I'll skip the back story and fast forward to the morning of KCON. For those of you who don't know, KCON 2012 was a Korean convention for all things Hallyu with special guests G.Na, 4 Minute, Nu'est, Vixx, B.A.P, and Exo-M. It was an all day convention from 10am to 7:30pm and then the concert would begin at 7:30pm to 9:30pm. It was a two for one deal convention+concert. SCORE! There were many sessions featuring all sorts of guests including the famous EatYourKimchi, Just Kidding Films, Viki, David Yi, Jen, Soompi, and others. I remember there was a stage for dance covers and singing covers. Some of the sessions included "The Secretes of Auditioning", "Kpop fashion", and the "Rise of Foreign Influence in Kpop". I personally didn't attend any (as in there were too many people for me to sit in on the session) but I stood around and listened to bits and pieces of random sessions.
It was a beautiful, sunny day, I had just parked outside the amphitheater and I could immediately hear the Kpop stars rehearsing. I think it was Nu-est or maybe G.Na? I don't remember because eventually I heard everyone's rehearsal. Anyways, we walked past the gates smuggling our snacks and a good thing too because food was waaaaay too overpriced where we took some pictures near the sign that read "KCON 2012" and I headed straight to the line to pick up my pre-ordered merchandise. I listened to Exo-M's rehearsal while standing in line (this one I remember because all the fangirls around me were fangirling a little too hard and people were going crazy). I must have stood in that line for a good hour and a half and by the time I reached the front, they ran out of my PRE-ORDERED STUFF. Okay, this was the first thing that pissed me off because I wanted my BAP poster but I quickly got over it when I saw Nu-est sitting in the signing tent. They were lovely.....maybe a little too much make up but lovely nonetheless.
Moving on, this whole time I'm keeping my eye out for Simon and Martina because I subscribed to their videos a loooong time ago and I just wanted to take a pic with them but alas they were bombarded with crazy fans who didn't give them any space and therefore brought security, causing S&M to hang out in a private VIP area for the rest of the day. A note on S&M: they're pretty awesome and super sweet. I would love to meet them one day. :) After the chaos died down a little, I heard Vixx singing in the signing tent.....and then I realized I had already missed their arrival. I run to the side of the tent and see them all singing Rock Your Body. Maybe because we were hijabees but Leo, N and Hongbin kept stealing glancing at us and I had no idea what to do. It was pretty crazy and I felt like I was just imagining things. Let me tell you, they took my breath away. So lovely. ;) I don't think I can ever forget that moment. Vixx is so great at fanservice. ^-^
I want to move on to BAP's signing to say that people need to understand that kpop stars --celebrities in general-- are still people and should be treated as such. BAP was one of the main reasons why I chose to go to KCON in the first place so I wanted to actually see them up close and personal. Unfortunately, people like to shove and push, doing whatever they can to get to the front of the crowd. There I was, stuck between a really enthusiastic, very tall fangirl and a chubby, passionate fanboy who ended up crying and had to leave the tent because he was getting a little too emotional. I couldn't stay in that cramped tent for too long because it was stuffy and people were getting hurt. Somehow I managed to get out safely. I'm glad I was able to see them semi-close up because that made them into real people and not some fancy alien celebrity no one can touch. It made them human. Plus they're so lovely I don't know what else to say.
G.Na was cute and lovable; Exo fans are crazy (that was the biggest crowd); 4minute was the only non-rookie group yet they had the smallest amount of fans at this event...weird.
I'm telling you, I hope this year's KCON is better organized because after BAP's fansign chaos, S&M's crowd chaos and the chaos of running out of pre-ordered merchandise, I was done! I hung out on the grass where another Kpopper and I had a chat about my hijab, travel and Kpop. She was super nice and I'm glad to have made a friend out of a stranger that day.
I found a quiet area and we hung out on the grass until it was almost time for the concert. Here let me sum up the concert for you:
IT WAS DAEBAK! that is all
There were two acts that were pretty awesome too that I should mention: Dumbfoundead and AJ Raphael. They were cool and brought many smiles to my face. :D BAP was awesome and Yongguk's Korean intro just showed exactly how deep his voice really is. Himchan is mesmerizing. Youngjae can sing. Daehyun can sing. Junhong can rap. Jongup can dance. All of them do these things extremely well seeing as they are a group of talented people. Vixx was cute (I can never forget N's 'byong' noise when he pulled out his English card and then proceeded to read off English sentences while asking the crowd if they understood). My ears bled when Exo fans screamed.
Anyways, this post is getting too long. I'll conclude by saying it was a great night alhamdulilah. Even though it might have been difficult to get tickets, I can now say I have no regrets and that's the most important part of this post. Let me repeat that loud and clear:
Live life with no regrets. inshAllah
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