LOOK AT MY CUTE NEW BOW hahah. I usually just clip my hair up with a normal metal clip when I don't feel like dealing with my bangs, but now I found something cuter to clip them back with :) - I headed out early enough that I saw the 8-person morning street crew washing down the sidewalks and cleaning the streets...A HA. So THAT'S why everything here is so sparkly and clean all the time. I was starting to think I was in some alternate universe where dirt was just rejected from all materials...
And then there was one...Saturday is Music Core day! Music Core is the last of the music broadcasting shows I haven't attended yet; it is also located the farthest, all the way in Ilsan. On a map of the subway system in Seoul, it's SO far off to the side, it's practically not on the map -.- However, it has one of the biggest studios so it can hold a ton of people. It used to be even bigger too.
Long long subway ride >.< It was supposed to be sunny today so I wore fleece-lined tights, gray tweed shorts, a longsleeve shirt, a thin sweater, my thick coral sweater, and a black blazer with thick knitted gloves and my huge thick knitted scarf. I shouldn't have even taken the sun into consideration and just dressed WARMLY instead, because the sun was mostly useless all day (we were waiting in shade or the sun was too weak for us to feel it much >.<). It says something about how cold it was here when my dressing in four layers isn't dressing warm. It's dressing for a warm day T.T
Omg there are girls walking around in skirts. Like schoolgirls, with no tights. Or scarves. It makes me colder just looking at them O.O
I got out of my subway exit after the longest subway ride EVER (I legit SLEPT on this one, I usually just nap or doze), and walked across a few streets and down a few more blocks to the MBC Dream Center where Music Core is held. It is FREEZING as usual. But somehow even colder than usual, because there's tons of tall buildings in this area and so everything is in shadow pretty much and tinted blue-ish because it's so early.
I got out of my subway exit after the longest subway ride EVER (I legit SLEPT on this one, I usually just nap or doze), and walked across a few streets and down a few more blocks to the MBC Dream Center where Music Core is held. It is FREEZING as usual. But somehow even colder than usual, because there's tons of tall buildings in this area and so everything is in shadow pretty much and tinted blue-ish because it's so early.
/inhales. See this beautiful clear day? Breathe in that freezing Ilsan air with me now. Luckily though, you can't feel the pain of frigid air entering your lungs all day while gusts of icy wind go right through your clothes @.@
As this music show is broadcasted on Saturdays, this means I was anticipating a sharp upswing in the already incredibly amount of fans who line up and attend these shows. Why? Because it's the weekend and that means some students don't have school today and can attend this show, unlike Show Champion, M!Countdown, and Music Bank, which are on the weekdays (although you still see kids in school uniforms at these shows, who definitely just told their parents they were going to school and then headed off to wait for the music broadcasts lol). As prepared as I was for the amount of people to wait with, I was SERIOUSLY shocked by the hundreds of people already there when I got there at 8am. Like wtf? It took me an hour and a half just to get here by subway!! HOW DID THEY GET HERE SO EARLY. They had all gotten here way earlier too because JUST as I was walking up, they were already calling out names from the list for those who had taken pictures and sent them in! I hadn't even had a chance to FIND the sign, much less take a picture, find wifi, and send it. It then hit me how seriously these students take the weekend shows (Music Core and Inkigayo on Sunday), since they don't get the rest during the week. Yeesh. I managed to speak to the fan coordinators at the end of the name-calling (which took over an hour, there were SO MANY EFFING PEOPLE) and got a number at the end of the list by playing the dumb & foreign card.
