Going to a concert in KOREA – this is definitely every K-poppers’ dream. I believe you guys have been to many concerts in Malaysia, some of you might have also been to Korea’s probably. Going to a concert in Malaysia is one thing, going to a concert in Korea is another. Here are the REAL experiences and differences, y’all K-poppers out there better start saving up!
Ticketing
There are several means to getting a ticket when your Oppas and Nunas are having a concert in Malaysia; offline or online. What we always go for to secure a single ticket, is MIDNIGHT QUEUE UP. Be it 12 hours earlier, 1 day earlier, or 2 days earlier, so long as you are there earlier than anybody else then you may rest assured of not getting a single ticket. No need to be worried if you couldn’t get one (touchwood), you can still go the alternative way by grabbing it online, the organisers usually open for online purchase few days or few hours after the the first ticketing session is over.
The only way to secure a Korean concert ticket for oversea fans is online. The first step, creating an account on the ticketing website is already a struggle! I’ve only used Interpark before, they have the Korean site and the International site for oversea fans. Now here’s the problem, not all concerts are available on the International site unless your band is popular internationally (mine is not 😢). You may be thinking why can’t I buy it through the Korean site then? I tried, it’s only limited to Korean residents. You can’t even register without a Korean bank credit card, identification, and contact number. Yes I tried inserting the fake ones, it won’t work.
Lucky for us, I raised my issue to the ticketing company (PS: they are also the management agency of my band 😉) on Twitter, and they opened it for us on international site. Now, this is only the first step, what’s next is way more struggling.
Although they separated it into two different sites, but the tickets are not. You are still grabbing the tickets with Korean fans. Bear in mind that you are competing against the Korean fans who have the FASTEST internet in the world! At last I managed to secure a ticket with nice number, thanks to the cyber cafe.
Price
Watching concert in Korea is definitely cheaper. I’ve only been to one band’s concert, I have no idea about the pricing of the others. But a single VIP ticket in Malaysia can get you 2 tickets in Korea. Save up boys and girls! Start saving money now, it’s totally WORTH IT!
The Fans
You may think you are the most excited or craziest fan while watching a concert in Malaysia, you wish! At least not in Korea. Standing next to Korean fans in a concert is like losing self-confidence, you immediately realise you are just a potato 🍠 compared to them, in terms of body-reaction and all the shoutings. Somehow Korean fans were just born with high-pitched voice.
Language
One of the struggles of watching concert in Korea is language barrier. Unless you understand Korean, it’s really pekcek when your Oppas and Nunas speak something funny, and everyone in there is laughing at it, YOU are the only one left out, that does not feel good at all. And it’s always one of the fun moments to hear your idols speaking in local language, something like “aku cinta padamu” from their mouth could make us go cray cray.
Management/Crowd-Control
Korean organisers handle everything in a very good order, be it before, during, or after the concert. I bought the numbered standing ticket, there is a number on every ticket sold. The staffs made it very clear on the queuing system upon entering, and the fans were all well-mannered, they asked for the number of your ticket first to avoid queuing in the wrong line. They followed the staffs’ instructions 100% and even kind enough to help looking out for each other, nobody’s a queue jumper there.
Security
Malaysia or Korea, most of the concerts do not allow fans taking photo and video. In Korea, the security are strict about it than Malaysia, they don’t speak louder than action; from my experience, we were already told that cameras and mobile phones are not allowed before the show starts, a fan in front of me was sneakily taking videos during the concert. Not long after, the security guard squeezed in and confronted her, about one minute of arguing, they took her out of the concert half way, ouch, a ticket wasted!
Merchandise
Tired of fakes selling everywhere around the concert venue in Malaysia? You can find nothing in Korea except the official merchandises and goods. The merchandise booths are run by staffs from the organisers or agency as well.
Fan Events
The Korean fans are always creative enough to think of any events, official fans-club and other fans enjoy giving out freebies like calendar, sticker, poster etc to the fans. When I went last year in Winter, the fans even offer heat packs and energy drink to everyone for FREE, such a thoughtful act by them plus I was sick before the concert, I couldn’t have tahan-ed till the end of the concert without their energy drink.
The Idols
No, they don’t look different. Frankly, I think the idols are more restricted with all the rules we have here in Malaysia. Korea is their home country, there are more fans service and interactions between idols and fans. And if you are lucky, they also stay longer after encore 😎
Did I successfully stir up the urge in you to buy a flight ticket and go Korea right now? Please do consider it, I guarantee you are not going to regret. If you have been there, comment below and tell us what’s your thought regarding this!