LA K-Con

[chocolate-chip chooky]

@Jann in TX

I didn't want to hijack your K-drama thread.

Please tell us all about K-Con. I want all the details and as many photos as you're willing to share ☺️

I didn't get to see any of Day 1, but I watched all of Day 2 online with two of my daughters. Yay for Xikers! Yay for ZB1! Yay for Ateez! I'm hoping to see Day 3 also. 

Did your daughter get a spot on the Dream Stage? I so hope so! That would be an incredible experience.

I hope you're having a fantastic time 🙂

[chocolate-chip chooky]

Just bumping this in case anyone else went or wants to talk about it.

@Jann in TX I hope you've had a super time. Day 3 looked fantastic - Stray Kids! 😊

[Jann in TX]

Just got home a few minutes ago-- LONG WEEKEND but so much fun!

I met up with dd (21) in Colorado then we flew out to LA early Friday morning-- we dropped bags off at hotel then walked to convention center (about 3 blocks).  We had to wait about 45 minutes to get inside but got in just as dd's friends were auditioning for the 'Dream Stage'-- 4 of them made it on Friday!  After that we did a quick spot check around convention and went back to hotel for a nap-- (having had only 1 hour of sleep the night before due travel).  The concert arena was about a block away from hotel--we had awesome seats all three days-- row 14 most days and just a few rows above that on Friday.   The BASE was very very strong-- you could not hear the girl groups vocals at all on Friday-- but it was much better on Saturday and Sunday (new sound system in arena). 15000 steps.

Saturday we were up early and had about an hour of line time to get into convention-- we watched some of the Dream Stage dance competition then walked around- walking and standing as practically no place to sit!  DD decided to go to the outdoor area to try to get a good spot for the Ateez convention stage time-- so we split up as I was already at 10000 steps and it was not lunch time yet!  DD was able to eat at an outside vendor booth then scored 2nd row (crowd) very close to center and got video of Mingi interacting with her-- staring her down and making her do the 'barks' (if you know KPOP and Ateez you will know about the barking...)  He also gave her a thumbs up when they started yet another round of Bouncy and she danced along... other members gave her waves and completed her hearts... so her day was made!!

Now for me-- This old lady was way out of her comfort zone-- dd had just abandoned me with thousands of K-fans and I was like a deer in headlights...  I do know K-Dramas so I walked over to the Viki booth--- there was a LONG line around the booth and I was curious to know what it was for  (I'm not a fan of standing in line unless I know what it is for...).  I walked around to the other side just to see a partition-- I was facing booth trying to figure out what I was going to actually do when one of the workers motioned for me to come over-- she then gave me a push into the partitioned area and before I could react I felt an arm around me!  I nervously looked up to see who would so something to poor old me and ended up looking into the eyes of a VERY nice looking man in his early 30's... He asked me if I was enjoying the convention and what my favorite exhibit was and before I got my bearings cameras started going off then I got another hug and was escorted away.  A worker told me to come around to the other side to get a print of my photo.   Still in shock (seriously I was) I decided to suck it up a bravely asked someone who was standing in the long line who the guy was---they LAUGHED so hard-- it was Kevin Woo-- he opened the concert on Friday!  (He was in one of the first K-Pop groups called U-Kiss-- I had to have my dd explain to me who he was!!!).  Fun story but the picture of me is hilarious!!!  The other people in picture were great (so I can easily be edited out for their memories) but I was dumbstruck and looked VERY out of place!   Apparently his manager was not thrilled with the 'fans' in the line so asked for workers to do 'pull ins' for his photo time.

NOT even going to post the photo on an open forum-- it was one of the worst photos' I have ever taken.

Saturday concert was AWESOME...  13000 steps

Sunday morning we had to leave early so dd could audition for the Dream Stage.. she did not make it -- I think she had over done it the 2 days before and her knee had had enough-- I'm glad she did not make it as the dancers got a taste of what it is like to be a trainee-- sequestered from 9am until after the concert around 11pm with only ONE 1-hour break to find food (nothing near by and convention lines were LONG)-- water was a premium if you could find it... also no access to any meet and greet or concert.  One of her friends got to take a selfie with Taemin but the others had zero access-- plus workers were pretty rude.  Total stage time in main concert averaged 2 minutes or less.

