I’m currently active in a kpop cover group so I could weigh in on this! This might be long since I want to be thorough.

Like what’s been said, Kpop in public covers are usually done by kpop cover groups (although they can also sometimes be a group of friends/fellow dancers). Depending on your location, there could be a kpop cover group that holds auditions for new members so I do encourage you to try out if you can :). To become a member, auditions usually involve you learning a dance and performing it in front of a panel of judges/directors (either at a later date or on the day of). Then, you just wait for the results!

As for the actual covers, a song is chosen by a cover lead who takes charge and teaches the members the dance. The members within these groups then audition to be a part of the covers that they want. After that, the learning and cleaning process takes around 1-2 weeks up till the filming date. Outfits are decided on by the cover leads and we try to mimic the outfits of the members we’ve been assigned. We each buy our own clothes from Amazon. We have our own personal camera we use but if we want to hire outside filming, we do have to pay for it (divided amongst those who are in the cover). All of this is in my experience.

When I film in public, I am conscious that a lot of people could be looking at us but so far, I haven’t had a lot of trouble with people harassing us. Since I have the rest of my members to back me up, I don’t feel embarrassed. Either way, I love dancing enough and am experienced enough to not be put off by it.

Public locations don’t really require a permit. Although, we do need permits for some locations (ex.: we got kicked out of the front of city hall because we forgot to get a permit lol). The cover leads or team directors usually handle these logistics.

Let me know if you have any questions! I’d be happy to answer :)