Going to Concerts in Korea with Interpark

Interpark itself essentially G-market (Korean Amazon/Ebay), but Interpark has a secondary site called Interpark Ticket where you can buy tickets to concerts, musicals, operas, and sports exhibitions.

For example, at the time of this post, you can buy tickets to see in Korea:

• Psy (concert)
• Chicago the Musical
• The Brown Eyed Girls (concert)
• The Musical Les Miserables
• god (concert)
• Lee Hong Ki (concert)

I just wanted to briefly introduce Interpark as a way of seeing decently priced concerts and performances in Korea for beginners. I say "decently priced," because it really depends on who you're seeing. I say "for beginners," because there are other ways to see kpop groups, but sometimes it requires being able to read Korean or group-specific methods. If you just want to see any concerts or musical performances, keep Interpark ticket bookmarked and check the listings often until you find something you like, or someone you recognize. Interpark ticket is great for foreigners because it's in English and allows for purchases using non-domestic credit cards.

If you want to see someone specific perform, you need to be following their social media sites. It helps to have joined an artist or group's fan cafe if you want to attend extra events such as fan signs, but I don't really know much on the subject so you'll have to do your own research. I'm most active on facebook and instagram, so I make sure to follow my favorite artists there, including many underground rappers. They always upload concert posters and event details, so I can find them on Interpark if there already isn't a link. 

There are other websites to buy concert tickets from, but I've used Interpark a few times and have found it to be easy, as well as accessible for international fans. Now I'll continue with my experience using Interpark to see my favorite rapper, Zico!

During the summer, I diligently watched Show Me the Money, season 4. I rooted for Song Mino of Winner (originally meant to debut with Block B). 

I've loosely followed Mino since I heard of him when I was a Block B fan, but have been a better fan since supporting him in SMTM. As for Block B, I'm more picky when I listen to them, since the gap between Zico's music style and Block B's style has been widening. For those of you who don't know, Zico is the leader and (usually) producer of Block B. Since Block B's promotions for their debut in 2011, I have biased Zico and followed his career. I heard he would be a judge on SMTM, so that's why I started watching it during the 4th season.

He looks scary here, but he's really a dork.

When I was in Korea and watching SMTM, I discovered a concert on Interpark that Zico would be performing in! So of course I bought a ticket. 

THE CRY 100°C

LINEUP: Zico, Grey, Loco, Giriboy, Olltii, Cheetah

Because the entire floor level are standing "seats" (not seats at all), we're given a number in which we enter the venue and a letter for the section. The first ticket I bought was section C; section A and B are in front of the stage and C and D are in the back (there was also a small second floor, I think). Thankfully, some concerts on Interpark allow for ticket cancellations and refunds, so I kept checking back until people in better seats cancelled their ticket reservations. I ended up getting into section A, and very close to the stage extension! 

Another recommendation for seeing concerts in Korea.. once you've bought your ticket, ask around on social media if anyone else is going! It's really nice to have other foreigners with you to figure out where to go and wait with. I met a few girls through a mutual friend on facebook who just happened to know that we were all going to the same concert! We figured out where to go, got some snacks, shared a locker together, and picked a place to meet once the concert was over. Even though we weren't all in the same section, it was nice knowing I wasn't alone! One girl and I later met again and became good friends. You can see our fun time at a dog cafe in Myeongdong here!

Once you arrive at the venue, you'll have to pick up your ticket if you haven't already gotten one. If you reserved with Interpark, you probably haven't gotten one. Find the ticket booth and get in the Interpark line!

This is my ticket. Here's what's important!

A: Reservation number. Actually, you probably won't need it after you get your ticket, but you will need your reservation number and ID in order to pick up the ticket. So have those with you!

B: Grouping letter. You'll enter the concert hall based on what section your "seat" is in. You'll also need to wait in a grouped section based on this letter.

C: Seat number (or standing seat number). MOST IMPORTANT! You should try to learn how to say this in Korean, if you can. If not, just be ready to point at it on your ticket. Outside the concert hall, there should be sections based on your group letter and a range of seat numbers. You'll later have to arrange your group into a line based on numerical order of the seat number. Someone will come around to each group and help them get in order. She will ask each person their seat number. If you can't say the number in Korean, show her your ticket with the number already highlighted, circled, or be pointing to it (remember Seoul has bbali balli culture, AKA "faster faster" culture). 

It was raining that day, but sections A and B were assigned to wait inside while the other sections waited under a canopy outside. The white papers on the wall say the group letters and a range of seat numbers.

There was another foreigner in the group next to mine, so we ended up talking and bonding :)

Oh my gosh, it's starting!

The first lineup artist was Giriboy. I always thought he was cute and liked a few songs, but his style in general is too indie for me.

He spent a lot of time talking to the fans between songs. He was so cute, but he really just seemed interested in hearing himself talk. I wasn't sure if it was planned for him to talk so long or not, but it didn't seem to be since everyone after didn't talk much at all, as though they were having to make up for him taking too long. And Zico didn't talk at all :( Giriboy was still cool though.

Cheetah came next! For those of you who don't know, she was the winner of SMTM's female-only counterpart, Unpretty Rapstar. 

What a cutie! She took a moment to pose like a cheetah for her fans, but kept laughing.

After performing "Coma 07" (I think the winning song from UR, but I'm not sure), about her experience in a car crash and the coma that followed, she felt overwhelmed with the support from her fans in the crowd that cheered for her. She cried a little and told us how grateful she felt. :')

Next came Loco and Grey from AOMG records! If you know anything about AOMG, you know that they move and jump around SO MUCH while performing, so it was pretty hard to get decent photos of them.

Loco

Grey

Oh my gosh, Zico is almost here! But not yet.. Olltii came out next, who I am also a fan of. He performed the first song of his that I'd ever heard, "OLL Ready." 

And.. there was a surprise for SMTM fans! Seo Chul Gu joined Olltii on the stage. He was a very talented contestant who was said to be eliminated too early. During the freestyle round, he was "too nice," when he handed the mic off from someone who was hogging it to another contestant instead of taking it for himself. At the end of the round, he barely got a few words in. 

Since I didn't get to see much of him in SMTM, it was a special treat to be able to see him perform full songs on stage! Of course I followed him on facebook and will be looking out for future performances.

Slay! Wish I got cool shots like these of the other performers.

YES, FINALLY, ZICO! He performed with some other guy, I think maybe Babylon, but I was not paying attention at all to him, trust me :)

At the beginning of the concert, I started out close to the stage extension but had been pushed back over time since I didn't care about the other performers as much as Zico. But when Zico came out, I had to push forward to get closer again! He seemed to have a never-ending supply of water bottles and kept spraying them out into the crowd. I was right in the splash zone though, and kept getting the first big splash rather than a few exciting few drops. 

In fact, the girl next to me kept laughing (good-naturedly) at my faces whenever he'd shake the bottle on us. I just didn't want to mess up my make-up ㅠㅠ

It was such a great experience to finally get to see him perform live after almost 5 years of being his fan. He even performed the very song I'd always wanted to see live, his cover of "I'm Still Fly" by Drake. The other songs he performed were all my favorites as well. What a blessing to see this, and so close!

Such a terrible photo, but I had to share because it was when we made eye contact! *o*

I really had a blast at The Cry concert and was so blessed to be able to make friends because of it. If you want to see concerts in Korea but don't know where to start, Interpark really is a great option.