So there were we, lining up at freezing o'clock, on a sunny day but waiting IN THE SHADE of the gigantic MBC Dream Center building for reasons unbeknownst to me. I was at the end of the list at 8am but by the afternoon, there were tons of people behind me who had come later and had to try to add their names to the list, including Trisha who was leaving for Japan later that day and had to deal with her luggage this morning (making her a little late >.<). Poor thing :(
So there were we, lining up at freezing o'clock, on a sunny day but waiting IN THE SHADE of the gigantic MBC Dream Center building for reasons unbeknownst to me. I was at the end of the list at 8am but by the afternoon, there were tons of people behind me who had come later and had to try to add their names to the list, including Trisha who was leaving for Japan later that day and had to deal with her luggage this morning (making her a little late >.<). Poor thing :(
The coffee shop located inside the MBC studio is called "Coffee Prince" hahah. Obviously a nod to their famous Coffee Prince drama. It was so crowded with people all day though that I never went and got a coffee, despite the cold. - Also, a pretty display in the lobby of the Dream Center!
The inside of the MCB Dream Center (pretty isn't it?) and our kalguksoo lunch! I know the Dream Center is far as hell and all, but it IS really huge and really nice inside. It's all marble and carpeted staircases and colorful displays with the station's history and past shows it aired, etc.
So as not to bore you with the details, more waiting, jumping, dancing, and finding new methods of preventing frostbite and persuading my mind that ACTUALLY I'm in the Bahamas, not dying a slow frigid death out here in line, were involved that morning. At all these shows I'm in a constant state of war with myself, like half "WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE WAITING AND SUFFERING" and the other half "Just hold on a little more, maybe something really good will happen and it will all be worth this pain". Happily the cooler side prevailed (or you may think of that as the crazy side, depends on your perspective heh) and I alwauys end up waiting just a little more, or coming back instead of just booking it when they release us to wait back in line. I'm ALWAYS rewarded by the end of the day and am always soso happy I waited all that time, suffering in the cold for hours on my feet. Something happens or I get really lucky (or both!), and it was always worth it :)
By afternoon today, we were released for a few hours and given the time to come back. Today was supposed to be a double pre-recording, which means artists do one pre-recording then go and change and do another, meant for NEXT week's broadcast. This saves traveling time for them, as they don't have to come back out here next week. It means they won't be here for next week's live, but this does happen every so often with the live show. However, they seemed to have skipped the first pre-recording which was supposed to be at 11am...since they told us at about 10:30am to leave and be back by 1pm. Dafuq?
Anway, Trish and I left during our short break for lunch. After wandering around a nearby (GIANT) outdoor mall, we finally just decided on kalguksoo again because it was stupid cold outside and hot noodles in a warm broth sounded beyond delicious. When we finally got our bowls...ah. So much happiness ^.^
By afternoon today, we were released for a few hours and given the time to come back. Today was supposed to be a double pre-recording, which means artists do one pre-recording then go and change and do another, meant for NEXT week's broadcast. This saves traveling time for them, as they don't have to come back out here next week. It means they won't be here for next week's live, but this does happen every so often with the live show. However, they seemed to have skipped the first pre-recording which was supposed to be at 11am...since they told us at about 10:30am to leave and be back by 1pm. Dafuq?
Anway, Trish and I left during our short break for lunch. After wandering around a nearby (GIANT) outdoor mall, we finally just decided on kalguksoo again because it was stupid cold outside and hot noodles in a warm broth sounded beyond delicious. When we finally got our bowls...ah. So much happiness ^.^
As is usual, after lunch we got coffee for dessert at a place called Zoo Coffee! We chose here instead of the nearby Pascucci's since we knew ALL the other hordes of fangirls would be going/already there. It was really good too! I'm glad we chose it :) Inside it was all animal-themed (shocker) and I really really hate animal prints, but hey it's cafe decor. I can tolerate that better than clothes. The cups were also animal print but made of a cool material so that saved them haha. Their menu was hilarious as well :D Like some cafes here, they had fleece blankets available for use folded in a basket, and it was warm and cozy so we spent quite a while in there just chatting and laughing and swapping stories. I'm really gonna miss this girl when we both have to leave! Were so similar in weird ways haha
At the pre-recording I got into, we saw Infinite, BAP, SHINee, Teen Top, & Tiny-G. I was disappointed D-Unit seemed to have finished their promotions...I really liked them! They are one of the few girl groups out there that don't hold this pretty princess stick-figure doll image with them. Not that I hate that or anything, so nobody attack me, but it's just same old same old. They also get REAL choreography, not high-kicking and hip-rolling and prancing in place. It's almost always the choreography that gets me interested in a group, and theirs is incredible. They all pull it off well too, which makes me want to hug both their choreographer and them for being awesome.
