SOCIAL DISTANCING CONCERT! KCON-TACT 2020 SUMMER
With every concert for the foreseeable future getting postponed or even cancelled, a lot of fans are feeling the NCD (No Concert Depression) sinking in. And when K-con announced its cancellation of the NYC event, all hope was lost our in eyes here at Korean From Context. Not only just for seeing an unforgettable concert, but seeing our concert buddies, shopping the cool booths, and enjoying k-town with friends who are new to the NYC scene.
But KCON wouldn’t let a cancellation and social distancing stop them from providing fans some sort of concert experience. Pulling inspiration from groups like BTS, NCT, and others, who have been having viral concerts or even just all day binge-thons of their previously filmed tours, KCON came up with a way to take that idea and turn it into something more interactive.
KCON-TACT 2020 SUMMER is going to be a 7-day 24 hour event. Not only will they be streaming past KCON concerts, they will also be sharing new live performances from some of our favorite artists (TBA), behind the scenes videos, meet and greet sessions, influencer led panels, and so much more!
And what makes this event more worthwhile is the fact that a portion of the proceeds will be going to UNESCO’s Learning Never Stops campaign which is helping students around the world continue their education during these COVID times.
Mark your calendars for June 20-26th and get ready to scream “LET’S KCON” from the comfort of your own home.
1TEAM ‘Make News Like Extra! Extra!’ in NYC for their Hello! Just One U.S. Tour
After only debuting a year ago, 1TEAM, consisting of rapper and songwriter BC , leader and vocalist Rubin (루빈) , vocalist Jin Woo (진우), vocalist Je Hyun (제현), and finally, the maknae and the other rapper of the group, Jung Hoon (정훈), is already conquering the North American Tour circuit. With their unique blend of hip-hop, EDM, and alternative R&B, it was no surprise they were able to fill the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn with hundreds of screaming Team Ones on March 8th 2020.
As the lights went off, the shrieks got even louder as the fans screamed their lungs out for 1TEAM to hit the stage. We could feel the energy pulsating through our own bodies, and also as our eardrums felt they were going to pop from how loud the crowd was. The boys descended the side stage stairs, and hit the main stage, and somehow the cries got even louder.
The beginning of “Make This,” their title track for their most recent comeback, started with its deep, dark, EDM sound and fans recognized it instantly. If we told you we remained professional, we’d be lying. We were bopping along with the crowd, singing along as our camera decided it was going to have its own little fanatic mental breakdown.
While we tried to calm our camera down and let it know the boys were in fact real and in front of it, our hearts continued to race as we watched the amazing dance moves we had seen on our computer screens come to life before our eyes. Oh, and did we mention that most of their opening outfits were made of see through material. We didn’t? Well now we did. Composed of dark black or bright white lace the blouses left little to the imagination of Team Ones.
And once we got our camera to somewhat cooperate with us, they were on to their next song from their most recent mini album “Love it.”
Throughout the entire show they talked about how grateful they were to be on tour, and how excited they were to see the different famous places of not only NYC, but also their other tour locations. They interacted with fans picking different people in the audience to sing their favorite songs. They loved the fans and the fans loved them.
They had another outfit change and our hearts throbbed at the chill, hipster vibe their red and white ensembles gave off. Rubin even flaunted his gorgeous tattoos when he pulled the sleeves down of his dope silk varsity jacket. Which, tattoos on idols? We. Are. Here. For. It.
They continued the show with other tracks of theirs like, “TAK!,” “Countdown,” “’Bout U,” and one of our favorites, the song that got us to stan HARD for these guys, “Vibe.” Every song was filled with more and more energy, like they were simply building it all up to have it explode in the next song. Their energy was unparalleled to other shows we have been to recently. We couldn’t help but shake our butts and tap our feet in the back of the venue as we watched them kill it on stage.
Besides their own songs, like every group that comes to the US, they showed off their bilingual skills by singing some popular American music. Songs included Maroon5’s “Girls Like You,” Justin Biebers “Yummy,” and our personal fav Post Malone “Sunflower.”
We have always talked about our appreciation for MyMusicTaste and StudioPAV and how well they put together shows. This was no different. The reason we always love their shows is the fact you get time to interact with the members via Meet and Greets, and Hi-touch possibilities. Fans who had VVIP got to spend some time with 1TEAM and even got signed posters. And VIP’s got Hi-touch where they got to greet the members of 1TEAM.
The concert was one for the books. 1TEAM walked out going 100 and walked off after their encore at level 9000! We hope you guys can see them this tour, and if not please check out all their music videos and join us Team One’s. You’ll “Love it.” 😉
Stray Kids District 9 Unlock at Hulu Theater Unlocked Our Cold Dead Hearts
On January 29th, 2020, Stray Kids came to New York City to show the city that never sleeps what they are made of. And clearly they are made of talented singers, rappers, and dancers.
