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What happens when a Gwishin goes to a Kpop concert??

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This is quite hastily edited because we had to re-edit when the program crashed… nooo. If you are only interested in travel in Korea skip the concert montage and if you are are only interested in iKON, skip the travel bits if you want.

So some extra stuff about the concert: Daegu was very different to Seoul. It was a smaller, all standing venue. The crowd was a lot younger in general and there were many families. Lots of kids. It wasn’t organized as well and there were many young girls who hadn’t been to a proper concert before and were lacking some concert etiquette. It was really pushy at the start! There were also many people who were new fans or maybe got free tix so didn’t know that much about iKON – like didn’t know the Show Me the Money stuff. BUT it was still very fun. Awesome concert! I’m sorry my camera work was so shaky, like I said, it was more pushy. A lot of the footage is the encore where they run everywhere which is why we were moving around at that time. That’s the end of the concert when everything gets crazy. The moment where B.I stuck his face into the crowd was longer, but I almost dropped my camera, so cut all that hahaha. Security also did not care about filming at all… in fact there was hardly any security at all.

With these types of vlogs I hope to show international fans the whole experience of Kpop concerts in Korea. There isn’t any lining up from morning as all the floor tickets have a number and people line up according to that number. My ticket number was standing section A 288 and I was about 3rd row in that section. I could see really well, except for when they were on the middle stage. All the fans around me were really lovely and it was no where near as pushy as other concerts I’ve been to in Australia.

So why am I this into iKON? I didn’t expect to like another Kpop group this much again, especially at my age. I have been a BIGBANG fan for many years and was interested when YG Entertainment started talking about debuting new groups a few years ago. I remember watching WIN: Who is next TV show before we moved to Korea and was impressed by Team B (iKON before they were iKON) the most. One of the reasons why I tend to like YG artists is because they have to be part of music creation, while other Kpop companies rely on other songwriters. Back then as Team B they were still kids but showed amazing talent. Even though Team A (the YG group Winner) won back then, it still made an amazing chapter in iKON’s origin story. And that’s one of the things that gets me more excited about iKON rather than BIGBANG these days, I became a BIGBANG fan in 2010 and was a bit late to the party, but with iKON I know I’ve been there from the beginning and seen them develop. YG is very good at creating a narrative around his artists. So of course I’ve followed them through the MIX & MATCH show and Bobby and B.I through Show me the Money, the rap elimination show, and then was blown away at their first ever debut concert. Around that time I had some pretty serious health issues and received some bad news about my long term health so listening to music and getting excited about something actually really helped me focus on the positive instead of the negative. So I’ll always be really thankful for that.

This was actually filmed months ago, right after the iKON debut concert.

Chloe and I are a similar age (which is older than the average Kpop fan) but lately have been going to some Kpop concerts. They are so fun and I find I enjoy music a lot more when I’m older and married and just don’t care what people think and I’m not going to cry because I can’t date my “oppa”. In fact, I don’t have any “oppas”! I’m older than all of them…. hahaha…

We’ve mentioned scalpers in another video but there are always so many scalpers in Korea and they manage to buy up a lot of tickets. If you are going to buy tickets from a scalper, Hugh recommends waiting because prices they quote will likely go down the nearer the concert gets.

Another thing we talked about, but had to cut because of time, was that things can be exaggerated about what concerts are like. Never believe gsirl who were right at the front who says things like “The whole concert was sooo dangerous! So many girls fainted! Everyone was squished in!” The experience in the first few floor rows is vastly different to people in seats or even those just a few meters away on the floor. Most people are sitting in seats and are fine. Of course it’s hectic right at the front. Of course girls have to be pulled over the barrier, of course someone will faint. You don’t have to be right at the front though – you aren’t forced to be there! I just wanted to make a point of that because if you do see tweets or headlines like that, it’s because it’s more attention grabbing. Like the iKON concert where they had to stop the concert in the middle because of the crowd for 10 minutes. They were just being extra careful, so that it didn’t get too dangerous. The way it can then be talked about online is often exaggerated. With all due respects to my friends that do work in media and for Kpop sites, I know what you do to get the clicks…

We go to the iKON pop-up store so we can enter the draw to be selected for a fan meet. Either way we wanted to buy merch, so it worked out well. We found out about this from the “fan cafe” which you can find on the YG website.

You may be wondering why we like iKON so much. They might seem like a new group but fans have actually been following them for 2 years because they have been in the public eye for quite a while (Bobby also won Show Me the Money, the Hip Hop elimination show). As you may know, I’m a BIGBANG fan and I tend to only like Kpop groups that write their own music, and iKON, the next big group out of YG Entertainment, write their own music and are just all-round so talented. Seeing their debut concert really pushed Chloe and I into the fangirl territory. Hugh much prefers me to be excited about music and concerts, than going out drinking and stuff like that, so is happy to buy us tickets and take us to get merch.