Top photos: Pre-recording shot of Infinite and the balloons they handed out as free cheering goods - Bottom photos: Line for live show and shot of SHINee during the live show performance
OMG I GOT INTO THE LIVE SHOW. THROUGH MY PLACE IN LINE. THIS WAS UNPRECEDENTED ON ALL ACCOUNTS. Again, Music Core is like Music Bank and Inkigayo...you essentially need one of lottery-won tickets to attend the live show. However, sometimes they don't use all the tickets and/or are allowed to squeeze some extra fans in to sit on the stairs in the aisles or stand in the back. This was the case today! I didn't have much hope because my number was far back (or so I thought) so I walked Trisha to the subway station after we got out of pre-recording and said good-bye to her after she collected her luggage. I walked back to the studio afterwards and wandered kind of lost until I figured I found the right line and started asking girls in line. I wish I had pictures of the looks some of these people give me when I ask them questions hahah; for every genuinely helpful person, there is another who will give me this wtf, WHAT are you? kind of look. Eventually I found my place in line by comparing numbers and asking the right questions in Korean, and it was surprisingly not that far from the front. People must have just left after the pre-recording?? Did they not know about being able to line-up for live show? Or did they not think they had a chance? Or they had prior engagements?? If I'm a complete foreigner and didn't even know much about this and I'M in line, shouldn't they all be in line too...? Ah well. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth right?
They cut us off about 15 people ahead of me so we were all sad and worried and scared... then they came back and decided to let a few more Shawols in and AH I MADE IT!!! We were all so excited when we ran in together, up this giant marble staircase and across a huge white marble second-story floor into the studio...which is massive btw. It's built like a performing arts theater more than a recording studio. It was way more than I ever expected, earlier I just stood there and asked around for the heck of it cuz what did I have to lose haha. This was going to be my last music show of my trip since I was leaving Wednesday and couldn't attend anymore on the days they would broadcast on, so I was trying to make the most of this last one. They stood us all in the very back, which was okay because the seats were tiered so we actually had a really good view of the stage not far below.
I got to see Tiny G, Secret, Two X, Nu'est, U-Kiss, Girls Day, BAP, Davichi, G.na, Infinite, 2AM, SHINee, and a few other artists. I was stuck behind three rows of girls (ones who got in before me) but I got lucky and the girls directly in front of me both decided to sit down on the floor! The seats in front are low so they can still see fine but I had a clear view.
Later on I realized I was actually like 5 rows back but apparently fangirls help each other out lol. The girls in front let the Infinite girls move up for Infinite's performance and so on for other groups and fangirls. We actually got to see some artists twice!! Turns out that second pre-recording that we didn't get to see this morning didn't happen and MBC was having them do it now, directly after the live show. They kept everyone in the audience there so we all got to see them again! Talk about an awesome last music broadcast to attend haha. I swooped a seat for myself since people kept leaving periodically. By the end all I could think was that seriously this was the best show I've been to all week. It's like a private concert and private rehearsal practices in one! With multiple artists all from different record labels lol. I felt really lucky, for getting into the pre-recording (which contrary to my posts, are NOT always a given so I was happy everytime I managed to make it in), the live show (which is NEVER a given, so I'm triply happy everytime I manage to make it in), and a SECOND pre-recording when we thought it was all over (which has pretty much never happened lol, so the energy in there was like explosive).
