Seoul Trip Day 2- SBS Inkigayo (FAIL) , Edae, Hongdae

A week before I came to Seoul, I tried to apply for tickets to get into SBS Inkigayo. Thanks to her, I learned how to apply for Inkigayo tickets. Unfortunately, I didn't get the tickets. According to twitter updates, Big Bang was scheduled to do a prerecording for Inkigayo on that day. So, I decided to go try my luck to see if I could get into their prerecording.

I left my hostel at about 6.30pm. To get to SBS, take the subway to Gayang Station and exit from Exit 10. From the station, turn left and walk straight. It's only a couple minutes walk from the exit. There were already many groups of fans queuing. So, I went around asking if they were VIPs. Finally, I approached a group and found out that they were fellow Singaporeans! I was really glad to find English speakers. The best thing was they were also waiting for Big Bang.

Unfortunately, after waiting for some time, someone informed us that there might not be a prerecording and BB might be performing live. Some helpful twitter users helped to confirmed this for us. I was really disappointed. *sigh*

I hung around a little longer and met another Taiwanese fan. She was queuing with the B2B fans. She was quite helpful and did some translations for me. She asked if I wanted to join the B2B fans to enter the prerecording to take a look. I agreed and queued with them for a while. However, I changed my mind and just backed out. To be honest, the only group I wanted to catch was Big Bang. *sigh*

Anyway, I hung around a while to just see what the fans were doing.

SBS Entrance

Fans were queuing according the groups they were supporting. There was a list for them to register their names.

Fans were waiting at the car entrance
They got super excited every time a nanny van entered.

Some fans were armed with huge cameras and zoom lenses!

It was great to have company!

I gave up and left SBS. I headed back to Edae to explore the area I was living in. I was quite curious about the university campus so I went there for a walk. I have to say.... the Ehwa Women University Campus was really beautiful!!





After roaming around the university, I headed back to Edae shopping area. Many of the shops cater to the female students. The clothes are affordable and trendy. According to my friend, the clothes in Edae are the cheapest.




From Edae, I slowly walked towards Sinchon and Hongdae to meet some friends. A Japanese friend studying in Seoul brought us to a restaurant in Hongdae to try Korean yakiniku. The food was DELICIOUS and CHEAP! I thought it was quite interesting how they ate the meat. We were supposed to wrap the meat together with other vegetables or kimchi and stuff them into our mouths. It was 大変おいしい！！



After dinner, we dropped by a cafe to grabbed some desserts. For some reasons, waffles are apparently extremely popular in Seoul. I see them everywhere in cafes.



Next: Seoul Trip Day 3- Butter Fingers Pancakes, Myeong Dong, Dongdaemun

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Seoul Trip Day 1- Sinchon Hostel

So, I got back from Seoul a few days ago. It was my first solo overseas trip and it went really smoothly! I arrived into Seoul at about 8pm. The first thing I did was to rent an iphone. It cost about 6,500 won per day for unlimited data plan, which was pretty decent. Since I was traveling alone, it was worth spending a little getting some kind of connection.

After renting my phone, I headed towards my hostel. I made a reservation at Sinchon Hostel. During my first trip to Seoul, I stayed in Insadong area, at Beewon Guesthouse. It was a quint and peaceful area with many traditional tea houses. For my recent trip, I opted to stay in the university area to experience a different atmosphere.

Sinchon Hostel is right smacked in the middle of Edae (Ehwa Women's University). The nearest subway station is Ehwa Women University and the hostel is just a five-minute walk from Exit 2 of the station. There are many prominent landmarks to help you locate the hostel. I had absolutely no problem finding my way there.

I absolutely loved staying in Edae. Cheap and affordable shopping was just a stone's throw away. You can easily find shops, restaurants, cafes and manicure palors in that area. As opposed to Insadong, Edae is bustling with energy and excitement.

Big Bang advertisement in Edae Station

I was very satisfied with my stay in Sinchon Hostel! The room was spacious and pretty decent. It was very, very clean. I really liked the huge flat screen television in the room. I spent most of my late nights watching Kpop videos on this wonderful television! Sinchon Hostel consists of two buildings. I stayed in a separate building away from the reception. Hence, it was quieter and I had more privacy. The staff were also very polite and helpful.

The only minor complaint I had was that the room was quite warm. The floors were heated. But the floors were so hot that I had to walk around in the bathroom slippers. I avoided putting anything on the ground, because I was worried that things might melt or even catch fire (sounds stupid, but you can never be too careful). It was so warm that I had to open my window. Other than that, I have no other complaints. This is definitely a place I would go back to.

I made reservations for a single room. But I think they gave me a semi double room. I have no complaints!!

The glorious television

The bathroom looks a little run down in the picture. But it's really clean. The fan in the bathroom is wonderful. The bathroom dries really quickly. So, you don't need to walk on wet floors all the time.

So, I spent the rest of the night watching re-runs of korean music programs and planning for my first full day in Seoul! Follow @germanium9

Look what came in the mail!

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Big Bang Inkigayo Comeback March 11 2012

OMG Big Bang did not disappoint!! I absolutely, absolutely love their entrance. It's like a continuation of their trailer when they enter from space!







Out of the three songs, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Fantastic Baby the most! It was like dance party on stage! The energy level was so high. I love that the fans were chanting their hearts out! Oh, I find the dancers' costumes incredibly sexy too! Follow @germanium9

Kpop Mummies

I'm a huge fan of this group of mummies. They're simply the coolest!





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K-Drama: Operation Proposal

Other than Shut Up Flower Boy Band, the other drama which I'm currently following, is Operation Proposal. This drama is based on a Japanese drama called "Puropozu dai sakusen" (Operation Love). The story is about a man given the chance to go back in time to make things right with his first love.

Kang Baek Ho is a down and out ex-baseball player. Baek Ho and Yi-Seul are childhood friends. Although he has been in love with her for the longest time, he has never revealed his feelings to her.

Yi Seul has been in love with Baek Ho since she was a child. She has given up waiting for him and has decided to go down the aisle with someone else.

Yi Seul and her (hot looking) husband (to be)

The first two episodes were a little slow and the character of Baek Ho was starting to bore me. But once I hit the third episode, I was so drawn to the story and characters! Every episode, I'm cheering for Baek Ho to reclaim his love! Of course, some parts of the story were quite unbelievable. How can you be with someone for twenty years and not reveal your feelings? He didn't just get one chance to go back in time to fix thing. He went back almost every episode! I mean, you went back so many times and STILL didn't tell her?? I get quite exasperated by Baek Ho's indecisiveness.

Despite that, it's still a wonderful show that makes people reminisce about their school days, lost loves, abandoned dreams and "what ifs". I definitely highly recommend it!

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Past Big Bang Concert Goods

OMG They're reselling past Big Bang concert goods. \(^o^)/

Link here.


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