On the weekend Chloe and I went to the iKON concert! Many people would have watched on the V app live as well, but the professional filming doesn’t always capture what it feels like to be actually at the concert. It was seriously exhilarating. There was such a positive feeling everywhere and it was an amazing concert. So some of you might be wondering who iKON is. Well you probably know that I’m a huge BIGBANG fan, who are probably the most popular and well known Kpop group. iKON is from the same entertainment agency and have only just debuted. So how can such a new group fill out a stadium with their first concert? Well iKON have been in the public eye for 2 years. First in the TV show WIN: Who is Next where they were pitted against other trainees in YG Entertainment. They actually lost and the winning team went on to debut as the group WINNER. They were then put through the stress of another elimination TV show called Mix and Match where 3 new members were added but they all had to prove they were good enough to be in the group as 2 members didn’t make the cut. These TV shows were immensely popular in Korea and a strategy of the entertainment company to gain fans before they even debut. Two members B.I. and Bobby competed in the Hip Hop elimination TV show Show Me the Money and Bobby went on to win (amazing feat for an ‘idol rapper’). So it may seem like I’ve suddenly started liking a new group, I’ve actually been following them for years, which is why it was so great to go to the debut concert. Chloe and I filmed another video about going to concerts in Korea with some more logistical info, so stay tuned for that later.

Okay the next thing I’m going to write is for international iKON fans:

I always follow a lot of stuff on Tumblr and Twitter so I know when international Kpop fans are only relying on international sites for news, how distorted the information can be or just simply misrepresented. I posted this video on Twitter not long ago and I have had so many retweets, likes and heartfelt thanks from fans in such a short time. I think international iKON fans have been seeing so much negative stuff about them and have been concerned. As someone who has been around for a while (Okay I’m old! haha) I just want to reassure you all. I do remember what it’s like as a teenager to absolutely love a band and then people saying downright mean stuff and it being so upsetting. So I’m going to take the time to hopefully give you a better view, as someone who lives in Korea and is follwing iKON and YG stuff.

Firstly the internet comments and articles that seem to show all this iKON hate is not something to worry about. The worst thing would be if iKON got no hate because it would mean they are under the radar and no one cares. BIGBANG is one of the most hated groups in Korea, but it’s because they are so loved and so popular. Everyone knows who they are. You can’t be at the top and have no haters. They might get so much hate but they get a lot more love and are some of the highest earning Kpop stars and regarded as artists by the Korean public. Not many Kpop groups get to that point. BIGBANG has paved the way for iKON, so iKON is going to have the same type of stuff to deal with.

Another reason why iKON is getting so much “hate” is because all these fans of other groups are scared. It’s pretty hard to debut with the impact that iKON has, and YG yet again has produced a group that is going to go further than all these other groups. At the concert there were so many representatives for brands and companies from other countries just there to see iKON. What other rookies can get that attention? The Kpop market is so saturated, it’s so hard for all these groups, so it’s scary to see power rookies like this if you have been dedicated to another group for years. So when you see those nasty and hateful comments from people in the comment section of articles, ignore them because it’s just lashing out from worry.

Something very important to remember is that international Kpop sites rely on clickbait. And a negative title and story is going to get way more clicks and generate way more advertising revenue for the site. At the moment iKON’s debut is a hot topic and twisting things in a negative way says more about how these sites make money than anything actually happening in Korea. For example, articles hyping up that Bobby “dissed” idol rappers etc get the clicks because all these other fan girls jump into the comment section to rage against this “offense” against their “oppas” and then the site gets more money. It doesn’t matter that dissing is part of the Hip Hop scene and an ongoing thing in Korea, or that Bobby has clearly said he is still an idol rapper and wants to encourage others. When people don’t have the context to the story and Kpop fans who comment online are usually addicted to rage, of course these sites love having these stories! As much as international Kpop fans like to think all Kpop groups are created equal, it’s not like that at all. As a winner of Show me the Money, Bobby has a lot more credibility than other idol rappers. But that’s a hard truth for a lot of other fans.

Lastly, the sad truth is that BIGBANG will be finishing up their tour and will be going into the military in the coming years. BIGBANG has always been YG Entertainment’s money maker. iKON (and WINNER to some extent) will be stepping into their shoes. YG boss knows what he is doing and will do everything to ensure iKON’s success. They have already done what other rookies haven’t done. You have probably heard of the grueling training BIGBANG had and how G-Dragon had to write songs every day. It’s the same with iKON, it’s not just about singing and dancing, but they also have to prove themselves as artists, which not many other Kpop groups have to do. You can look at YG’s track record and be confident. So everyone just chill out and relax and enjoy the music

EDIT: So some time has passed and see! They already won the best new artist for the Melon awards and the crowd was chanting their name before the winner was even announced. I’ve still had people asking me questions about being concerned about their popularity in Korea. They are called ‘Monster Rookies” here, their songs are everywhere, people actually know who they are… unlike most rookies. Please be aware of how much international Kpop sites sway people’s opinion. There is one site in particular that we all know of that hates BIGBANG and been completely nasty about them for years and years, so of course they are going to be nasty about new groups from YG too. Some people have pointed out how that site has managed to single-handedly turn the international Kpop community against iKON. In the long run it doesn’t matter. If anything I’m really glad to see how nice the iKON community has been. So don’t worry iKONICS, just ignore and let other Kpop fans be the ones giving Kpop fans a worse and worse reputation. But I also understand how much it sucks to see really love a group and see such negativity for no reason. That’s why I’ve been reaching out to iKONICS. I’m probably a lot older than most of you, but I remember what it likes… I mean I was a Hanson fan in my teens… that’s a group that got so much hate! Even though they were talented. One of the reasons why I tweet so much about iKON is to give all the international fans a better view of what is going on in Korea. Liking music should be about your own enjoyment, not about fan wars or bullying, so ignore the rude and negative people, ignore the negative Kpop sites, and just like who you want to like.

You can also check out my other tumblr where I make silly iKON comics here!

NEW IKON CONCERT VLOG HERE.