If you are a fan of the k-pop music industry, then attending a k-pop event is a must! Even if you are not a die-hard fan for any particular group, I would still suggest trying to get into a show and see how it is all done behind the scenes. You never know! You might find yourself liking one of the groups that perform.
Since one of my favorite groups had a comeback recently, I will break down some of the events they hold in Korea for these idol groups. If you are unfamiliar with the term comeback, it means the specific k-pop group is releasing new music in the upcoming weeks and will promote for about a month and a half. Leading up to the date of release, the company will release a bunch of teasers images and promo videos every day to hype up the fans! Then, the music video will come out, along with the album (usually with 2+ different versions!), and the fandom works together to get as many views as possible within the first 24 hours of release!
One of the main promotions the groups do is pre-recordings and live music shows. To attend these events, you must be a part of that group’s fan cafe and apply through there. For example, Stray Kids is under JYP Entertainment, so you will have to go through the JYP Fans site application. The day before the pre-recording or live show, the company will release more information (such as application time, attendance check in, how many people can attend, broadcasting station location, and requirements they will check there), so be sure to have notifications on for the company in order to not miss the application time! For JYP, you have to press the “apply” button on their board at a specific time; the faster you are, the better number you are in line!
For Stray Kids, they usually participate in 5 shows a week. Since they do a lot of promotions, they also give perks for attending all of their recordings. For this promotion period, we were given a bingo board where you can get a prize for up to 5 bingos. The prizes were 1)File Folder, 2) Sticker Set, 3)Photocard Set, 4)Miroh T-shirt, 5)Open Chat with Stray Kids. Another thing that is nice is that they give a different photocard each day and it is pretty fun to try and collect them all!
Once you get to the broadcasting station, there’s a couple of things you need to do. First, you need to figure out where the staff is doing attendance check. Once you find the line, you have to ask around and find your place in that line. This is the most important part because if you miss you’re number, you will have to go to the back which is really frustrating if you are closer to the front. They also call the number in Korean, so if you are not very good in Korean (like me), you really have to pay attention! When it is your turn, you have to show all of the required information (given on the fan cafe). If everything checks out, they will give you the attendance sticker and the photo card. Then, you wait until re-check in time, get back in line (do NOT miss you number or you will have to go to the back again), and then you get to watch your group perform! If it is a pre-recording, you watch them perform their song 3-4 times! If it is the live show, you get to watch all groups perform one song! Either way, it is such a fun time!
Stay tuned next week to learn more about one of the best events for k-pop: fan-signs!
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