Now before we dive into the pandemonium of the show, we would like to admit something. Please don’t leave this page when you read this. We swear we will make it up to you!
We were not that into Stray Kids before the show. Hold on, hold on, HOLD ON!
But the second the show started we realized what we had been missing out on and we now stan. HARD. We are truly Stays now.
Ok so now let’s crack into the show. We did know several of the songs they performed, like “District 9” and “Double Knot”, which we have always liked but when we saw the performance live it was a whole new level of appreciation. These dudes are some of the best dancers we have seen live. Who knew one could body roll in that many positions? Seriously, if you made a drinking game with simply the amount of times they body rolled throughout the concert…well let’s just say you would most likely need your stomach pumped from alcohol poisoning.
And to add to the body rolls, they were climbing on each other, jumping over each other, and not like a normal frog hop. No, no, no. We can’t remember which members it was but the one was standing straight up and another member split jumped over him. With the shortest member still being over 5 and a half feet tall that is insanely impressive.
As they performed so many other bops that we now have downloaded and added to all our playlists like, “I am YOU,” “Question,” and “YAYAYA,” the lights coming together with the cinematic large screens exploding with color and aesthetic visuals, told a story of misfits finding a place to call home amongst each other. “Stray Kids everywhere all around the world,” as they repeated all throughout the night sent an energy through the whole place of love and understanding.
And like every group who tend to change their style and sound for an album or two, Stray Kids performed some of their ‘softer’ bops side with “Get Cool” and “Astronaut”. Once again, the dancing for these blew us away. They even had 3RACHA, their rap sub-unit, and their vocal line perform singular songs.
So as we weren’t huge Stray Kids stans prior to this concert, we were unfamiliar with who were the main vocalists, rappers, dancers and all that jazz. Let’s break down what we figured out about the members. Umm…Felix? Who said a boy with that baby face could have a voice deeper than T.O.P from Big Bang?! Oh and when he decided to flaunt his nice abs?! Boy! Big oof! And then the boy stood there and did the Renegade dance…COME GET YOUR MAN STAYS!
Followed up by Hyunjin who would go hard in his verses, while body rolling in a see through shirt leaving little to our imaginations, and literally had everyone in the venue screaming, us included. Han was no different. Seducing the crowd with his voice and the way he would look into the crowd? Lawd have mercy!
And Changbin’s speed when rapping? Good God, we wanted to get on our knees and apologize for sleeping on all the talent in this group. And the disrespectfully gorgeous and melodic voices of Bang Chan, I.N, Lee Know and Seungmin? We are deeply apologetic to these boys and we hope they will forgive us.
The thing that got us, besides the amazing singing, and rapping during “MIROH,” and “갑자기 분위기 싸해질 필요 없잖아요 (gabjagi bun-wigi ssahaejil pil-yo eobsjanh-ayo- You don’t have to get in a fighting mood suddenly) (Awkward Silence),” was how sincerely happy they were as Stays sang their songs along with them, danced with them, and cheered them on during their ments. That’s what really sold us on becoming Stays ourselves. All the members looked touched as they looked out to the crowd and spoke from their hearts about their excitement of being in New York again.
As they were wrapping up the normal part of the concert (as in not the encore we ALL know will be coming after they make their change into their tour shirts) they played the first song we ever heard from them, “Hellevator,” which was their pre-debut song which was when we saw so much potential in them that it’s baffling to even us that we didn’t keep up with them.
These guys put on a show that caused us to stan them and become Stays, if that doesn’t sell you on their stage presence, music, and talent, well we don’t know what will. If they are coming to a city near you, get tickets immediately. Stray Kids are a group of talented young men, who have so much heart and raw talent, you wont be disappointed. Check them out in this District 9 Unlock tour, and like us, unlock your cold dead hearts.
Travel NYC like Kino, Yuto, Jinho of Pentagon
After Sammie’s wedding, we needed some serious R&R. And what better way to relax is to go into the frenzy of New York.
There are many things we love about NYC (we know our last two posts probably say otherwise). We love the sights and sounds, but what we love even more is seeing the sights and hearing the sounds from a different vantage point than on the street.
Rooftop bars are everywhere in Manhattan and they all offer different, breathtaking views of the city that never sleeps. We chose to hit up one of these many bars to celebrate her matrimony, while also deciding we needed to start planning our trips to Korea and Japan.
The one Pentagon to chose to visit happens to have a view of the building we work across the street from. A famous staple of New York. The Empire State Building.
A building that at night has different themed light shows to dazzle the people who take a second to glance up at its magnificent wonder of architecture.
Located on the 20th floor is 230 Fifth Rooftop bar. The location that Yuto, Jinho, and Kino decided to spend their day and night enjoying drinks, some food, and best of all taking in the view of NYC, after there concert in the city. Which we got to see! Click here to see how the lit up the city skyline when they performed.
