Kim Soo Hyun's 1st Memories in Seoul Fan Meeting

Kim Soo Hyun's Asia Tour in Seoul

On Sunday, March 16^th I had the amazing opportunity to see one of my favorite South Korean actors, Kim Soo Hyun at his 1^st Memories in Seoul fan meeting. It was quite a journey to get there, as the tickets were really hard to get (because there was only 2,000 available) and I went through a lot of fangirl-induced emotional stress...but in the end, I was able to go and I had an amazing, second row seat on the first floor.

My ticket

I arrived at the venue outrageously early (the meeting started at 6PM but I got there around 1PM) so that I could wait in line for almost 2 hours to get some fan goods they were selling on site. Actually, all I really wanted was the light stick but I ended up getting the clear file package too just because.

They were setting up the poster...

It turns out, I really didn’t need to get there that early because the line dwindled down and there was still plenty of merchandise left. You just never know. Since I knew I was going to have a lot of time to just sit around though, I had bought a sandwhich from Subway. I went across the street and ate my lunch at a nice little park before heading into a café for a warm black-tea latte and a slice of cheese cake. I stayed at the café for a while, slowly eating my cake and drinking my tea. One of the great things about having a nook is that I also have to nook app on my phone so I just read my book and wasted time.

Around four I headed back to the venue and sat down on a nearby retaining wall to wait out the rest of the afternoon. Once again reading my book, it wasn’t a terrible experience since the weather was nice. After a while, a lot of people started to show up. In fact, they were just flocking in and the square in front of the auditorium got really crowded.

So many people...

At one time, there was some camera equipment being set up right in front of me so I looked up from my phone to ask if they wanted me to move when the crew noticed me and this Asian girl came over, all smiles and asked in English if I was a fan of Kim Soo Hyun.

I was just like, “Uh. Yeah.”

She then asked me if I was going to the fan meeting (affirmative) and if I could share some thoughts for fans in Hong Kong. I reluctantly agreed as she thrust me a microphone. She asked me if I had visited any of the sights from Kim Soo Hyun’s most recent drama Man From the Stars.

I had to think about that, because as of yet I haven’t intentionally visited any. But, then I remembered that I had been to Petite France recently so I told her that and she asked me to talk about it.

Oh, the awkward.

I wasn’t sure where to look…at my interviewer or the camera that was in my face so, I was looking between both while I told them that Petite France was really nice and pretty and a great place to visit.

When I finished, the girl politely asked if I could repeat the answer again and look at the camera.

FAIL.

So I looked directly into the camera and told it once again how I enjoyed Petite France and how it is a great place to visit and then I finished and no one said anything so I looked at my interviewer like a scared, lost animal.

She just smiled and asked if I could say something like, “Kim Soo Hyun is GREAT!”

And so, I looked at the camera and was like, “Kim Soo Hyun is awesome.”

Once again, I was asked if I could repeat myself. This time with more enthusiasm. Mortifying.

So I looked at the camera and was all, “Kim Soo Hyun is AWESOME!”

Then the girl asked me if I had bought anything from the merch booth and I showed her my light stick and clear files. They filmed them briefly, thanked me, and moved on.

Some other film crews showed up on sight but I had had enough of being in the spotlight so I tried to look busy and not make eye contact with any of the crew. Sometimes being the only western girl at an event really sucks.

Anyway, 6:00 eventually rolled around and we were asked to get in lines according to our floor, section, and seat number. I had a hard time figuring out which line to get it but lucky some other nice fans helped me out. When we got inside, I could hardly believe that my seat was literally in the second row. I mean, I knew it was, but I just couldn’t believe it was that close. Middle section. Practically right up front. We were even able to take pictures before the event so I snapped a shot of my view.

Second row, baby!

Sadly, once Kim Soo Hyun entered the Photo Ninjas popped out of nowhere and started crushing fangirl’s hearts right and left. Luckily, they didn’t kick anyone out at this event. But they did delete the photos if they caught you taking any and I felt a lot of second-hand embarrassment for those poor girls.

The fan meeting itself was just perfect. Kim Soo Hyun was so nice and funny. He was really handsome up close (of course) and I was surprised by how much I was able to understand what was going on.

Some lucky fans even got to go up on stage. Unfortunately, my seat number was never called but I’m pretty sure I made eye contact a few times and that’s okay with me. One of the times being the only western girl is actually a perk.

One of the highlights of the event for me (other than seeing Kim Soo Hyun sing…gaaah) was the hilarious montage of shots they showed of Kim Soo Hyun at other fan signing events when he would reach out to shake fan’s hands and get denied. It was so funny. Then at the end, one of the girls who got to go on stage and received a gift was so nervous that she started to walk away before shaking his hand. Thankfully, she remembered at the last second and turned around so she could shake it. The lady who had been interviewing Kim Soo Hyun was like, “That’s right! That’s right!!” It was so funny.

After Kim Soo Hyun sang the last song, glitter started raining down behind him. It was so pretty. Then as he was walking back ribbon canyons in front of the stage scared the crap out of me and went off, raining down large streams of silvery ribbons on the audience.

I was so close...!!!

It was a pretty surreal experience. I’m so, so glad I was able to go because I will probably never get a chance to again. What an amazing opportunity! I will continue to follow Kim Soo Hyun’s career and support him with an even more thankful heart.