Tech Room (150 Mass Ave) RM. 106
Music Industry Masterclass: Understanding the Role of A&R
Aria McKnight will meet with students to share insights into the role of A&R in the music industry and host a Q&A session. Advance registration is required.
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
The Loft
(921 Boylston St.
3rd Floor)
Danny Chung Masterclass
Danny Chung will meet with students to share insights into the K-pop industry and his experiences working at THEBLACKLABEL and contributing to projects for BLACKPINK and Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters. Advance registration is required.
WEDNESDAY, OCT 28
Music Industry Career Consultation
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Career Center Conference Rooms
(Valencia Room 921-2-212)
921 Boylston St.
2nd Floor
Danny Chung and Aria McKnight will meet one-on-one with students to discuss career development. Registration is required. Click the button above to sign up!
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
7 Haviland Patio
K-Pop Random Play Dance
Berklee student dance team B-Top hosts K-Pop Random Play Dance!
Join this exciting street dance celebration!
Guest Dance team: IMIX
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
160 Mass Ave. Lobby
New Music Showcase
Berklee CJ Scholarship students and their peers will perform new arrangements of original songs and Korean covers.
Music Industry Seminar: Music Industry Case Studies
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM The Immersive Tech Room (150 Mass Ave) RM. 106
Aria McKnight will meet with students to share insights from her work on A&R projects and her career development in the music industry, followed by a Q&A session. Advance registration is required.
K-Pop & Beyond Main Event
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
939 Cafe,
The Red Room
939 Boylston St.
A panel discussion featuring Danny Chung, Aria McKnight and Berklee faculty members, Toki Wright and Dr. Aminah Pilgrim.
Performances by K-Pop & Beyond Ensemble and Boston Conservatory at Berklee dancers.
THURSDAY, OCT 29
Music Industry Career Consultation
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Career Center Conference Rooms
921 Boylston St.
2nd Floor
Aria McKnight will meet with students individually to discuss career development. Sign-up is required. Click the button above to sign up!
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Steve Heck Room
1140 Boylston St. Lobby
Film Screening - Limecrime
Korean independent hip-hop film Limecrime (2021):
Songju, a boy from a low-income neighborhood of multifamily homes, loves hip-hop, and rapper E SENS is his hero. He and Juyeon, a classmate who lives in an affluent apartment complex, form a hip-hop team called Rhyme Crime. Dreaming of performing at “The Jungle,” a legendary hip-hop venue, the two boys decide to attend the same high school so they can rap together. But the differences in their backgrounds gradually begin to pull them apart.
8:00 PM
Berklee Performance Center
130 Mass Ave.
B-Girls Concert at BPC
B-Girls is Berklee’s one and only K-pop idol group, which made its debut at K-Pop & Beyond. They will perform original songs and choreography alongside K-pop cover songs. Tickets can be purchased at Berklee Performance Center website.
MEET THE GUESTS
Danny Chung
A&R/Lyricist at THEBLACKLABEL
Danny Chung is a songwriter and creative force known for fusing razor-sharp lyricism with global pop sensibilities. From penning Blackpink’s anthems “How You Like That” and “Pink Venom” at THEBLACKLABEL to shaping the sonic world of the K-pop Demon Hunters soundtrack, his work continues to push K-pop into uncharted territory. Based between Seoul, Bangkok, and his hometown roots in Philadelphia, Danny brings a distinct voice that bridges cultures and genres, blending hip-hop grit with polished pop storytelling. Beyond writing hits, he plays a key role at THEBLACKSEA in Bangkok as Creative Director, cultivating artists and collaborations that connect on an international scale.
Aria McKnight
A&R Senior Manager at Capitol Records
Aria McKnight is Senior Director of A&R at Capitol Records, where she works across a global roster of artists including aespa, MEOVV, BABYMETAL, Sienna Spiro, Niall Horan, and ADÉLA. With a focus on pop and international repertoire, McKnight works across artist development, song and producer sourcing, and the creative process from early development through release. She has also placed records with leading K-pop artists including NCT 127, JAEHYUN of NCT, KAI of EXO, and KEY of SHINee, as well as working closely with Anderson .Paak for the soundtrack for his film K-POPS, building a track record of connecting artists with songwriters and producers across the global music market. Her work is driven by a passion for identifying distinctive talent, developing records, and helping artists create music that resonates across cultures and audiences.
