2015년 07월 11일
Saturday was, in all honesty, one of the best days of my life.
First, Hyunwoo and I went to see pandas. Not real pandas, but fake pandas. We went to the Lotte Department Store in 잠실 (Jamsil), near Lotte World. The buildings nearby were HUGE and the department store itself boasted several floors of upscale designer brands, like Fendi and Prada.
Near the department store, we visited a panda exhibit! The exhibit included over 1600 "pandas" (made of what I presume to be paper mâché) in an attempt to draw attention to the WWF and environmental awareness. A great cause and adorable little pandas!
Nearby, the scenery was beautiful as well. Cherry blossoms and a wide river made great drop-backs for photos!
After we finished looking at the exhibit and grabbing lunch, we headed back on the subway a few stations to the Jamsil Sports Complex. It was finally time for--
SUPER JUNIOR!!!
After we got off of the subway and took a cab the remaining distance, we finally found our way to the arena and were met with hoards of fangirls (surprisingly, most seemed to be Chinese or Japanese fans). We walked around the back of the gymnasium arena and finally found our section (A, standing) and received our wristbands to enter! We made our way toward the stage, waiting for the concert to begin.
After about 20 minutes of listening to Super Junior singles playing through the concert speakers, the lights suddenly went down and a video started to play.
It always amazes me how high the quality of production for Super Junior concerts is - perhaps one of the reasons why I love them so much. The concert began with what seemed like a snippet of a legitimate action movie (about 6 minutes long). Although the plot was terribly corny (something to do with gathering the pieces of "SS6" and assembling a powerful weapon), the visual aesthetics were absolutely beautiful and it was awesome to see each of the guys acting so seriously as if it were a Hollywood movie! Then, the lights went up and Super Junior took the stage with "Twins (Knock Out)," their first single from back in 2005!!!
The entire concert was an INCREDIBLE experience and I would undoubtedly attend another if ever given the chance. From the pyrotechnics to the costumes and graphics, it truly was a visually stunning feast. Not to mention, the guys' costumes and choreography also added to the aesthetic appeal. What I absolutely loved, however, was the genuine character brought to the concert. While I was awed by dance moves and beautiful voices, what kept me going was the sheer energy brought by each of the members. Dancing in suits and heavy costumes for four hours under stage lights in 97 degree weather is daunting to say the least. But, with minimal A/C, Super Junior did it and did it well. They did not disappoint at all. Even though they were sweating a couple of songs into the performance, the energy was constantly flowing between group stages and solos. The talks that the members took in between groups of songs were also a welcome ice breaker of sorts. It was amazing to see them all joke around like I watch them do on my computer! They looked and acted precisely like how they do on TV -- it truly was awe-inspiring. Seeing them run across the stage and pass by me was incredible beyond words. It was made even better when I made eye contact with Kyuhyun and Donghae decided to throw water at us from his water bottle.
From "차근차근" ("Way for Love") to their new single "Devil," Super Junior shone so brightly that night. But, as much as I enjoyed the music and performances because of their energetic and fun nature, the concert was highly sentimental as well. Yesung's return from the military and the recognition of their 10-year anniversary as a group brought tears to my eyes. It was amazing to see how far they'd come and how strong they are together as one whole (including Zhoumi and Henry, who joined them on stage for the Super Junior-M performances).
As a participant at the concert, it was my first time to yell fanchats and sing along with my favorite group, enjoying every second of it. Although my boyfriend was a bit uncomfortable with the fact that he was the only male to be seen in the crowd, I thanked him (and continue to thank him) tremendously for going with me and making my biggest dream come true.
Although I could continue to ramble about Super Junior for pages, I'll restrain myself and summarize what I've just written:
It was a wonderful concert and engaging in every sense of the word. They truly are one of the greatest global acts of our generation.
After the concert and the difficult subway ride back to Sinchon (due to the sheer number of fangirls crowding the subway stops), Hyunwoo and I ordered some 치콜 (Chi-col, slang for "chicken and cola"). Then, when it reached midnight, I made my way back to Sogang, enjoying the summer rain after a hot day of almost 100 degrees Farenheit.
It was a long day, but it was so worth it to see my idols up close.
If only I could see them again...
*Note: I did not take many pictures at all during the concert. The security was so strict that several people near us (who were taking picutres) were pulled out of the crowd and asked to leave. I didn't want to risk that, so I didn't take any except for before the concert began and during the very ending of the concert when the members thanked everyone for coming. I wish I could have taken more, but I've provided some fan videos from the concert so that you can see how amazing it was! The first was the last few seconds of the concert, taken by Hyunwoo. The others are from fans who uploaded onto YouTube already!