And you guys can do the same. If you’re 21 or older you’re all good. If younger you need a parent or guardian. But have a drink and take in the amazing views as you travel NYC like Kino, Yuto, and Jinho of Pentagon.
PLT make fans Go Holic in NJ
White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, NJ was once again packed with K-pop fans. This time, it was for PLT. A group consisting of five solo artists ranging in different genres of music, like R&B, rap, and pop made NJ their kick off stop in their US tour. Fans lined up around the block, even in the chilled windy air, to wait to get in and get the best spot to see, Gaho, Moti, Jung Jinwoo, Villain, and June perform not only their solo songs, but also their combined music as PLT.
A little background on PLT. The five members, like stated above, are all solo artists under the label Planetarium Records. They have mixtapes, solo albums, singles, etc. singularly and then together to mix their genres to make music as a group, named PLT (a play on their record label name).
As we entered the venue, which we have been to many times, it never ceases to amaze us how gorgeous the place is with it’s stained glass ceiling windows, the large open space for fans to clamor into and the stage in the far back awaiting the presence of the artists who are waiting in the wings to perform.
The lights cut out, a screen dropped to promote the company that was able to make the concert possible, My Music Taste, and as the screen raised, the curtain opened and out walked Gaho. Dressed in a sleek black suit that, when he turned around, had pieces of printed cloth on the back, Gaho grabbed the mic and kicked off his set. He nervously explained her was jet lagged, but hearing the fans cheers gave him all the energy he needed to perform. The fans swooned as he sang his dulcet tracks like, “Going On”, followed by the soul crushing, heart breaking, ‘WHO HURT YOU?!’ song called, “있어줘 (eessojyo- stay here)”, and his most recent single, “Pink Walk,” which we still have stuck in our heads.
Gaho After thanking the crowd for coming, and letting him perform his music, Gaho walked off the stage to make way for the next artist. Jung Jinwoo, with his fluffy curls, oversized suit jacket and pants, stepped out to kick off his set with “위성 –weeseong – satellite) He was so nervous and excited, and the crowd was so happy he was on stage he missed his cue and asked for them to restart, letting the crowd enjoy his melodic entrance once more. He was sweet as he grabbed the hands of the fans as he walked across stage singing “She’s Got Everything,” a yet to be released song, and also “문제 (munjae – problem)” Jung Jinwoo had everyone begging for more and when he walked off stage, it was June’s turn to make the crowd lose their minds.
Jung Jinwoo June kicked of his set rather calmly. Sitting relaxed on a stool, dressed in a green and black flannel, with the new version of UFO pants (which we didn’t think would ever make a come back and have and we’re here for it), and a voice like Jay Park, he slayed the R&B game with his songs, “Gas Station,” and “Serenade.” The chill vibes of his set didn’t stop the fans from screaming for him to continue. When he wrapped up a few songs he spoke about how excited he was to be there and how he wanted to share some new unreleased music. Honestly, most of the members announced and performed an unreleased song and mentioned that new music was coming soon. It not only was exciting for them, but it made the fans crave more. After “오늘 밤은 (onul bamun- tonight)” he concluded his set and asked the crowd if they were ready for the next performer.
June We don’t believe they were and neither were we. As the music started, the fans went absolutely bat sh*t crazy and Villain, in his white denim jacket, spray painted jeans, blue hair with a center part and round Harry Potter like lenses, took the stage to start singing “Fairy.” Now we have never seen PLT perform live, we had heard that all their stages are amazing and we had seen some videos from previous shows but Villain came to kill. His overtly sexual motions as his hands ran up and down the mic stand caused us to hear squeals and even some straight moans from the crowd as he continued. He knew what he was doing and it fueled his entire performance. He finished the song and went into a personal story about how people are essentially shitty, and realized as he went to start his next song he had forgotten his set list. With a laugh and a smile he continued on and performed his hits “마니또 (Manitto),” and “Luhvin It” before also announcing he would be coming out with new music soon.
Villain It was then time for the final solo act. Moti. Once again, a man rocking a black suit, white shirt, but this time he added his own flare by having some pretty sick diamond chains. He kicked his set off with, “겸손 (kyeom seon- humble/modesty)” and when he moved away from his mic stand all hell broke loose. We’ve been crushed by fans before while taking photos. ASTRO at K-expo was probably the most insane. That was until this show. While we were crowded and pressed against the stage for all the other performers, when Moti came out is was a whole different ball game. The dude was running from side to side and seemed to always stop right in front of us. See crotch shot below for proof. He had the crowd who had already been at a 10 shoot up to a damn 20 as he performed, “Blue,” “GO,” and a new track set to hit the rest of the worlds ears next month.
