The Road to 40 Day 330/365: Seventeen In Korea

We went to our first concert in Korea this day, but we also saw a bit more cherry blossoms to maximize this current season.

Che and Vino are not morning people, so I used my morning to clock a run in. Initially, I wanted to run around the neighborhood, but I saw that the road looked wet, so it might have rained. It’s about 15 degrees Celcius out, and while it might be nice to run in such cold weather, I didn’t pack for a rainy, cold environment.

I settled for the gym and had a workout on some of the machines. I actually feel lighter, and some of my clothes do fit better, so I’m happy about the progress I’m getting.

Che and Vino started moving close to 10am, and we were still able to get some breakfast, as they usually extend to 10:30am on weekends.

I usually “eat for three” when we go to hotel breakfasts, because they don’t really eat much from the buffet. However, I don’t want to fall back to old habits anymore, so I went with greens this time around.

We went around the Lotte Tower area to enjoy a bit more of the cherry blossoms. This is probably the most crowded time I’ve been in Korea. It felt like a night out in Myeongdong, but in the afternoon. We’re so not used to this kind of chaos.

Later in the day, we found a video of how the crowd was in this area a day before, and it was even crazier. Rain was expected on Saturday, so we’re guessing people came out on Friday instead.

The crowds were mostly local, though, unlike crowded “touristy” places we’ve gone to before. It’s refreshing to see them enjoy their own country for things like these. At least they don’t tire out appreciating the beauty of nature even if it happens every year for them.

After having lunch, we went back to the hotel. Kathreen and JP were going to babysit Vino while we went to watch the Seventeen concert.

I made my own profile in an app for K-pop fans because some ticket sales were exclusive to CARATs – the name of their fandom. I actually have an ARMY membership (BTS fandom) as well, because I also need to queue up when there are concert tickets up for sale.

It was a massive queue, but ultimately, we were still able to secure tickets. It wasn’t the best area, but the important thing was that we got it. As soon as we arrived in the venue, we were already thinking it’s going to be a tough view from where we were.

We planned on not finishing the whole thing, because the crowd was massive. I counted I’m not sure how much the capacity of the arena was, but I reckon it’s about 30,000 (quick Google check confirmed this), and it was practically full. We imagine it would be impossible to get a ride if we finished the whole thing, and we were at least 45mins away from our hotel.

This concert was a Korean one. Obviously, they’re Korean, but they do have English concerts that cater to foreign fans, especially during their banter in between performances. Still, we were able to enjoy the music and the energy of a live concert, which we came for.

The boys had group performances before showcasing solo acts. The concert was called “Encore” because some of them were set to render their mandatory military service. One of the them got very emotional during his solo performance because it would be his last for a while.

Obviously, I don’t have their names right just yet, but I at least do genuinely enjoy their songs, so true CARATs need not be angry that I’m taking a spot in concerts – I do my part to vibe with the music. I just don’t know how to respond when they do catchphrases.

We left around 8:30pm, with Che saying she heard her favorite songs already. A few songs that I am very familiar with – God of Music, HOT, and Aju Nice – haven’t been performed yet, but based on experience (this was not our first concert together), we felt like those high energy songs would be done towards the end.

Che was also hungry, but I convinced her to just eat back at the hotel because we might end up going home together with the rest of the concert goers if we ate there.

We got some convenience store food at the hotel and just capped the night off with it. While I am limiting my alcohol intake, I just had to try stuff that we don’t get in Singapore.

JP asked what we planned on doing tomorrow, and I genuinely had no idea. Che and I were talking about going to a few places, but there’s nothing firm really set. Korea has always felt home for us, so we just enjoy discovering it with or without plans.

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