Meet the all girl Irish hip hop troop who are huge in Korea

It’s a long way from Dublin to Changwon in South Korea but that hasn’t stopped an all girl hip hop dance troop from Dublin taking Korea by storm and winning a 10,000Euro prize along the way.

The 'GGC' Crew from Dublin recently returned from Korea where they beat off 120,000 competitors from 61 countries to win the prestigious K-Pop World Festival in front of a lived televised audience of 25,000 people.

The seven member group are all in their late teens and earlier twenties. The include Lisa Craddock, Jennifer Purdy, Niamh Carroll, Ali Flood, Kellie Murnaghan, Jessie McGovern and Sally-Anne Burke.

They are all part of a larger dance troop called Canvas Crew and, are no strangers to international performing, having represented Ireland in the 2013 World Hip Hop Championship in Las Vegas.

However, it has been their Grand Prize victory in Korea that has given them a true taste of fame in a country where fame 'K-Pop', a loud and glitzy form of pop music, is the country's most popular form of entertainment. K-Pop first came to the world's attention with the success of Psy's 'Gangham Style' hit.

They have also introduced Ireland to a new generation of Koreans who, thanks to a rapidly growing economy, are increasingly starting to travel the world. This is something the Korean embassy in Ireland are keen to highlight as they work to forge relations between the two countries.

The members are all at various stages in their lives, mostly either studying or working, but that hasn't stopped them from dedicating themselves to rising to the top of the K-Pop world.

“We've all different schedules so have ended up rehearsing from 9pm until 2am most days. This means a lack of sleep so it's a big commitment but we're really passionate about what we do so it's been a fair price to pay” says group member Lisa Craddock.

Not only did the group need to perfect their new choreography but they had to learn to sing in Korean, not an easy task by any means. Part of this involved a week long intensive language training programme in Korea.

The future is uncertain for the GGC Crew but having achieved fame in this country of 50 million people, a new world of opportunity awaits them. We wish them well.

Watch the prize giving ceremony here and a performance from the GGC crew.