Moti (crotch shot lol) Did you think after he performed it was over? Oh no. They still had their group act to perform. Remember how the crowd had bounced up to a 20? Yeah at the point they were over 100 and climbing to flipping infinity fast. PLT came out and it was like we entered Coachella with how loud and chaotic the crowd went. As they sang their group tracks like, “Igoholic,” “Blah,” and “Hocus Pocus,” they began showering the fans in water. As we were crushed in the front we got a solid shot to the face a few times. And while we were hype on how excited it made the fans we weren’t hype on it getting our camera wet. But such is the life of a concert photographer.
PLT Chaos All in all this concert over shot our expectations. We knew PLT were coming for us but not as savagely as they did. Every solo performance brought new waves of excitement, and when PLT came together there was no stopping the tsunami of hype. If you’re interested in seeing them and are in the US. Their up coming stops are Dallas, Los Angeles and Chicago so hopefully you can make your way over to any of those locations. We highly suggest experiencing “We Go Holic” for yourselves.
Pentagon lights the universe at Beacon Theater in NYC
A cooling end-of-summer Thursday night in NYC always brings out some beautiful things. The last budding daisies blooming in corner parks, the restaurants fill their outdoor seating with patrons who enjoy people watching as the street lights flicker on to light others paths home. And finally, far off into the distance, the universe lights the night with twinkling stars to guide the world safely below.
But the universe in the sky wasn’t the only lights shining bright. The Universe of 펜타곤 (Pentagon) shown more dazzling than the heavens, as the band brought their fans to the Beacon Theater for what was to be a night that will not be soon forgotten.
Fans not only lined-up around the corner to wait to get in, they wrapped around the entire block. It was a sight to be seen.
Met cool people waiting online Walking into the theater we were greeted with an impressive architectural and artistic beauty. The theater was ornately painted and had insane large statues of goddesses and knights. We hope more concerts are at the Beacon Theater just so we can take more pictures of the venue itself.
While the concert started a little late, it didn’t stop the fans from freaking out the second the lights cut turning the whole building black and a video of the members began playing. 펜타곤 consists of 9 members (formerly 10, E’dawn left amid controversy of him dating Hyuna), Jinho, Wooseok, Yeo One, Kino, Hui, Shinwon, Yuto, and Yanan. While Yanan was not present for to concert due to injury, the other 8 carried on to perform and make him proud.
Once the video ended, fans got even louder as the members appeared on stage to perform the intro to their debut album, “Wake Up.” Fans were wide awake not wanting to miss a second of these guys owning the stage. “Sha La La (신토불이-shintobulee- there really is no real translation. It is Shalala…)” followed, which felt like a warm up, prepping us for what they had in store for the rest of the show. We’ve have followed these guys since their debut in 2016 under C**e Entertainment (If you’ve seen Sammie’s youtube channel you will understand this joke. If not click here to see.) and have been waiting patiently for them for them to come to the NY for their own tour. This summer has been the one where a ton of our favorite groups have come to NY and we are not complaining.
during their first ment In the middle of performing several title tracks from their albums like, “Gorilla,” “Like This,” “Runaway,” and their most recent “Humph!” they introduced themselves (but let’s be real, they need no introduction) and spoke about how excited they were to be on a US tour. They cracked jokes with each other and interacted with the audience asking questions like, “Are you excited to be here?” and “Are you ready for more?” Oh and did we forget to mention Hongseok pulled open to show off his abs but some one *cough* Shinwon *cough* walked in front of our section so we couldn’t even see?!? THE NERVE!!
Wooseok sending hearts to the audience The second video break ended, and they had clearly finished an outfit change, one member stood on stage. Kino. Now, Kino has slowly been creeping up our bias list and after we watched the sway of his hips as the opening music to Camila Cabello’s “Havana,” pumped through the speakers, we knew we were done for. Suddenly, YeoOne, Jinho (who had actually done a cover video on Youtube of this song), and Hongseok joined him on stage and, we cant lie, panties hit the floor. These boys were able to seduce us with a song we actually can’t stand due to it being so overplayed. That. Is. Skill.
When that song completed and the four men walked off the stage, the other four members, Yuto, WooSeok, Hui, and Shinwon came out and slayed another overplayed song, “Uptown Funk,” by Bruno Mars. Seriously, both these are songs we have been so sick of hearing and suddenly we didn’t want them to end!
Uptown Funk These boys went through more outfit changes than we had seen in a while and all 8 came out in all white ensembles to slow down the pace of the concert with several of their ballads including, “When it rains at night(밤에 비가 내리면 -bamae biga naerimyun- If it rains at night),” and “Beautiful.” Their vocals could bring tears to anyone who heard them. The harmonies? UGH! PHENOMENAL! No other word can truly describe what was heard. Even if we have video it couldn’t do it justice.