Lots of groups had stage time at the Sunday convention. It was raining (thankfully just light rain and no real wind) so no outdoor stages so they moved things around a bit inside convention hall.  DD once again abandoned me (well she was hurting and found a couch in lobby to sit on) so I had a few convention hours alone... At one point an older worker (who had taken a photo of me and dd earlier at a prop area he was working) came up to me and said " You really want to stand right here"-- a few minutes later a girl group was escorted by (sort of like a red carpet but less formal and no physical barricades)... I have a video-- DD was like ""MOOOM-- that was my favorite girl group!!!"" I told her that is what she gets for leaving an old lady by herself...  I also watched several other groups take the convention stage and had unrestricted views (plus I think sound was actually better in convention hall!).  DD got to use the Ateez meet and greet-- basically in smaller room with just a few hundred fans for a group talk and then barricaded for a walk by at the end)-- Ateez had a few other private fan club or 'contest winner' fan talk/fan sign events as well as appearances at many of the convention boots-- if you heard screams you just walked in the opposite direction as those Ateez fans would run you down if you tried to get close (so not worth it for me).

The Sunday concert was AMAZING-- I knew almost all of the groups and Stray Kids were an awesome last act (but they did absolutely zero other interactions and did not attend any convention events) .

45000 plus steps in 3 days for someone who averages 5000 on a good day due to health issues.  I did get Dr approval to travel-- but I bet she would have said no had we known what I was really in for!  I did have dd on the edge a bit more than I had hoped-- but I did just fine... I will be back at Dr this week though.

My Ateez  (fandom are called ATINY) shirt was a big hit...

Edited August 22, 2023 by Jann in TX

[chocolate-chip chooky]

Thank you, @Jann in TX 

Wow, so many amazing moments and memories! Your seats look incredible. And you have lightsticks! 

Who was the girl group?

It made me laugh when you mentioned being run over by Ateez fans. During our recent trip to Seoul, my daughter and I went to MBC each Saturday to try to get a photo of Stray Kids Minho (Lee Know) for another daughter who was back in Australia. We were watching all the idol groups leave, and it was the Ateez fans who would scream and run along the roadside. We learnt to give them space 😄 Ateez always had the windows down to wave to fans, so it was predictable. We didn't ever spot Minho at MBC, but we did see all of Stray Kids outside JYP one day, when my daughter went there to film herself doing S-Class. Our timing was ridiculously lucky.

If you're feeling brave, please post that photo with Kevin Woo 😊

I'm jealous you got to see Xikers perform! They are a big hit here in our household. 

I hope your daughter's knee is okay. My dancer daughter has hip issues. It's pretty rough for a dancer to have long-term injuries, but I guess it's par for the course to some extent.

So fun to read about your adventures  😊

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by chocolate-chip chooky

[Jann in TX]

15 hours ago, chocolate-chip chooky said:

Who was the girl group?

XG

Edited August 22, 2023 by Jann in TX

[wathe]

Not K-con in LA, but rather K-POP Super Live in Seoul World Cup Stadium.  Apparently some of these acts are famous?  I know nothing about K-pop, but the youth in attendance were all pretty excited about the whole thing.  It was loud!!!!

 

[Jann in TX]

XG was the girl group I saw inside and the one in concert pic I posted.

Hyunjin escaping and running around the stage chased by producers was the BEST ending of the night!

That photo is hiding in my heart forever--I looked so BADDDD --it is so funny I do not want to end up a meme.

-- The Viki booth (what the line was mainly for) was a photo booth where you stood in front of a green(blue) screen and then choose one of 6 K-Drama photos to become a part of... one was the 'selfie' photo from True Beauty-- so they can add you to it OR replace the girl with you...

