Updated: 12/11/2024
i think i have already briefly mentioned in one of previous blogs how difficult and nerve-wracking it is to acquire kpop concert tickets, but arriving at the venue and experiencing the concert is a whole other level of overstimulation.
first of all... identity verification. usually when an artist has a concert announcement released, details and requirements for identity verification will also be provided. If not, know that it is a procedure and unless the info on your ticket matches the PROPER identification you provide to the staff (they only accept specific forms of ID for foreigners), you may have difficulty entering the venue. thankfully i have not had any issues with identity verification and no one i know has either, but it is very strict from what i've seen. they will yell at you sometimes too if the crowds are big and overwhelming so be prepared for that :,(
generally, you just want to come prepared as possible when you show up to these types of events so there are no delays or inconveniences to the staff. keep in mind that everyone's experience is different as well. i get overstimulated very easily so when i was at the ticket pick-up booth for enhypen's concert i found both days to be pretty chill and the process, smooth. txt was a different story though.... for some reason, these were the only two concert days i attended out the maybe 6 or 7 that used mobile ticketing.
honestly before coming to Korea i preferred mobile ticketing but since the internet is so unpredictable here i found the physical tickets acquired through identity verification to be more efficient. txt was chaotic bc staff was yelling at us to have our tickets ready but the internet at the venue was quite slow. i met a girl there who could not pull up her ticket so they issued her a physical one but she said it was a stressful process.
*this is more related to the ticketing process, but it is also not guaranteed that you will be able to sit with people you know so be prepared to make new friends and vibe with new people if you feel like you can or want to. it depends what period you purchase tickets. purchasing tickets during a general sale period will make you more likely to sit with a friend than if you buy it during a presale period. this is because you are only allowed to buy one ticket per account (depending on the ticketing site) during the presale periods. however it is usually always more difficult to find tickets during a general sale period depending on the popularity of the artist and how big the venue is, how many days, etc.
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anyway....... onto the main event fun stuff
ONE TWO CONNECT
enhypen is prob my FAV kpop group atm. i attended their Fate Tour concert in LA back in October last year and i saw them again this past summer at KCON LA. seeing them in Korea not once but TWICE was SAUR fun and surreal (i think i still havent processed it). crowd was super dead though ngl. i met a cute girl there and now we're good friends, but it was so quiet that i felt like i needed to whisper when i was talking to her lol.... i think i prefer seeing them in LA over Korea bc i love screaming haha but im glad i got to experience seeing them here. the vibes were different for sure but not in a bad way.
olivia rodriguez the little mexican girl who be crying
i also saw olivia rodrigo for the second time. i love her, she's my queen, tickets were available, and i had the funds, so i decided last minute that i wanted to go....
it was pretty much the same thing for her as enhypen... back when i saw her in LA a month before seeing her in Korea the crowd was so loud that i couldn't really hear her most of the time. i definitely got to enjoy her concert here more because the crowd was so quiet. once again, not in a bad way. the energy was different for sure, but it was still a lot of fun.
AJU NICE
....if im being so fr, i did not think i would get to see SVT in this lifetime because 1) they're an extremely popular group among locals who, as i've mentioned before, have priority over concert tickets and 2) they're all going to the military soon and GOD knows when they'll all be together at the same time, performing at the same time again. even the concert i went to had 11/13 members :,( however, im still so grateful that i got to see them for the first time, let alone see them in Korea. i also was not confident i would be able to see them because of my aforementioned glitchy, broken, crusty, global stinkerpark account. it lagged the first time i tried purchasing tickets and i accepted my defeat then and there but one of my friends made me try again and it worked. all that said, i can check aju nicing in Korea off my bucket list.
txt *cries*
i miss them so much especially with everything that has been happening with them i have a little soft spot in my heart for them. seeing them for the 6th and 7th times was just as magical as the first time i saw them. honestly CARATS (SVT's fandom) are so fun, insane and chaotic but i think my favorite fan base and crowd out of all the concerts ive been to is MOAs at txt. this might be weird idk lol but there's always a genuine energy that heals my inner child at txt concerts. the ones in korea were no different. i feel like im seeing them for the first time every time.
sadly not all of the members were there the whole time for the days that i went. they also performed the title track of their new album for the first time the DAY BEFORE its release (the day that i DIDNT GO), but yk everything happens for a reason (they hate me). jk lol it was still so fun and im glad they're going on a break soon!
D4VD
i have been wanting to see d4vd for SO LONG so when i found out he was here and there were tickets available, i HAD to go. this was also my first time attending a concert completely alone. it wasn't super intimidating like i thought it was going to be because i had already been to a few here (if you couldnt tell) so i knew what to expect.
it was chill but fun, and there were also a lot of other people that were there solo so i didnt feel completely alone. it was easy to vibe because it's d4vd and his music and stage presence SLAPS EVERY TIME.
i feel like im forgetting some people for some reason idk but if you can attend a concert, music show, WHATEVER in Korea, I HIGHLY recommend even if you have to be by yourself because 1) it's an experience like no other and 2) you're never going to see cheaper concert ticket prices ;)
