Triggered by lots of enquiries on how to get into these two places, I’m finally going to make a post that I can directly link people to once and for all!! This is way overdue because the last time I went to these two events was like forever. Nevertheless, better late than never right?
This content is kinda irrelevant to most of my blog that’s been focusing on travel, food and cafe, but nevertheless still a very Korean themed post that might be helpful to some people out there who want to add music shows or fansigns into their Korea itinerary!
I don’t strive to be THE accurate guide, and there are plenty of other guides out there that i’d suggest you cross-refer to for absolute accuracy.
KOREAN MUSIC SHOWS
how to get into music shows and what to expect
NOTE: I am only going to talk about my experience with SM Entertainment. The reason I’m saying this is because other groups’ fans have different systems of letting fans into music shows, but SM has a group of fan staff that handle the procedures the same way across the artistes in SM.
Five main shows.
Wednesday: Show Champion | UNIQLO-AX, 20 Gucheonmeyon-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul | Gwangnaru Station (line 5), Exit 2
Thursday: Mnet M Countdown | CJ E&M Center, 1606 Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul | Digital Media City Station (line 6), Exit 2 (take bus 7711 from across the street and stop at 상암DMC, or cab… it’s not really walkable)
Friday: Music Bank | KBS, 18 Yeouido-dong, Youngdeunpo-gu, Seoul | National Assembly Station (line 9), Exit 4
Saturday: Music Core | MBC Dream Centre, Janghang-dong, Ilsan-donggu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do | Jeongbalsan Station (line 3), Exit 1
Sunday: Inkigayo | SBS Hall, 58-1 Deungchon-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul | Gayang Station (line 9), Exit 10
I’ve noticed for SNSD at least that Show Champion is the least regular for them. Music Core is the hardest to go to as it’s in freaking Gyeonggi. I’ve never tried to go for Music Core or Show Champion. Mnet M Countdown seems to be the easiest perhaps due to the weekday timing and standing pit system compared to others. Mubank and Inkigayo are equally accessible, with seating systems.
Most music shows take in about 150-300 fans, depending on circumstances.
- How to get a queue number for the music show?
There is this group of young people that work with SM and broadcasting stations called the ‘fan staff’. They are people acquainted with the insiders and have the authority to organize the fans going into music shows. We follow their system. They are the mafia bosses.
Look for SM Staff’s notice | The SM fan staff will put up a notice days prior to the recording. This timing can range. I’ve heard notices being put up 2 days earlier, and some just a few hours before the meeting time. It’s hard to know but just keep yourself updated on social media. It’s good to follow people who regularly go. I used to hear from Zenn that they would post on their fan cafes but it seemed to have stopped and she was caught by surprise several times. I use Twitter to see if anyone has seen the notice. I’m sorry I don’t have a more solid way for finding out, i’m sure other blogs may have though. Going in the morning/afternoon the day before is usually safe, but be prepared to wait if the sign’s not up yet.
Your next step is to find this notice. It’s very elusive in some cases like Music Bank where it was put on a tree across the road. Nevertheless, here is an example.
Mubank was on a tree, Mcountdown is on a heart-sy wall near the entrance of CJ E&M (Cold Stone area), Mucore was on the ground OTW to the broadcasting station (refer to first photo of this post). Just keep a sharp lookout and also look for fans crowding around. You can only attend one artiste or group’s recording so please don’t get it wrong LOL.
Get a virtual queue number | Take a selfie with the notice & send the selfie together with your name and contact number to the number stated on the notice. They will reply you with a queue number. Generally, below 100 is the most ideal. Below 50 is great. Above 100 may be risky but usually i’ve seen them take in fans up to 200-300. I’d still say risky because sometimes when incidents crop up and music show directors get angry at fans (for disobeying rules for example), they cut the number down to 100.