They cut us off about 15 people ahead of me so we were all sad and worried and scared... then they came back and decided to let a few more Shawols in and AH I MADE IT!!! We were all so excited when we ran in together, up this giant marble staircase and across a huge white marble second-story floor into the studio...which is massive btw. It's built like a performing arts theater more than a recording studio. It was way more than I ever expected, earlier I just stood there and asked around for the heck of it cuz what did I have to lose haha. This was going to be my last music show of my trip since I was leaving Wednesday and couldn't attend anymore on the days they would broadcast on, so I was trying to make the most of this last one. They stood us all in the very back, which was okay because the seats were tiered so we actually had a really good view of the stage not far below.
I got to see Tiny G, Secret, Two X, Nu'est, U-Kiss, Girls Day, BAP, Davichi, G.na, Infinite, 2AM, SHINee, and a few other artists. I was stuck behind three rows of girls (ones who got in before me) but I got lucky and the girls directly in front of me both decided to sit down on the floor! The seats in front are low so they can still see fine but I had a clear view.
Later on I realized I was actually like 5 rows back but apparently fangirls help each other out lol. The girls in front let the Infinite girls move up for Infinite's performance and so on for other groups and fangirls. We actually got to see some artists twice!! Turns out that second pre-recording that we didn't get to see this morning didn't happen and MBC was having them do it now, directly after the live show. They kept everyone in the audience there so we all got to see them again! Talk about an awesome last music broadcast to attend haha. I swooped a seat for myself since people kept leaving periodically. By the end all I could think was that seriously this was the best show I've been to all week. It's like a private concert and private rehearsal practices in one! With multiple artists all from different record labels lol. I felt really lucky, for getting into the pre-recording (which contrary to my posts, are NOT always a given so I was happy everytime I managed to make it in), the live show (which is NEVER a given, so I'm triply happy everytime I manage to make it in), and a SECOND pre-recording when we thought it was all over (which has pretty much never happened lol, so the energy in there was like explosive).
When we were finally let out after that epicly long live show, I saw fangirls waiting outside the exit drive-way for their oppa's cars to come out. Surprisingly not all of the artists had those giant vans they are always in on tv shows; they were most often in regular unremarkable old sedans or soccer mom vans ^^. Idols are normal people too haha. I love it. I do remember hearing about how they were always shocked when they come to America for concerts and are picked up from the airport in limos or Hummers. Only us Americans need such flamboyantly wasteful things as Hummers...sigh. I guess they are kind of intimidating.
I was in a good mood and had the whole rest of the evening ahead of me so I stopped at Natuur, my favorite ice cream and dessert place that Yeji had first showed to me on my last trip! A scoop of their Venus Green Tea and I was on my way again :) I had wanted to come here with Trisha but we ran out of time since she had to leave right after the pre-recording. She ended up not making her flight unfortunately, and had to wait until the next day to fly out to Japan >.<
I was in a good mood and had the whole rest of the evening ahead of me so I stopped at Natuur, my favorite ice cream and dessert place that Yeji had first showed to me on my last trip! A scoop of their Venus Green Tea and I was on my way again :) I had wanted to come here with Trisha but we ran out of time since she had to leave right after the pre-recording. She ended up not making her flight unfortunately, and had to wait until the next day to fly out to Japan >.<
Top left: That awkward moment when you are deep in thought about something for awhile, then you come out of your reverie and realize you've been staring straight at someone HAHAHA. I was staring at that woman across the track apparently (this picture makes her look far, but she was really right across me) and she had finally averted her face and was hiding behind her hand by the time I came out of my thoughts LOL. I'm so sorry unknown woman, I didn't mean to be rude @.@ - The rest are shots of Apgujeong at night! The busy streets and bright lights with the crisp night air are what makes night walks here so pleasing to me :) - The middle photos are of the "scale" building I use as a landmark to turn right into the small, trendy area with NANA's, the Everysing store, and Cofioca in it. Apparently at night, it's lit up and changes color and has different graphics go across it!! SO COOL. I never knew ^.^
I really love evening walks in Seoul, the fresh air, the hordes of people, the rushing cars, the lively chatter floating in the air, and lots of lights everywhere. There are way more people my age than I ever see during the day, and it's more common to see them out in big groups of friends as opposed to the rare pair of girls or lone boy I may happen to spot during the day. The subways are so crowded, I never get the curious looks I always get during the day when it's mainly full of grandmas, grandpas, or businessmen. I'm pretty sure the looks are because I don't look like a student, businesswoman, or a foreigner, so they're wondering what the heck I am and why I'm on the subway at this time of day lol.
