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. 

The Moon Embracing the Sun Musical

The Moon Embracing the Sun

This past Sunday was a very special day for us. It started off disappointing…we headed up into Seoul to Insadong with the goal of going to the SBS Alive Museum (similar to the Trick Eye Museum). Unfortunately, instructions were vague at best and the address on the museum’s website was wrong so we spent about an hour and a half wondering around Insadong before we finally found it. By then, we were running out of time before we had to head to our main  even for the evening—The Moon Embracing the Sun (해를 품은 달) musical—and the line was too long, so we weren’t able to go.

Somewhere near Insadong haha...

It was a wasted trip that far up into Seoul but the good news is that we made it to the Seoul Arts Center just fine and with plenty of time to take some pictures and eat before the musical.

We wondered around outside near the Arts Center looking for somewhere to eat for a little while before we ran across a Tonkatsu place that—admittedly—looked a little shady but we were hungry so we went inside and it turned out to be a nice, cozy place. The food was delicious and Japanese-style (with a little bit of a Korean touch). Oh, how happy I was to taste miso soup again!

After eating we headed back to the venue and got our guide books, tickets, and (yey!) binoculars. Our seats were in the front row on the second floor but I wasn’t sure how good our view was going to be (second floor at the Seongnam Arts Center was pretty far away). Luckily, these seats were much closer to the stage and we hardly needed the binoculars.

The musical was fantastic. I wanted to go at first because I’m a big fan of the drama (staring none-other than Kim Soo Hyun!)

Poster from the original drama with Kim Soo Hyun and Han Ga In

But when Jenee and I saw the tickets on interpark we noticed that Kyu-hyun from Super Junior was performing in it as the lead. That sealed the deal! Back in the day we were both huge Super Junior fans and Kyu-hyun is one of their best singers.

Kyu-hyun from Super Junior as Lee Hwon

Of the three musicals I’ve now seen, The Moon Embracing the Sun is my favorite. I think the visual effects for Ghost was still better but overall I love the story and the music they used for this show more. Also, at the end of the performance, everyone whipped out their phones and cameras and were able to take pictures as the cast was bowing. Yup, no photo ninjas going around trying to control the chaos (although it probably would have been impossible anyway). The funniest thing was when Kyu-hyun came out to bow and the Korean girl next to me about had a fangirl heart-attack. She legit freaked out, yo! It was funny!

Anyway, after the performance, as we were leaving, we noticed a small crowd gathered near the stairs on the first floor (which, since this is Korea, is actually the “B1” floor). They all had their cameras and phones posed for action so we decided to stick around and see what was going on. It pretty much went like this:

Me: “What are all these people doing here?”

Jenee: “I dunno, are they from our musical?…I don’t think it’s for our musical.”

Me: “Well, they have cameras out…could it be? Why do they have cameras out…?”

Jenee: “Let’s see.”

So we merged in with the crowd and waited around to see what was going on. Eventually, the cast members from The Moon Embracing the Sun musical started to come down the stairs and walk past us. They laughed when they saw the huge crowd standing there and we finally started to get excited.

At long last, Kyu-hyun appeared and went right by us. For real. He came down the stairs and just walked right on by, horde of fangirls in toe, snapping pictures and squealing. We were caught up in the crowd, of course, so we followed him all the way to the parking lot where his van was waiting.

Kyaaaa~~

There was a hilarious moment when the sea of fangirls was forced to squeeze through a single set of double doors and we were pretty sure we were going to be crushed but it was like, sink or swim…sink or swim…

It was, to say the least, an amazing experience. For the first time, we got to see a KPop star we love up close. Unreal.

But it wasn’t over yet. As we were leaving the Arts Center, we had to walk across this big 2-part cross-walk. All of the sudden Kyu-hyun’s van pulled up to the stoplight by the second part of the intersection and as soon as The Fangirls realized what was going on, they all started running towards it (of course we did, too). Kyu-hyun—bless his heart—even rolled down his window and waved. Then his van drove off into the sunset~

We spent the rest of the evening rather dazed and giddy. It was the perfect way to end the day that had started out so disappointing. Just one of the reasons why I love this place so much!

Chuseok Vacation in Seoul ~ Day 1

(Wednesday, September 18th, 2013)

Butterflies are everywhere! 

We decided to spend our first day of Chuseok vacation exploring the Korean Folk Village and a few other areas in Seoul. It was actually a really, really long day but we got to do an see so much! 

The day started early - we had to leave around 8:00AM and head South on the Bundang line then take a short bus ride in order to get to the Folk Village. 

It was surprisingly easy even though it was our first time navigating by bus alone. We actually got there on time and then purchased our tickets (it was even better because we had a coupon)! Let the exploring begin! 

I'm glad we were able to see some flowers still in bloom...

Of course, the village has been the filming site for pretty much every sageuk (historical drama) ever and just in case you didn't know that, they show you...everywhere. 

Since this is one of my favorites (Rooftop Prince)...

Then this stuff happened: 

But really, the Folk Village is beautiful and if you are a history buff like myself, it's pretty fascinating.

It was like taking a step back in time and the good weather combined with the lush scenery just made it all the more beautiful. 