Roll Call Timing | The time you see on the notice above (AM 11:00) is when you have to turn up to take the roll call. This is for Music Bank and roll call was on the same day as recording. More often than not however, the roll call is the night before the recording so you could find the notice in the morning to get the queue number and return the same night for roll call. We all got really lazy after the first time and at the subsequent music show, just turned up an hour before the roll call at night, thus getting really lousy queue numbers haha.
Roll Call Location | For music bank it’s a little confusing as the gathering area is inside. You’ll have to enter the main cafeteria area first and exit again to see a vast area with red pillars and benches. For the other two music shows, gathering area is the same as the notice area.
DO NOT MISS THE ROLL CALL! They will slash your name and fans are eager to shout that you’re not present after the first couple of times the fan staff calls your name. Some fan staff are bad with pronouncing English names so it helps if you understand Korean numbers as they would call that out too. If you’re worried, just go up there and ask to see their board, they’re usually nice and would let you see if it’s your name. I noticed that some international fans offer to help call out the difficult names, in return for that.
- How does the SM staff queueing system actually work? What happens on the day of the recording?
Your current queue number that you’ve received is not your final one, meaning number 20 does not mean you’re 20 on the line.
Fan Categories | Fans are divided into 5 categories. The first 4 categories are for official fans who paid for membership when application was open. I’m not completely sure of the exact details of these 4 categories but i know it’s a permutation and combination of official fans who purchased online and offline albums. As an unofficial fan, you’re default D-5 in category. What this means is that all the D1-4 taking queue numbers after you will still go in before you. So you could be 150 and 50 D1-4s took numbers after you, and you will still be kicked if they only let in 200. Yeah. World’s not fair.
First roll call | Turn up for the roll call at stated timing on the notice. They call by order of number and eliminate those not present. And then they tell you what time to turn up the next day. BE PUNCTUAL.
Second roll call | When you appear again according to the timing they told you to come, they will do a second roll call. This is when they put you in line accordingly. The fan staff will then go down the line later on to write your new queue number after eliminating the people. During Mubank when the recording was in the afternoon, there was only one roll call that happened in the morning and they immediately wrote our new queue numbers. It can differ greatly based on the recording timings so play by ear and just turn up accordingly at the timings they tell you to. BE PUNCTUAL
Note that until they’ve written your categories, you can’t be sure than you can go in, even if your queue number is safely below 100 after eliminating absentees.
Third roll call (album check) | They will now check for official memberships and albums, and write your category. Make sure you have the latest album. You are default D-5 only with the latest album. You are D-nothing with no album goodbye go home A for effort F for research. :c You must have the latest album, the album they are promoting at that moment and the one you’re trying to attend the music show recordings for. Believe me when I say they are very anal when it comes to bring albums. One Korean brought the most recent SNSD’s album CD in the album case of an older album, and she was rejected flat out. She argued all she could but they wouldn’t until she bought another one. So don’t risk it. Don’t even take out anything from the album just in case LOL
Break | After writing your categories, they will usually dismiss everyone for a ‘break’ and tell you what time to return. It lasts usually about 1-2 hours and fans disperse to find cafes or places to chill at. Rush. Rush to a cafe. Rush to A Twosome place if you’re at Mnet. Rush to Cafe Citta area if you’re at Inkigayo. Rush to the cafeteria to find a seat if you’re at Mubank. RUSH. There will be an ocean of people and you don’t want to have to stand.
Final waiting time | Stand back in line at the stated timing. They will rearrange your queues into the categories. At this point you’re safe to be in the quota of people to go in if they didn’t dismiss you (from my experience everyone usually gets in), unless of last minute crop-ups. Now all you have to do is wait. And talk to the people around you if you’re up for it. The wait can be really long. My average would be about 5 hours from the time I turned up at the veune to the time I get into the music show. So at this point after you’re settled into your categories, you may have to wait about 2 hours or so. They may release you for another break, but it depends on delays.
waiting in the cold in February~
And then once they get the cue, they’ll let you in. D1 first. Followed by D2. Etc. Basically it’s normal to end up at the back although you took a nice queue number like 40 for example. For Inki and Mubank, you go in immediately and see the loves of your lives. For Mnet, i felt cheated because we went into another waiting area near the recording room. Hahaha. The final final waiting time.