I polished off my scoop of ice cream before I even hit the subway, so I decided to get off at Apgujeong (I was on the Orange Line already to get to Ilsan) and go get my favorite boba from Cofioca!
I polished off my scoop of ice cream before I even hit the subway, so I decided to get off at Apgujeong (I was on the Orange Line already to get to Ilsan) and go get my favorite boba from Cofioca!
My heavenly Taro boba, both sides of the bus station route signs (which are almost entirely in Korean; another reason why I had been totally scared to ride the busses before), shots of the street on the bus, and of the bustling sidewalks at night with all the street vendors with food and merchandise. I'm really going to miss this so much, all the life and colors and lights that go on at night :( Especially all the potential things you can DO at night; at home, everything closes and everything is dark pretty much after a certain hour. Here, you can karaoke, drink, shop, eat, go tot he mall, go to a coffeeshop, almost ANYTHING until the wee hours of the morning. You have choices and its so awesome.
The little area of Apgujeong I spend most of my time in is CRACKING at this time of night. There are tons of people all over, young and old alike, it's so strange lol. I'm always here in the day and there are usually just some woman walking about and older male workers loading stuff, etc.
I am finally mastering the bus system and finding its not so scary. True Seoul-ite now :D I feel like such a grown up standing with all the other grown-ups and big kids at the bus station hahah, since I've never used the bus back home. My background growing up in suburbia is killing me X.X I'm now able to read the Korean bus loops now, find the stop I want on the bus number I need, and get myself to where I need to go. I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED. I have now reached the transportation skill level of an 8-year old in Seoul. How do I know this? I saw down next to one when I got on the bus T.T Power Rangers backpack, homework in hand, and everything. Way to kill my excitement dude.
I am finally mastering the bus system and finding its not so scary. True Seoul-ite now :D I feel like such a grown up standing with all the other grown-ups and big kids at the bus station hahah, since I've never used the bus back home. My background growing up in suburbia is killing me X.X I'm now able to read the Korean bus loops now, find the stop I want on the bus number I need, and get myself to where I need to go. I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED. I have now reached the transportation skill level of an 8-year old in Seoul. How do I know this? I saw down next to one when I got on the bus T.T Power Rangers backpack, homework in hand, and everything. Way to kill my excitement dude.
On the way back to the subway from the MBC Dream Center I had been waylaid at a sidewalk store by a pretty cream-colored zip-up jacket with oatmeal colored knitted accents. It was thick, made of really soft, buttery cloth and a fur-lined hood. The price tag on it said 15,000 won so I figured this was a decent price for what it was and went in to buy it. The lady instead gestured to me that it was a "setu" and said more rapid Korean. I smiled and explained I was foreign and so she did more gestures and I finally got that she meant it came in a set! I did remember seeing a matching pair of cream and oatmeal sweatpants outside next to the sweater but since I just wanted the jacket I had left the pants. I spent the next few minutes trying to clarify with her that I just wanted the pants for 15,000, I didn't want to spend anymore. But apparently the jacket and pants TOGETHER were 15,000 won! What a deal! \(^o^)/ I was so excited. Somehow getting clothes for even cheaper than you expected, or getting more than you were expecting to get makes a purchase even better. The lady next to me even commented on how cheap that was and that the clothes were really pretty. I was even more excited by how I could understand all of it lol ^^.
I was starving by the time I reached my hotel and also tired out, so I went downstairs and had Ki-Hee oppa at the front desk help me order Kyochon delivery. Ugh, SO MUCH DELICIOUS AWESOMENESS it's not even fair. They give so much chicken I easily made dinner, breakfast, AND a snack the next day out of it. I love life right now.
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