The absolute most popular one was the iconic Reaper and Goblin side by side street walking-- our Group was added to the center so we were walking with them...

I came back to the Viki booth on Sunday and stood in line (remember I was 'pulled in' for the first one)-- my other photo looks like I'm holding their hands as we walk down the road together...   again-- not the best photo of me but my family LOVED it... I also got some awesome freebies  (stickers, pins, stuffed boba.. )from Viki and will take my photos as well as KCON wrist bands and make a collage for our home theater room walls....

 

[Jann in TX]

9 minutes ago, wathe said:

Not K-con in LA, but rather K-POP Super Live in Seoul World Cup Stadium.  Apparently some of these acts are famous?  I know nothing about K-pop, but the youth in attendance were all pretty excited about the whole thing.  It was loud!!!!

 

WOW-- I know most of those groups!!!  1-2 from each row were at KCON LA this year! 

Note Ateez performed at the Day 2 concert-- but Meet and Greet was on Day 3...

Yes, it was LOUD (too much base!) but we had professional quality concert ear plugs that helped so much!!

Edited August 22, 2023 by Jann in TX

[Melissa Louise]

This is all so awesome, I love my fellow K-pop mums/moms/grannies! 

[wathe]

 

The grand finale had all the groups on the stage at the same time.  It was quite something!

[Murphy101]

1 hour ago, Melissa Louise said:

This is all so awesome, I love my fellow K-pop mums/moms/grannies! 

Me too!

[Murphy101]

1 minute ago, wathe said:

 

The grand finale had all the groups on the stage at the same time.  It was quite something!

😮

[chocolate-chip chooky]

@wathe HEAPS of big-name groups in your Scout show! As in, really really big names. I'd drive from Brisbane to Sydney for many of those groups. Hardly any come to Australia, though, unfortunately.

Did you enjoy it?

 

@Jann in TX XG! Fabulous 😊

Edited August 23, 2023 by chocolate-chip chooky

[wathe]

8 hours ago, chocolate-chip chooky said:

@wathe HEAPS of big-name groups in your Scout show! As in, really really big names. I'd drive from Brisbane to Sydney for many of those groups. Hardly any come to Australia, though, unfortunately.

Did you enjoy it?

 

@Jann in TX XG! Fabulous 😊

Yes and no.  I was a unique event, and I was glad to have been there and had the experience.  But, once was enough.

I spent most of the event managing stressed youth -- the concert was, as i'm sure you can imagine, an environment that was ill-suited for some of our neurodivergent youth.  Also a very heavy visible police presence (tactical with assault rifles), and airport-style security to enter.  All after a very stressful jamboree experience with heat emergency, heat-illness, serious infrastructure deficits, then evacuation, then government curated program/tours with police escort and minders, and a  busy day in Seoul in the rain etc; some of our youth were just done.  Our scheduled arrival time at the stadium was quite early; we were in our seats 4 hours before the show and not allowed to move around the stadium.  Dinner was a boxed meal consisting of 5 small plain dinner rolls, 2 individually wrapped plain croissants, a bag of doritos, a small shelf-stable tube of meat paste, a small bag of jerky that was too spicy for some, and a bottle of water.  Apparently  there were to be bananas, but these were removed because of safety (the peels might cause a slip and fall hazard!????  Jamborees run on rumours, but this one tracks, I think.) Lunches throughout the jamboree had all been similarly weirdly bakery heavy - sometimes cake/muffins, sometimes plain bread products -- I think there must have been a bakery sponsor.   

I did get to see some of the back-stage area while escorting a youth to a secure quiet area.  But then was not allowed to return to my seat the same way; I had to exit and re-enter the stadium to return to my seat.

The concert was very orderly:  orderly entry, orderly dismissal, good crown control.    Quite amazing, considering it was a rescheduled-at-the-last- minute affair. It was originally scheduled for Aug 6 on the Jamboree grounds.  Then that was cancelled, and the even rescheduled for Aug 11 in Jeonju.  Then venue changed to Seoul bc of typhoon and evacuation.  The organizers had 4 days' notice to pull it off.  We were also very fortunate to be in covered seats.  Those in field seats got quite wet wth the rain.