So let’s just recap:
They blew minds.
They dropped panties.
They melted hearts.
It was time for them to put all three together for their mind blowing, panty dropping, heart melting final few songs. Hitting the stage in yet another outfit change (not joking so many changes and they all looked handsome in different ways), they took the standard group photo with the crowd and performed “Critical Beauty (예뻐죽겠네- yepo jukkaettnae- deadly gorgeous) “Naughty boy(청개구리-chonggaeguri- tree frog),” “Shine(빛나리- beechnari – shine),” and a new fav of ours, “Fantasystic.”
Get you a man who looks at you like Kino looks at Shinwon (Yes we stole Sammie’s tweet) While we had to leave before the encore, we heard they came out in their tour t-shirts for a final speech and performed a song or two while waving and throwing their hearts to fans everywhere in the audience.
Talking about their tour 펜타곤 came, saw, and conquered NYC. Their vocals made us shiver, their rapping made us quake, and their choreography shot us up into the sky to become the Universe they love so much. It was a night to not be forgotten by the fans and hopefully not by 펜타곤. We wish them the best of luck on the rest of the tour. If they’re in an area near you we suggest checking them out immediately. If the ticket prices are out of your price range, we totally get that, we suggest you check out their music anyway you can.
#WAFFLEDEBACLE
Sammie here. Thanks for reading our blogs about the recent concerts we’ve been to and even our book Seoul Searching. This post is a little different than what we’ve done in the past. This is my account of what we here at K.F.C, as well as my coworkers and friends, have now deemed the IMFACT #waffledebacle.
Enjoy.
The day started like any other concert going day. I picked out an outfit, proceeded to change it fifteen times, until I ended up going shopping and finding the cutest dress to wear (on clearance too! I love me a sale J). I put on my most basic of make-up as I have zero skills in that department. And I spent an hour fixing my hair only to throw it up in my usual bun because I hate my hair any other way. My normal concert routine.
I arrived at the venue, waited in line, met up with friends, got into the building to meet the members of IMFACT as they signed an album to me, even some of them wished me a happy birthday. I fangirled a bit as we took group photos, and then the concert began. I rocked out, screamed, danced, and went crazy when they played my favorite songs. Again, my normal concert routine.
Then the show concluded, and it was time for the Pick-a-poses. This has always been one of my favorite moments of concerts run by Studio PAV. While most other companies have a hi-touch and a quick group photo after the show, Studio PAV delivers a once in a lifetime experience. A short, but intimate time with idols one on one. I have been to close to ten shows that Studio PAV has put on and usually I tend to say very little to the idols during these Pick-a-pose sessions. They say, “Thank you for coming.” I quickly respond with a smile and maybe a, “You’re show was great.” Click! The photo is taken, I walk away to get on the next line and repeat the same steps. MY NORMAL CONCERT ROUTINE!
WELL NOT THIS TIME!
I stood in line, waiting patiently, talking to the people around me about how amazing the show was and how hard IMFACT had gone during both their group and solo performances. I had no order to whom I wanted to see. As much as Jian was my bias, after the show they put on I was ready to make them all my biases. So, I chose the shortest line and asked who I was in line for as I couldn’t see the members ahead.
Main vocalist, visual, aka: perfection in an idol, Lee Sang.
A name I know I will now never forget. Nor will any of my friends, coworkers, or even my fiancé.
I was internally practicing what I wanted to say, like always, knowing the second, I was in front of him I would say absolutely nothing of what I had planned.
I heard the click of the woman ahead of me as her final photo was being taken and braced myself. It was my turn. My heart was racing, I told the woman with the camera in her hand the two photos I wanted and walked up to Lee Sang, his smirk could’ve knocked me off my feet if I wasn’t too preoccupied in my head. Thinking about it now, it was probably one of the sexiest things ever directed my way and I was too stupid to register it in the moment. I walked over and proudly, in Korean, told him the two numbers I wanted. The smirk suddenly became a full out smile as he asked if I spoke Korean. I responded quickly that I was learning and looked toward the camera for the poses.
And then, something I never planned for, happened. Something I never in a million years thought would ever be spoken to me from anyone apart from maybe my fiancé, left this idol’s lips.
“You’re very pretty.”
I’m not even joking I could feel his eyes on me. They were on me, and nowhere else.
My response? I laughed. I hadn’t looked at him. I couldn’t. Surely, he couldn’t be serious. And when he said nothing and the woman taking the photo still hadn’t taken the photo, I looked over to him. His eyes surprised at my response. Finally, my brain came to the conclusion, “Beesh he’s serious.”
I bowed my head and said thank you.
He followed up by asking me my name.
THIS WAS MORE INTERACTION THAN I’VE HAD WITH ANY OF THE OTHER IDOLS I HAVE MET!
