Seoul Diary 2014: Day 8 - MCountdown

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

November 6, 2014


I must say, this day proved that you have to hold the vision, and trust the process. Sometimes it is just proper to let go of things and see what happens.


Prior to every trip I've been in, I've always set up goals. Goals that needs to be accomplished... no matter what.

M Countdown, as said in every blog you can find in the whole KPop web universe, is the easiest and most accessible music show in within the current airing music shows in Korea. Being the the trusting blog reader that I am, I have that little fact in mind.

But I guess, it's funny how reality strikes, how stress and emotions and be your little enemy at times like this.

If you are planning to watch M Countdown whilst in Korea, please refer to this link for directions. We took the Subway route, which is the easiest one out of all.

NOTES:

  • If you are aiming to be one of the lucky people to be picked as a general audience, meaning you don't have a specific fanclub, you just want to experience watching a real Korean music show live - LINE UP AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. It could like 2AM or earlier in the morning. We didn't go this kind of route, because I still do believe it's a bit extreme just to get in for a music show. But if you do not have a fancafe membership or whatnot this is the only way you could get in. Also, only 20 people are picked out as general audience. So like I said, be there before even the sun comes up if possible. 

  • A copy of your favorite group or artist's recent album is not enough. Based from our experience, fan staff nowadays are looking for PRINTED online song purchases. Which could only be accessed or done by fancafe members. So if you think, and read somewhere that a CD is enough, you are mistaken. Gone were the days where foreigners can just go away with just bringing an album. We have witnessed teary broken hearts on this day alone because they don't have their printed online song purchase. I myself even had a mini-panic attack for not being able to line up with my supposed-to-be group's line.

  • Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while you were waiting. Since we were unfortunately excluded from the general audience list, we had no choice but to wait for fanclubs to sprout out of nowhere to save our asses. And the only secret in that is to actually be patient, and be prepared to dedicate your whole day for watching the music show alone. So remember, be ready. And if it's meant to happen, it will happen. 

With that all laid out on the table, I hope everyone won't experience such emotional draining things we went through in the process of watching MCountdown.


Referring to the notes before this, we weren't able to get picked as a general audience. And as a consequence, we were left waiting outside the studio building to spot fanclub people to post their announcements for the pre-recording and the live show, like this one above. 

With no such luck, we realized that Zhoumi's album was already out before this faithful day and we decided to retreat from the line out of fear. And we were left with waiting for Bangtan's fan staff to gather the fans. 

But with no such luck, I was left with tears and disappointment for we were not informed to have our printed song purchases ready. Even with endless pleading and emotional drama, rules are rules I suppose. 

After some tough love words from my two awesome friends back at home we were left with one uncertain hope. Zhoumi. 

Which brings me to Janine, the person who brought the sunshine back in our lives that day. I was being so petty and hopeless since the morning. And everything just felt so dark and unsure. If it wasn't for you roaming around the area whilst we were this close to going home, we wouldn't be able to have our very first MCountdown experience. 

If not for you and your endless positive cheering, I won't be able to see the boys, especially Seokjin. 

You never left us, even got out of your way for us. Words are not enough for us to thank you for giving us a chance and actually asking around for us to get in the show. I will forever be thankful, Janine. Salamat. See you soon okay? 

And now, let the Epik High win encore photos commence. 








Please do note that this was during the encore. I didn't take photos from the live show. The MCountdown staff themselves allowed us to take photos from the encore. 

And lastly... thanks to these two girls, for being so patient towards me during this emotional roller coaster of a day. We should've kidnapped Ahn Jae-hyun when we had a chance!













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4 comments

  1. hi there! i'm a foreigner visiting seoul at the moment and hoping to see at least one music show before i leave. i was planning on going this week to m!countdown, but after reading your blog post, i'm feeling considerably more daunted. would going at 5:00 am not be enough to get general tickets? T^T i also wanted to go with a fancafe (mamamoo's), but my korean is abysmal at best, and i'm not an official member (only just signed up in the fancafe). any advice or warnings you could give would be super appreciated, thanks!

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    1. Hello there! :) I guess the key is careful planning.

      1. You should take note that this whole MCountdown thing will take up your whole day, so clear your day and cancel all your plans.
      2. I suggest you go to the the Mcountdown venue by 2AM or 2:30AM. Just to be safe, it's better to be safe than sorry.
      3. I guess prepare Mamamoo's LATEST album. To show the fanstaff that you are a mamamoo fan. Also, do look up how to say "I'm a foreigner", "I can only speak english" in korean, so that you can converse with that to the fan staff as well. So that they'll know how to handle you. I have not encountered Mamamoo fans before, but I could tell they're nice. Also try bringing a marker and a sketchpad just in case, you could write Mamamoo on it or something, so that you could show people, and maybe they could point you out where to find the fanbase.
      4. Be aware of the people around you, look at the things they are holding, so that you'll know who to approach.
      5. See if Mamamoo has a prerecording or live performance - it's two ways actually. When you line up early in the morning and got in, you are entitled for the live broadcast, but if Mamamoo has a prerecording by I guess 10AM let's say, it's a fans only thing, so there is no guarantee they'll be at the live one as well... but as far as I know, they usually appear even after prerecording. But I'm telling you this to just be cautious.
      6. Don't give up... if ever you weren't able to get in the queue, or was not given access by the Mamamoo fanstaff, there are other artists there as well, so research on who will be there, and have them as your plan b instead. SM artists/fanstaff are the most accomodating out of all, you just need to cheer for their artist with all your might first. HAHA.

      I hope that is a bit helpful to your journey! And I'm cheering you on, hopefully you'll get in! :)

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  2. hey there! thank you so much for the details but can i ask you for some tips.. i m huge BTS fan so i really wanna see them perform and M countdown is easier for a foreigner to access compared tp the rest of the shows. i wanna know some details about this PRINTED SONG PURCHASE thing. can you tell me how i can get one and where to get one ? and by any chance i didnt manage to geto the general audience is it a must to have song purchase printed paper ?

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    Replies
    1. Hello there! It has been a long time since I went so I don't really know the situation with how to enter now. You're sure but risky chance to enter is via live general audience entrance - where you will line up early and have your name listed.

      As for the song purchase, I still don't understand how that works. An army official membership could help up your chances in entering.

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