[Murphy101]

The food situation is bizarre and I wonder how much of that was just a monoculture that thinks none of the westerners would want Korean food? Plus I heard that a major problem was food allergen accommodations and it’s been my understanding that’s just not something Korea does. Like nearly all their foods have some fish/shellfish/nut type component.  I went to a local Korean restaurant that’s supposedly very authentic a week ago and was thinking about what of this would westerners with common western allergy issues bc able to eat and the answer was - *maybe* the bread.  And only if my life didn’t depend on it.   Everyone I’ve spoken with online or in person has told me to not just bring my epipens, but to plan to make all my own meals if I have a serious shellfish or nuts allergy bc Korea just doesn’t accommodate that like western cultures have come to do better the last 10 years.

The four hour sit and wait before the concert even started would have driven ME nuts.  Like if I’d known - I’d probably have decided to do something else. Did you at least know about it so you could charge phones and stuff to make it a bit more comfortable?

The Catholic world youth day is in 2027. I’m skeptical how well that’s going to do compared to the jamboree.  😬

[chocolate-chip chooky]

@wathe  That all sounds exhausting.

Was it the Scout organisation in charge of all the logistics? It sounds like the whole Jamboree was pretty poorly managed. I hope you and your children got something out of it all; something beyond 'well, that was an experience'.

The police presence thing is interesting. When we were in Seoul, we witnessed several protests. I use 'protests' pretty loosely. They involved someone standing and talking to a seated group, in a public place.  The police presence at these events outnumbered the protesters 5 to 1, no exaggeration. The first one we saw freaked us out a bit. There were dozens of police buses lining streets for blocks, police at all intersections, full tactical gear for some with those riot shield things etc. We were expecting a riot, and it looked really scary. But it was a middle-aged woman talking to a seated group of middle-aged people. 

 

[wathe]

@Murphy101We had plenty of traditional Korean foods for breakfasts and suppers.  There were all the problems you've mentioned:  the jamboree had promised to cater to allergies and special diets, but they didn't do it very well.  The vegetarians were seriously lacking in protein options.  Allergen lists weren't provided or weren't accurate. Food delivery was shifted to just-in-time model last-minute, because there were problems with the subcamp refrigerated storage units  and they couldn't be used.  The Halal supplier delivered food up to 4 hours late for the 1st 2 days.    My kids were in a Halal patrol (food is ordered by patrol, so the whole patrol ate Halal even though not all members required it).  They ended up splitting meals with other patrols and then taking food meant for other units that hadn't arrived yet -- US and UK arrived a day late because of well-founded infrastructure concerns.  Lunches were weird collations of snack foods, very heavy on bakery products.

@chocolate-chip chooky After evacuation, government completely took over organization of everything.  We were very very carefully handled - minders, medics and police followed us everywhere.        

We saw a similar protest in Seoul in the days before the jamboree.  It was very, very orderly -- protesters seated in rows on a closed main road. Lots of police in high-vis traffic vests.  I didn't see any tactical or riot gear.

 

[Murphy101]

59 minutes ago, wathe said:

@Murphy101We had plenty of traditional Korean foods for breakfasts and suppers.  There were all the problems you've mentioned:  the jamboree had promised to cater to allergies and special diets, but they didn't do it very well.  The vegetarians were seriously lacking in protein options.  Allergen lists weren't provided or weren't accurate.

Sadly, that lines up exactly with how everyone I’ve ever communicated with says westerners should expect food in SK. It’s not really that they are being purposely deadly, they just honestly haven’t grasped the concept of individuals have such food needs. So they’ll be like there’s no fish in this dish, but well actually the sauce is fish derived or in their minds it’s now raw so it’s okay or whatever.  Same for vegetarian and religious issues.  Just don’t expect that need to be met.