I was simply staring at him for a little too long and his eyebrows raised while in my head I’m screaming, “Answer the damn question!”
I respond with my name. Mind you, we still have not taken the first photo. The woman was simply watching us. I’m pretty sure she had been in the middle of changing the film. It’s the only way the conversation was able to continue.
I will say again, I’ve done these Pick-a-poses multiple times. I have been there when the film needed to be reloaded and I stood awkwardly next to the members who simply waited for the film to be filled and the photo to be taken. We say nothing to each other. And I acknowledged it as, this is there job, they are being paid for this, they are tired and they want to go home so they want these pictures done and done quickly. I don’t blame them for that at all and I always forget to wish them a nice rest, but as you can all clearly see, talking to the idols is not my forte.
Lee Sang was different from all of them. Even from the rest of his members. He spoke confidently, but nervously. He was worried he had something incorrectly but also knew that he wanted to get out what he had to say.
I had again looked back to the woman ready for the photo, only to once again be asked a question, “Are you from around here?”
Snapping my neck in surprise that this conversation was continuing, I nodded my head and said, “Born and raised.”
That’s when the woman finally put the view finder up to her eye and we made the first pose.
Click.
One photo down. I looked to the poses as at that point I had totally forgotten what the second one I chose was and that’s when another thing fell from this man’s lips I never thought I would ever hear someone of his magnitude say to me.
He leaned in a bit and spoke slowly to make sure what he said was perfectly clear, “What should I do after the show? What should I see?”
My body felt like it had gone limp. My soul had left my body. No way. This god of a man was most definitely not asking me to hang out. No way. He just wanted to know what he should go and do before he had to hop on a plane back to South Korea.
I shrugged and responded, “hmm. I don’t know. What is it you want to see?” while internally I was saying “DO ME! SEE ME!” (disclaimer: I love my fiancé. With all my heart. But a damn sexy idol was potentially hitting on me. I’m still a woman. I have urges. And by the end of this, you’ll all see why my fiancé has nothing to worry about.)
The woman had begun to rush us to take the second picture. I was sad that moment had finally arrived but as she was trying to take the picture he kept talking saying, “We can still talk.”
WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT TO KEEP TALKING TO ME!?!?
He then mumbled something while smiling that I couldn’t understand, and I simply nodded my head thinking he had asked a yes or no question.
When I went to pull away he grabbed my hand and kept repeating a word that at first I was unable to understand and finally he spoke louder and I realized he was saying, “Waffle.”
I nodded to say I understood and repeated, “Waffle?”
He nodded excited and said, “I really want to try them.”
And here is where you will all see why my fiancé has nothing to worry about.
I responded, “Oh yeah! I love waffles.”
He smiled brightly and the hand that was holding onto mine went to my neck. I was dreaming. It had to be a sick vivid dream that wanted nothing more than to torture me. And then he gently squeezed and massaged, confirming I in fact was not dreaming, and suddenly 18+ thoughts were running in my mind begging for me to let them live their fantasy.
He let go and all I could think to do was walk away with a small “맛있어 (Masheeso- it’s delicious)”
You read that right. I WALKED AWAY! Instead of taking the bold move of saying something like, “I know I great waffle place!” for him to ask where and me to offer to take him…my dumb nervous ass walked away.
I could’ve gone back. I could’ve bought another Pick-a-pose, stood on his line, walked back up and said, “So about those waffles…”
So many scenarios I could’ve done, that I have now since played out in my head, all ending with me potentially EATING WAFFLES WITH LEE SANG OF IMFACT!
But alas, I didn’t do any of these things. I walked away never to see him again. Not knowing if he got those waffles he seemed so eager to devour. I walked away from an unfinished fan fiction moment. The romance writer inside of me died and has been laid to rest. She no longer resides in this body because she can’t believe what an idiot I was.
I told my friends and coworkers and all they could do was shake their heads in shame and say what an epic fail I had pulled. And that is how the IMFACT #waffledebacle ended.
But did it have to end like that? I could write a better ending, saying we found the typical New Jersey twenty-four-hour diner and got those waffles. I could say we talked about our lives, our likes and dislikes, and had some deep conversation over a large plate of warm fluffy squares topped with butter and syrup with a side of strong coffee to keep ourselves awake to enjoy each others company. I possibly could’ve said we drove around finding the perfect spot to wait for the sun to rise over New York City knowing I had to bring him back and we had to face reality.
And yet, none of that would be true and I am sat here left simply to wonder if Lee Sang got his waffles or not.
#waffledebacle
IMFACT Makes Impact on NJ IF’s
Studio PAV did it again. They brought one of K.F.C’s favorite groups to a town near us and made an unforgettable night for hundreds of IF’s. If you’re not sure what an IF is, read on to not only learn what they are, but also become one!