Saturday was, in all honesty, one of the best days of my life.
First, Hyunwoo and I went to see pandas. Not real pandas, but fake pandas. We went to the Lotte Department Store in 잠실 (Jamsil), near Lotte World. The buildings nearby were HUGE and the department store itself boasted several floors of upscale designer brands, like Fendi and Prada.
Near the department store, we visited a panda exhibit! The exhibit included over 1600 "pandas" (made of what I presume to be paper mâché) in an attempt to draw attention to the WWF and environmental awareness. A great cause and adorable little pandas!
Nearby, the scenery was beautiful as well. Cherry blossoms and a wide river made great drop-backs for photos!
After we finished looking at the exhibit and grabbing lunch, we headed back on the subway a few stations to the Jamsil Sports Complex. It was finally time for--
SUPER JUNIOR!!!
After we got off of the subway and took a cab the remaining distance, we finally found our way to the arena and were met with hoards of fangirls (surprisingly, most seemed to be Chinese or Japanese fans). We walked around the back of the gymnasium arena and finally found our section (A, standing) and received our wristbands to enter! We made our way toward the stage, waiting for the concert to begin.
After about 20 minutes of listening to Super Junior singles playing through the concert speakers, the lights suddenly went down and a video started to play.
It always amazes me how high the quality of production for Super Junior concerts is - perhaps one of the reasons why I love them so much. The concert began with what seemed like a snippet of a legitimate action movie (about 6 minutes long). Although the plot was terribly corny (something to do with gathering the pieces of "SS6" and assembling a powerful weapon), the visual aesthetics were absolutely beautiful and it was awesome to see each of the guys acting so seriously as if it were a Hollywood movie! Then, the lights went up and Super Junior took the stage with "Twins (Knock Out)," their first single from back in 2005!!!
The entire concert was an INCREDIBLE experience and I would undoubtedly attend another if ever given the chance. From the pyrotechnics to the costumes and graphics, it truly was a visually stunning feast. Not to mention, the guys' costumes and choreography also added to the aesthetic appeal. What I absolutely loved, however, was the genuine character brought to the concert. While I was awed by dance moves and beautiful voices, what kept me going was the sheer energy brought by each of the members. Dancing in suits and heavy costumes for four hours under stage lights in 97 degree weather is daunting to say the least. But, with minimal A/C, Super Junior did it and did it well. They did not disappoint at all. Even though they were sweating a couple of songs into the performance, the energy was constantly flowing between group stages and solos. The talks that the members took in between groups of songs were also a welcome ice breaker of sorts. It was amazing to see them all joke around like I watch them do on my computer! They looked and acted precisely like how they do on TV -- it truly was awe-inspiring. Seeing them run across the stage and pass by me was incredible beyond words. It was made even better when I made eye contact with Kyuhyun and Donghae decided to throw water at us from his water bottle.
From "차근차근" ("Way for Love") to their new single "Devil," Super Junior shone so brightly that night. But, as much as I enjoyed the music and performances because of their energetic and fun nature, the concert was highly sentimental as well. Yesung's return from the military and the recognition of their 10-year anniversary as a group brought tears to my eyes. It was amazing to see how far they'd come and how strong they are together as one whole (including Zhoumi and Henry, who joined them on stage for the Super Junior-M performances).
As a participant at the concert, it was my first time to yell fanchats and sing along with my favorite group, enjoying every second of it. Although my boyfriend was a bit uncomfortable with the fact that he was the only male to be seen in the crowd, I thanked him (and continue to thank him) tremendously for going with me and making my biggest dream come true.
Although I could continue to ramble about Super Junior for pages, I'll restrain myself and summarize what I've just written:
It was a wonderful concert and engaging in every sense of the word. They truly are one of the greatest global acts of our generation.
After the concert and the difficult subway ride back to Sinchon (due to the sheer number of fangirls crowding the subway stops), Hyunwoo and I ordered some 치콜 (Chi-col, slang for "chicken and cola"). Then, when it reached midnight, I made my way back to Sogang, enjoying the summer rain after a hot day of almost 100 degrees Farenheit.
It was a long day, but it was so worth it to see my idols up close.
If only I could see them again...
*Note: I did not take many pictures at all during the concert. The security was so strict that several people near us (who were taking picutres) were pulled out of the crowd and asked to leave. I didn't want to risk that, so I didn't take any except for before the concert began and during the very ending of the concert when the members thanked everyone for coming. I wish I could have taken more, but I've provided some fan videos from the concert so that you can see how amazing it was! The first was the last few seconds of the concert, taken by Hyunwoo. The others are from fans who uploaded onto YouTube already!