And there you have it. As detailed as I can ever manage. Phew, that was taxing. Live music shows is an entirely different queue and I’ve never experienced it so i won’t talk about it at all.
- Important things to note for music shows
1. Have the artistes’ latest album that they’re promoting
2. Be punctual for all roll calls
3. Do not scream individual members’ names, you can only cheer and follow fanchants. This is important because directors have cut quotas because of annoying name-calling
4. Do not take photos. If directors get angry you could implicate the fandom from attending future shows
5. Prepare for a long wait! Bring things to do if necessary!
- Where to get albums in Seoul
There are no lack of stores to buy KPOP albums, you can refer to this site for a pretty comprehensive list of stores available to buy them from. I recommend getting from Hot Tracks. The ones at Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5, exit 2, connected underground) and Sinnohyeon Station (Line 9, exit 7, connected underground) are very convenient to access. AND they count towards Hanteo charts!
FANSIGNS
how to get into fansigns and what to expect
It’s notoriously hard to get into fansigns of popular groups in Korea, and what i’m about to write is only going to help you find out how to get in, but does not guarantee being able to get in. You’ll see why.
- How to get into a fansign?
Find out who is organizing it | Find out the details of the fansign. The companies working together with SM to organize the fansigns will post the details on their website. These are all in Korean so it’s good to be updated on Twitter to search for announcements of fansigns and for translations of tweets regarding it. The organizing companies will post the dates of the fansign(s) they’re organizing, the location of the fansign, the members turning up, the number of fans allowed to attend the fansign, the number of fans allowed to watch the fansign etc…… and also where to buy the albums. The last point is important to take note of. You have to buy albums from their stated stores to get a chance at the fansign. Bringing me to my next point~
The lottery system | The organizing company uses a lottery system to determine who gets into the fansign. So for every album you buy at their stated store, they give you a slip of paper to fill in. So if you buy 50 albums, you get 50 slips of paper, which equates to 50 chances at the lottery. They have a limited time period (usually 2 days) for you to get the albums from them, that’s the only period window for you to have a chance at the fansign. Albums bought before or after that period are not part of the fansign event.
This is how you get into a fansign. You buy albums from the organizing party’s stated store. You get chances. You participate in the lottery. You hope for the best. That’s why I said it’s not guaranteed.
You will know the results of the lottery about a day or two later. It’s really fast. They will post details of the lottery on their website (which again is in Korean, so Twitter is a good way to get the link to the list of lottery ‘winners’).
- How many albums should I get?
The golden question. One i can’t answer myself. I have to say it depends. First of all, on the artiste(s) you’re supporting and the members turning up for the fansign. When I was trying for SM the Ballad fansign, we purposely chose the fansign that had only Taeyeon and Jonghyun. The other fansign had more idols from SM The Ballad including EXO, which would make our chances very slim. So we pooled all our album purchases into the TaeJong only fansign.
For that SMTB fansign, Zenn and I bought 15 albums each, and we both got in.
For the subsequent SNSD Mr Mr promotions, there were lots of fansigns. One of them had OT9, which we ruled out completely. There were two fansigns that happened at the same time, so the members split up. We tried for that day, choosing the fansign with Taeyeon in it. We bought 10 albums each and none of us got in. I heard about my friends who bought 30 albums each and they didn’t get in either. I’ve also heard about my friend who tried for IGAB promotios and pooled 15 albums each into both OT9 fansigns, but only got one of them.
So really all i can say is it depends. On your judgement, on your luck. Fansigns remain one of the hardest and unpredictable things in my opinion. It’s not necessarily expensive if you are able to sell off your albums (we sold off all of ours at the cost price), but that’s also a very hard and tedious task. I’m sorry if this post destroyed your hopes in getting a secure fansign opportunity 
this is partly why when a lot of people gush saying how lucky i was to get a fansign, some part of me bitterly reminisced the distance traveled to purchase those albums, the torture bringing boxes of albums back, the painstaking efforts selling them off, shipping them back, and all the stress received generally. Haha. It’s not all luck, it’s effort too. Music shows is like very little luck and lots of effort hahaha.