The date? August 17th. The time? 4pm. The place? White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey. Fans of the band Imfact, lovingly known as IF’s, waited excitedly to get into the venue to not only watch one of their favorite five membered bands perform but also meet and take group photos with them. And we were there to enjoy the party.
Imfact debuted in January of 2016 under Star Empire Entertainment. Consisting of five members, Jian, Ungjae, Lee Sang, Taeho, and Jeup, the group has pumped out solid single after solid single since their debut. Mixing up their styles from bubblegum pop, to hard rap pop, to their most recent style of build-to-a-sick-beat drop pop. We know these are not professional music terms but they make sense and describe perfectly IMFACT’s many era’s of music.
If readers are unfamiliar with Studio PAV, the company has brought bands that we would consider ‘underrated’ to the US to give their North American fans a shot to see their favorite small groups close to home. Bringing groups like VAV, Up10tion, Teep Top, and JJCC who would’ve most likely never made their way over here with any other company. What we love most about Studio PAV is what they offer to fans. Not only do VVIP/VIP fans get hi-touches and group photos, but after the show, fans can get one-on-one photos with their biases.
So kicking off in standard Studio PAV fashion, before the concert, fans were lined up, very well organized we might add, and brought into the venue to await receiving the album for the group members to sign. Once all the VIP fans received their signed albums, it was time for the hi-touch. Walking past all the members as we gave them high fives and they smiled and grabbed our hands just a little while longer than a simple high five to walk around behind them for a group photo where we posed, making our best finger hearts, grew the anticipation within us for what was next to come.
The concert.
The organized lines were then funneled calm, cool, and collected-ly in front of the stage for their special general admission spots. The actual general admission were placed a little further back behind the barricades. The excitement was building throughout the hall. Chants began and suddenly the lights went down and a small video began implying the show was about to begin.
The screams got louder as shadows moved around on stage. The stage lights came up and five amazingly talented men stood on stage. As they pumped out their hits like “The Light” and “Only U” they danced, some rather provocatively (looking at you Lee Sang), their hearts out and we could feel the energy radiating from them. They were as excited to be there as we were. We surmised they were giving it their absolute all since we were the last stop of the tour. Go big, and then go home. Lol. Following their latest songs they dove into some of the slower songs like, “In the club”.
After slowing it down, essentially giving themselves some time to calm their racing hearts and ours, they then went into their solo stages. Kicking it off was Lee Sang. Walking out onto the stage , guitar in his hand, he explained the song was for people who are struggling and how they need to hold on for the better days. It was so moving it even made members of the audience cry.
Ungjae was ready to make that stage his b*tch, for lack of a better phrase. Rapping over the backtrack of “Closer” by Chainsmokers, he rapped his deep voice out getting the audience to jump and dance to the beat.
What could possibly follow that up? Maybe a duet with Ungjae and Lee Sang? Yep. They. Did. THAT.
And then it was Jian’s turn. The opening beat of BTS’s “Mic Drop” flooded the speakers and the volume of the crowd strengthened. the boy not only rapped he danced so freakin hard we were astonished he had any sort of energy to continue the show after that.
The next two soloists were Taeho and Jeup, whose vocals made the whole room melt, and then probably the most iconic thing we’ve seen in K-pop concerts happened they both hit the stage for duet and what was it they started to sing?
QUEEN!!! FREAKIN QUEEN!!
How could it get more iconic? Oh, we know. Jian walking out in a white t-shirt and jeans with a half mic stand like Freddy Mercury to get the crowd to repeat his aye-o’s just like Freddy freakin Mercury. They did an entire medley of Queen songs! We will never forget that.
ICONIC!!
They all came back out dressed in sexy black suits to sing a cover of “Gangnam Style”, and then back to their original songs, performing their debut song “Lollipop”, and they finished the concert off with “Tension Up,” the song that got us into IMFACT.
This concert experience was a highlight of our summer concerts this year. In fact, we would positively say it was the BEST concert we have been to in quite some time. It could be because ever since we found out they existed, we had been dying for them to come to the US since we don’t know when we will make it to South Korea.
IMFACT delivered in both fan service and performances and we were sad the night had to end. But is almost didn’t end. At least for Sammie.
What are we talking about? Stay tuned for what is sure to be the saddest funniest thing you’ve ever read in your life. #waffledebacle
Travel NYC like a K-pop Idol
Ever wonder where your idol is when they are in a town or city near you? Or even, in a place you’ve always wanted to go? We have. And when they come to our city, New York City, and post pictures of places we see daily, or have heard about, we always feel the need to go and check out said places ourselves just to say “We were there too!”
That’s when we wondered…” Are we the only ones who do this?”