One of the fellow students in my Korean class was saying that she spent 3 weeks in SK and she was one of only 4 people in her department who could go on the trip bc their boss was blunt that SK is not a safe place for people with major nut or seafood/fish/shellfish food issues bc it’s just too risky.  She thought that was crazy and it couldn’t be that bad - but then she got there and was worried he was too understated. 

59 minutes ago, wathe said:

Food delivery was shifted to just-in-time model last-minute, because there were problems with the subcamp refrigerated storage units  and they couldn't be used.  The Halal supplier delivered food up to 4 hours late for the 1st 2 days.    My kids were in a Halal patrol (food is ordered by patrol, so the whole patrol ate Halal even though not all members required it).

ugh. The halal food might not have been my preference, but I wouldn’t have complained unless I truly could not eat it. 

59 minutes ago, wathe said:

 They ended up splitting meals with other patrols and then taking food meant for other units that hadn't arrived yet -- US and UK arrived a day late because of well-founded infrastructure concerns.  Lunches were weird collations of snack foods, very heavy on bakery products

that’s what everyone I’ve encountered is saying would be the default to most Koreans in charge of things there with that many food restrictions. A monoculture trying to serve food, halal for everyone! Someone can’t have nuts, fish, seafood, shellfish, or meat? Doritos for all y’all!   It’s sorta funny how much it makes sense when you think about it as long as your life doesn’t literally depend on having to eat it. 😬

What a culture shock communication clash.
*smh*
 

59 minutes ago, wathe said:

@chocolate-chip chooky After evacuation, government completely took over organization of everything.  We were very very carefully handled - minders, medics and police followed us everywhere.

yay! I mean awkward and a bit startling at first for many I’m sure, but I’m glad they recognized the 💩 and called in people to made sure everyone was better treated thereafter.  

59 minutes ago, wathe said:

We saw a similar protest in Seoul in the days before the jamboree.  It was very, very orderly -- protesters seated in rows on a closed main road. Lots of police in high-vis traffic vests.  I didn't see any tactical or riot gear.

 

Yeah. That lines up with what I see on the more local news.  They will show a protest in the news and I’m over here in Okieland confusing it for a parade at first. Smiling platoons of cops just in case looking over the chanting and sitting in a happy circle like they are at a pep rally protestors. A few days ago, someone was even getting coffee delivered while the protest. LOL

[chocolate-chip chooky]

We are pretty fortunate in that we don't have any serious food restrictions, but I'm vegetarian.

Food as a vegetarian was pretty restrictive in SK. We coped fine, but we ate pretty much the same things every day, and we didn't eat at restaurants ever. We shopped at the grocery stores like E-Mart and HomePlus and also convenience stores a bit. We went to bakeries everyday, because we could get things like cheese bread or redbean rolls.

But our protein was pretty much (very very expensive) peanut butter and cheese, plus bakery goods with redbean or pea paste.

 

[chocolate-chip chooky]

@Jann in TX Oh, the irony. I started this thread so that I didn't hijack your K-drama thread. 

Apologies!

Please keep telling us about K-Con if you have more to share 😊

[Jann in TX]

No worries!  It is fun to see that there are other K-POP lovers out there in the homeschooling community.

I left out one of my favorite things-- Saturday morning one of my online math families picked us up at the hotel and we went out for breakfast-- so fun to physically meet students that I've been virtually teaching for years! -- Technically I could call this a 'business' trip (but I will not!).

Here is a photo of my Viki cups.  I have 3.  Each came stuffed with a 'gift'.  I have stickers that happened to be from 3 of my favorite shows (Goblin/Guardian, Descendants of the Sun and True Beauty) and a cool pin.

The 'K-Beauty' area of the convention passes out tons of freebies/samples.  During my solo-convention times I would wander around the booths that had no visitors and strike up a conversation (no visitors at times because this area was right next to the inside stage area and most people wanted to watch those performances).  By Sunday I had several boot workers recognize me...My dd called this 'making friends'-- well, when you are a fish out of water like me, having someone wave and smile to you really helps!