- When are fansigns usually held?
Usually fansigns happen about 2-3 weeks after the artiste/group’s first comeback promotion. Fansigns are a means for agencies to increase album sales, and about 3 weeks after comeback is a perfect time to start boosting sales after the initial rave has died down. Some fansigns are spread out over two weeks, some happen in the same week. If you’re in Korea for a group’s promotions, you can usually predict when a fansign will happen.
- What happens during the fansign?
I’ve only attended one fansign so my knowledge is limited but I will try. You will take a random number which will designate your sitting area. I got 60ish at that time which was in the 5th row, a little to the side. It wasn’t first row but it was still a great view!! ❤ When you enter, they give you a piece of post-it for you to write your name on it, and some also write message. I don’t think you’re allowed to ask them questions but i know lots of people do, secretly maybe?
They will line people up row by row to go up stage to meet the idols. As you are waiting in line, they will check your album and your post-it to make sure there isn’t anything weird. Then they will tell you not to run and walk calmly. Hahaha. Then you go up there and freaking meet your idol!!! Stay calm (or not) and remember the experience 5ever.
- Private vs Public fansign
If you’re a KPOP fan reading this, I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of fansigns. Those are the public locations. You can figure out if it’s a public fansign or not by checking the location. If the location is a shopping mall in the open space you can be sure that it’s public, and there’s no limit. You can watch from anywhere from any floor!
Sometimes some fansigns will have a section saying the number of people allowed to ‘watch’. These are like runner-ups. So if you don’t get selected for the fansign you could be selected to watch. Typically for 100 people attending the fansign, about another 100-150 can ‘watch’. I haven’t been to a fansign like this one so i’m not sure what it means by ‘watch’, they may have an area for people to linger around in.
You can guess it’s private if it’s held inside a hall for example, or a roof top. My fansign experience was at the rooftop of Hyundai dept store and it was a private event. Exactly 100 fans were present, no more no less.
- Important tips to note for fansigns
1. If you’re attending a private fansign, do not take photos! As a matter of fact, if they say don’t take photos, don’t. Especially not before you get the signatures, obviously, you’re going to get kicked out! They will also make you delete the photos. Also because of the nature of fansigns being small in general, it’s hard to get away taking photos with so many ushers watching on. It’s not a concert atmosphere haha. If you’re in a private fansign, just sit back relax and enjoy the view.
2. Bring the album they are promoting. Of course.
3. Make full use of that post-it. Write things like ‘give more hearts please!’ and stuff that will get you fan interactions. The idols may not do it but you should maximize your chances since a fansign is so hard to get T.T
4. Ask for a handshake. For sure. The only physical contact you’re probably allowed with your idol. A hug would probably be turned down by the manager. And if you’re Taeyeon’s fan, she shakes fans’ hands with both of her hands so that’s probably your only chance to feel her hands clutching yours. Ever. She has also given hand cream to a fan before for dry hands so yeah. DO IT. SHAKE HER HAND.
5. Prepare gifts and write letters. If you want to, this is the best time to get a gift or letter to an idol securely.
6. Look your idols in the eyes. Even if it freezes you up or makes you tremble. When else would you get this opportunity.
I can’t help you any more than that. I can’t tell you what to say because i didn’t even know what to say myself. I can’t advise what’s the best way to get the best interactions because idk i also freeze up and fail to carry out all my plans and scripts. Just be respectful even if you’re spazzing inside that’s all i can say LOL. Being excited is ok though, they’ll probably find you cute.
Finally, that’s all for a very long post!! I hope this post has proven useful for some people out there hoping to get into these two elusive events! It’s certainly the best way to meet your idols close-up without paying a single cent!!! Paying instead with effort of course. Loads of it.
x100
darmawanders 