Dr. Aminah Pilgrim
Associate Professor,
Africana Studies at Berklee College of Music
Dr. Aminah Fernandes Pilgrim is a mother, artist, author, community organizer, and award-winning educator. She joined Berklee's Liberal Arts and Sciences Department in 2020, teaching African American Women’s History and Hip-Hop History and Context. A few years later, she became the first faculty hired in the newly established Africana Studies Division. Her areas of research and teaching include late 19th- and 20th-century African American history, African American women’s history, African Diaspora studies, Cabo Verdean studies, critical education research, and Hip Hop studies. She has contributed to public history initiatives such as the Providence Black Studies Freedom School and the City of Brockton Community Black History Course. She is the founder of the Hip Hop Initiative (est. 2004), and has founded or volunteered for many other organizations. She is a frequently solicited speaker, trusted advisor, and well-known thought leader in the region.
Prof. Queen Herawin
Hip-Hop Musician/Scholar (Opening Session)
Queen Herawin is an emcee, poet, visual artist, educator, and cultural ambassador whose work bridges music, education, and the arts. With more than 20 years of experience, she is dedicated to fostering creativity, cultural preservation, and social awareness through her interdisciplinary practice.
As a member of the pioneering Hip-Hop group The Juggaknots, she has contributed to influential projects including Use Your Confusion and WKRP in NYC. Her solo albums Metamorphosis, Awaken the Sleeping Giant and DOTOM: Death of The Old Me all showcase her transformative artistry, with additional collaborative work alongside Rhymefest, UnLearnTheWorld, Ruste Juxx, Wordsworth, Masta Ace, Jean Grae, Apathy, and DJ Spinna. Her work has been featured on projects like Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1 and A Prince Among Thieves.
Beyond music, Queen Herawin is an accomplished visual artist and curator, with exhibitions highlighted in The New York Times and The Huffington Post. In education, she has taught Pre-K through college. As a cultural ambassador via the Next Level Program in association with U.S. State Department’s she has taught in Peru and site-managed projects in Barbados.
Through her artistry, pedagogy, and cultural work, she continues to shape innovative frameworks for the future of Hip-Hop and education.
Jae Chong
Hip-Hop Musician/Scholar (Opening Session)
Jae Chong is a leading Asian-American music producer who primarily works as a Mando-Pop and K-Pop writer and producer. He has sold over 70M+ records worldwide and is responsible for creating numerous award-winning hits for artists that have been celebrated at MelOn Music Awards, MNET Asian Music Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, and more. His credits include Coco Lee, A-mei, Aziatix, JYJ, Solid, and Trouble Maker.
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He’s also the main producer and member of the popular South Korean R&B group, ‘SOLID’ and the first Korean-American nominated for the Golden Melody Awards ‘Best Producer of the Year’. Jae Chong has also helped launch MACHI Entertainment, the first hip-hop entertainment company in Taiwan.
Prof. Kyuwon Moon
Assistant Teaching Professor, Brown University
Kyuwon Moon received Ph.D. in Linguistics from Stanford University. She received her B.A. and M.A. in Korean language and literature from Seoul National University in Korea. Prior to coming to Brown University, she had taught Korean at Boston University, and had taught courses in linguistics and Korean in various institutions. At Brown, she looks forward to teaching introductory and intermediate level Korean courses. Her current research interests include phonetic variation in second language speech and its pedagogical implication, and adressing gender in second language classroom.
Dr. Moon explores how language in Korean hip-hop has evolved and been influenced by American English.
SUPPORTERS
The Fall 2026 Berklee K-Pop & Beyond event is organized by the Berklee Professional Music Department and would not have been possible without the support of our interdepartmental and global partners including the Berklee Career Center, and Berklee Global. We are especially grateful to the CJ Cultural Foundation for their generous support and passion for K-Pop.
STUDENT SUPPORTERS
We would like to thank all the Berklee student clubs and volunteers who made this event possible!
K-Pop & Beyond Volunteers
B-Top Dancers