The answer we found was no! People are dying to see what idols see and be in an idols shoes even for that sliver of a second. Friends of ours, who are not familiar with NYC had reached out to us a few times with pictures of their bias standing at a street corner, sitting in a park, or eating in a restaurant, and asked us if we knew where they were. The crazy part was…we did. Having a mother who worked in Manhattan for all her young adult, and adult life, Sammie was bound to get the NYC bug as well. For as long as she could remember hopping on a train with her mother, walking up to the Chrysler Building where her mother worked, going out to lunch at different, fun, and unique spots, and once a month, for almost two or three years, going to see a Broadway show, was the norm. Her mother knew the city like the back of her hand, and unbeknownst to either of them, she was passing that trait down to her daughter.
Whenever we saw a celebrity post a photo of New York, we would run to her mother with the photo asking where it was. And like Rain Man, she knew exactly what street they were on and other stores and such around it. Sammie, while well versed in certain areas of the city, went on a different path for awhile and the city seemed like a distant past she would most likely forget. But when she got a job working in Manhattan, she found she would meet up with her mother to continue their adventures of unexplored areas of NY. And that’s when the genetics kicked in.
We will never forget the day we knew we had a series on our hands. A friend had reached out, fangirling over a photo ASTRO(아스트로) had posted on their Instagram, and Sammie laughed while saying, “Oh I haven’t been there in ages!”
We looked at her in awe. It was a picture of a hamburger. As we stared between her and the photo, the friend who had texted the image in the first place responded with the emoji that perfectly fit our faces :0 . This friend continued to send photos in which Sammie quickly identified where the members were. It soon became an ongoing thing. The second an artist came to NY, this friend sent a picture and within minutes Sammie had identified where it was.
And so Travel NYC like _____ was born.
We will be watching videos that the bands post, looking through their Instagram’s, and Twitter’s to find all their travels in NYC so that when one journeys here they will be able to follow the path of their kpop counterparts. So come and travel like an idol.
TRAILER:
MAJOR DISCLAIMER: We do not condone the act of stalking. We go to these places well after the idols have posted the videos, pictures, etc. DO NOT STALK!
K-CON NY 2019: Convention
A convention that continuously has one-uped itself, not only one-uped for this year, but it made us die to know what they have in store for 2020.
K-Con NY, had two new venues this year. The convention was held in the Javits Center, and the concerts were held in Madison Square Garden (MSG). We, at first, were a little nervous of how that scenario would work out. Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of fans leaving one venue to walk to the next? All we could think was chaos. We were proven dead wrong. There was no issue at all. Fans filed out when they felt like it, and walked to and from the venues with ease. And while the sweltering heat and nearly suffocating humidity would’ve been a problem at the previous convention location, the refreshing air conditioned Javits Center made for an amazingly enjoyable experience.
And with the new indoor location, came fun and creative booths from both vendors and K-con themselves. As we walked around we found so many Instagram worthy sets, including the new trend of a ball pit filled with inflatable flamingos and donuts.
(check out the ball pit in the back of the photo) The K Food Fair within the convention offered K-con goers a one of a kind food experience. We got to sample Korean melons, pears, crunchy ramen snacks, and even a meal worm burger (which was shockingly delicious). Bibimgo offered samples of their 만두(mandu- dumplings), Melona had people spin a wheel to pick from a multitude of flavored ice cream pops, and for sale was Kung Fu Tea, who sold out by mid day both days.
The entrance to all the amazing free and tasty Korean food. After eating our way through the convention, it was time to shop the convention. The dominating force was Korean skin care. As Korean drama and K-pop fans all know, Korea takes their skincare very seriously and that prestige showed. There were several k-beauty, skincare, and makeup booths that came to show both their new and tried and true products. While we received a handful of samples, we also ended up purchasing some goodies as well. (Hint: we will be doing a skin care blog soon.)
The freebies we gave out and some of the stuff we bought! Albums stalls had lines wrapped around them twice if not three times of eager fans waiting to get their hands on exclusive merchandise, posters, and above all else, albums. There was even a small amount of clothing booths (we had actually hoped for a few more) that not only promoted k-pop, but Korea in general.
To put it simply, our bank accounts were heavily depleted.
The other aspect of the convention was panels. There seemed to be a lot more panels then previoulsy, which we have the larger venue of Javits Center to thank. These panels covered creative things like create your own fansign, and making your own embroidered patch, to educational like Women in Hallyu media, and how to start your own YouTube channel. Fans got to sit in and listen to some of their favorite YouTubers, artists, and industry professionals and left feeling inspired.
While we couldn’t cover the fan engagements, we did hear from several of the fans in the audience as well as ones who got to meet their idols that it was a once in a lifetime experience. Fans were shown so much love and appreciation from their favorite groups.
This two day experience was one to remember. We ate a lot, we saw a ton of bands, we learned a lot and we simply loved meeting all the amazing fans who love the same things we do! We have already begun to countdown until next K-con!
