Our flight (on Korean Airlines) to Incheon Airport arrived early in the morning, so we had plenty of time to stalk explore the entertainment companies after we left our luggage at Seoul Mansion Guesthouse. Being Kpop fans how could we miss this opportunity to add this into our itinerary?! Of course, it was all in the hope of bumping into a Korean idol or two and get an autograph and/or photo with them. Thanks to iceprinxess (who directed us to a blog with pretty clear instructions on how to get there), MX and I took a the subway down to the Apgujeongrodeo Station Exit 3.
Note: Please do not mistake that as Apgujeong Station as I did the last time I was in Seoul.
It was an adventure as we meandered along the path and explored the area. MX led me to Chrome Hearts, a boutique (which high security) which sells many stylish accessories that celebrities usually wear. The sales assistants were all dressed in black (giving them that smart polished look) and attended to us politely (even if we ended up not buying anything). From Chrome Hearts, we made our way to the first entertainment company on the list - JYP Entertainment, which was about 30 minutes away. After which, we made our way to Cube Entertainment (which was just 5-10 minutes away)!
Cube Entertainment |
Cube Entertainment's cafe and idol merchandise |
In my opinion, I think Cube Entertainment has the best environment compared to the other entertainment companies that we visited that day. It so happened to be Beast's 5th anniversary, so no surprises that all their merchandise were sold out (even the mug that I wanted!). I simply loved the decorations and displays: there was simply so many things to look at; with my favorite Beast (after Kim Joong Kook that is lol) everywhere (since it was their 5th anniversary). There was a section which displayed their autographed albums, which were unfortunately not for sale. There were even photographs and hand prints of the idols. How I wish I can bring all of them back!
Beast... Beast... Beast.. everywhere |
Anyway, we saw a group of fans (mostly teenagers) queuing up to write some congratulatory words to Beast for their 5th anniversary. After exploring the place (and slightly disappointed that there were no more Beast merchandise), we decided to order a drink and rest our aching feet. The pricing for the drinks were rather reasonable, but the attitude of the staff could have been better - they seem to have overworked and slightly irritable (which is understandable if you have to handle over enthusiastic fans all hoping to catch a glimpse of their idol... but still).
After Cube Entertainment, we headed over to SM Entertainment and FNC Entertainment. Though it was supposed to take us about 15-20 minutes (on foot), I guess we took a wrong turn and ended up slightly lost. But we still managed to find our way to the companies in the end (Thank God for GPS!). To add further salt to the 'injury' (of getting lost and walking more than necessary), we did not manage to spot any celebrities at all because most of them were on their way to / in China for their promotions. Even with most of the celebrities being away, there were still the ever faithful (and hopeful) fans waiting outside the building (in the cold) just to try their luck! As for us, we decided to move on to our next destination - C-Jes Entertainment.
SM Entertainment and FNC Entertainment |
The sky was already dark when we made our way to Gangam-gu where C-Jes Entertainment (Kim Jae Joong!) is located. The weather was bad since it started to rain heavily soon, so we decided to head to the next company on the list.
C-Jes Entertainment |
YG Entertainment was just located within 15 minutes walk from Haejeong Subway Station. In the end, with the help of wonderful GPS we
managed to find YG Entertainment! The though of YG Entertainment conjured up images of Big Bang and 2NE1!
(Scream!!!) Unfortunately, we did not spot any celebrities here either. Security was tight and we were actually chased away from the premises when the guard spotted us. As it was at night, the lighting was not idea for a photo, but still we were contented that we managed to visit so many entertainment companies in one day (and on our first day in Seoul too!).
This guest post was brought to you by DramaQueen - a slightly biased Korean music fan who loves food, life and traveling with her best friend when possible. ^^
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