 

Gah. So pretty. I couldn't take enough pictures! We decided we may even try to go back there sometime in another season because you really could spend all day there just enjoying the view. 

Since we had other plans though, we only stayed until noon and then had to head allllllll the way up into Seoul (we're talking over 20 stops on the subway line) to proceed with the rest of our day (yeah it was a great plan).

We did account for the long travel time though and decided that the area of Seoul we would be hitting up would be Gangnam because it is the closest. First stop on the list: Mango Six café. 

It may seem weird to make a specific trip to a specific café but because we are drama fans there's usually a good reason why we are going to that particular place...

This Mango Six happens to be the café from quite a few scenes in the drama A Gentleman's Dignity. Since Jenee and I are both really big fans of that drama we decided make a special trip this shooting location.

Scene from A Gentleman's Dignity at Mango Six

It's pretty popular even amongst Koreans to visit drama shooting locations so even though it feels über awkward at first taking pictures at seemingly normal places you quickly get past that because right behind you is another group of people doing the same thing. Of course, sometimes you still get weird looks and stifled giggles but usually just from passing ajusshis (middle-aged men), so whatever. 

After drinking some delicious bubble tea we headed to another area in Gangnam called Seolleung Park. It's a nice green area that houses the tombs of King Seongjong, Queen Jeonghyeon (Seolleung) and King Jungjong (Jeongneung). It's part of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Walking around the park was relatively easy (there are only a few slopes and some stairs) plus you get to see some really pretty scenery. 

 

After we made our way around the park we left to our next destination: Coex Mall. 

This mall is very famous in Gangnam but unfortunately it is undergoing some huge construction so a lot of it is closed and empty. Lucky for us our purpose for going there wasn't shopping...we wanted to visit the aquarium! 

I'll admit: I had dual motives for going. First of all, Jenee has never been to an aquarium before so one of the things she wanted to do while in Korea is visit one! 

...I just happened to choose this particular aquarium to visit because it was a shooting location for one of my faaaavorite recent dramas: I Hear Your Voice. (But really, it's supposed to be the best aquarium in South Korea anyway...).

Scene at Coex Aquarium in I Hear Your Voice

It was actually really cool. They have a lot of exhibits in different themed areas and we got to see a lot of different aquatic fish and animals!

 

After the aquarium we got some dinner and then decided to try some patbinsu at the Baskin Robbins in Coex...

Chocolate.

it was the best thing ever. America needs this. Now.

Finally, it was time to head to our last destination: Banpo Bridge. Every night the bridge has a "rainbow fountain" water show. It is apparently the largest bridge fountain in the world and there are 200 lights that illuminate dancing jets of water. 

The only problem is that getting there is confusing and difficult. There is not a subway station directly near it, so you have to go to the closest station and walk for about twenty-minutes. The long walk is a bit daunting but what is really hard is figuring out where to walk. Once you get off at the station there are no signs and the map is unhelpful.  

We must have looked really lost because some nice older guy told us we could go up on the bridge that was right near us and we would be able to see Banpo bridge just fine. Once we got up there, we realized where we could have just walked and it wouldn't have been that great of a distance but since we were already waiting on the other bridge, we decided to stay. 

The show was very pretty...it was just far away. Hopefully, we will go back some time and go closer. Apparently  there is also music that is synchronized to the water show so that would be nice as well (of course we couldn't hear it).

Our next big dilemma was getting off the bridge. What we hadn't really noticed coming up was that the elevator and stair case were covered in spiders. And these weren't little bitty spiders, either. 

I know that sounds unbelievable coming from me (the one who is terrified of spiders) but Jenee can vouch for me...they even freaked her out. And the thing is...that elevator and stair case is the only way down from the bridge. 

Well, it wasn't happening. Especially since we could see spiders loosing their grip and falling and all I could imagine was that one would latch itself on to me and I would have a heart-attack.

Our only other option was to walk all the way across the bridge (and it's a big bridge) and try going down on the other side. Fifteen-ish minute walk? I'll take that over jumbo spiders any day! 

So we started walking, no big deal. There is a walking path that is in-between the guardrail and then the rail that runs along the edge of the bridge. Everything was peachy until we got a little over a quarter of the way in and realized that guardrail AND the other rail are COVERED IN SPIDERS.

I really wish this was just a nightmare and not something that actually happened but I'm seriously not lying or imagining things.

Spiders.

Everywhere. 

And I was trapped, right in the middle.

I'm unashamed to say that I cried the whole rest of the way. Sobbed, actually. I was scared senseless and I'm really proud of myself for not just launching into traffic and taking my chances with the freeway. 

I think I will have bad dreams about that walk for the rest of my life. 

But if I had to go back I still would of done it because there was no way, no how that I was getting in that elevator or walking down those stairs. 

Once we reached the other side of the bridge there was a different (uncovered) staircase that wasn't infested with spiders so we safely made it down. 

Then we were lost.

Like, really lost. 

The signs told us we were somewhere in Hangang Park but psst that thing is huge so who knows. There were bike trails and lots of grass...and the river. We eventually walked out of it and into civilization where we were able to wave down a cab and take it to a nearby station so we could head back home.  

It was a great day and a very traumatizing evening. 

I will never go up on a bridge here again. Ever.