Day 40: Infinite Woohyun's Family Restaurant

Just to start it off, I must say as I go to each idol restaurant, my experience just keeps getting better and better and my bias list keeps changing! Anyways...

Today, Tuesday July 29, I visited Woohyun's older brother's meat grilling restaurant, 먹&삼 생고기집. To get here, take the line 4 subway to Suyu Station (수유역) and head to exit 8. 

Continue out of the exit and walk down the block, passing this Namu store (it's a sign!) until you hit a four way crosswalk and intersection. Keep heading straight, crossing the street. 

Once you cross the street, immediately turn left and walk down for about half a block, until you reach this arched sign.

Head into this alley and walk another half block, and you will see the restaurant on the right! Just look for these signs, and you know you're at the right place.

The restaurant has an outdoor patio, but everyone was eating inside. An ahjumma kindly opened the door for my Korean Inspirit friend and me. Once inside, there are more seated tables and the back half is for floor tables. Other fangirls occupied many tables; we joined in and sat in the middle of the floor. There was at least one party of middle aged adults though.

This restaurant mildly screams "idol restaurant!" with just a few posters of Woohyun, random Infinite related items here and there, and memorabilia around the cashier counter.There was also one fanart of Woohyun hanging on the wall, making it that much more special. This gorgeous Koi Ni Ochiru Toki lifesize poster was in my line of sight for my entire dinner^^

Of course I didn't come here for the food, but for the experience. I can't really say much about the food, but here's the menu, which is in English. The two meat dishes we ordered were tasty, but I think we cooked them too long -.-  I recommend the second meat item marked on the order form! Also my friend's friend said that she recommends the cow intestine, 소막창.

And here is the food. The two meat dishes we ordered are on the same plate, which came with two mushrooms, and then our banchan surrounds the center. We also order 물냉면, which were really hard to chew since we forgot to cut them first.

Once seated, Woohyun's brother (who I didn't really register as his brother, as I'm used to parents of idols, but he was wearing casual clothes, a tee with a rainbow woven pocket and black harem pants that is soo Woohyun's style) came to our table and started speaking in Korean, then my friend said that I can't understand, then he asked where I'm from in Korean, and I said 시애틀에 왔...(I kind of just got overwhelmed with feels and drifted off), and he was shocked that I spoke really basic Korean. Then he took my hand and shook it and thanked me! We were shaking hands for awhile, as if he were waiting for me to spill my fangirl feels, but I just said 감사합니다. I felt like I had missed my chance to say something! 

He kept checking in on us for a bit after that and later gave my friend two Infinite fans for us, provided by Sungjong's fansite Lemoncandy (who had also provided fans to the other restaurants).

My friend said that earlier, Boohyun told her that he knows Japanese. She then saw Japanese Inspirits taking photos with him. (Seriously, the more idol restaurants I go to, the better they get...)!

Later, I waited until Boohyun was at the counter so I could pay (because he'd either be taking care of the charcoal for the tables or inside the kitchen) because this woman worker in casual clothes (...Woohyun's mom?) kept congregating at the counter so the timing had to be just right. There were many autographs, photos and fansite banners on the wall next to the counter, so I just started taking photos of those once I saw only Boohyun was at the counter.

There was a set of autographs from Infinite (which are blurry ㅠㅠ when I go back, I'll retake them!), as well as autographs from other idols, like Tasty, 4Minute and Boyfriend.

When I finally got the courage, I went up to Boohyun and asked in Korean 우현 형이에요? ("Are you Woohyun's brother?" If I had asked 우현의 형이에요, that would have been awkward, calling Woohyun Woohyunie...). He didn't understand so I awkwardly paused and repeated myself, and he humbly said yes and asked if I'm a fan to which I said yes. Then I asked 우리 같이 사진 찍어도 돼요 (can we take a picture together) and he asked in Korean if I'd post it online, to which I quickly said 아니에요, no, as I'd hate my photo to be online as well. He agreed, took my phone and took a selca with me! Then he shook my hand again and said thank you and (I think this was all in Korean?) told me to feel free to take any more photos of the restaurant, waving his hand to the front half of the restaurant that I haven't been to yet. In return, I told him that the food was delicious, in Korean. While I was taking photos, he asked my friend when I'm going back home and I interupted, saying 팔월 십칠일. Then he said in Korean to come back again (또 어서 오세요) and I said 저는 다시 가고 싶어요 (I want to go again) and he said 이게 (here?) and I said yes. Then he asked my friend how to say "come back again" in English and I said 다시 들어와 (he didn't get it...) and then "please come back again!" Afterwards I continued on my photo spree, fangirling on the inside.

Here are some cute decorations hiding in the front corner that Boohyun pointed me over to. There was also a High School: Love On fan nearby.

Also by the main door is a pillar with post-it notes for Woohyun! Woohyun posted this on his twitter recently; it makes me feel bad for not adding to this collection! I think you have to provide your own post-it and pen though. My photo was blurry so I'll go back and take another one...the feels were too intense for my hand to stay still.

Once we left the restaurant, we went out to the patio to take more pictures (which, of course, were also blurry ㅠㅠ). But just as we were stepping off the platform to go back onto the street, Boohyun cutely popped his head out of this side window facing the patio and said thank you again! He was so sweet and welcoming and grateful, the feels are still very much alive as I'm writing this a few days later.

I was so shocked at the presence of Boohyun that some of my photos are blurry ㅠㅠ but since he told me to come back again, I have to come back and then I'll get my chance to retake them~

Day 39-42: M2U and Applying for Infinite's Fansign Event

On July 28, 2014, Woollim announced a series of three fansign events for "Be Back" for the upcoming weekend. The first one will be held in Sinchon's U-Plex (the same exact place as Toheart's) on Friday, August 1 at 8PM. To apply, you must purchase the album from the CD store M2U, located on a side street behind U-Plex, next to a CU convenient store. The application period is from Monday, July 28 at 10AM to Thursday, July 31 at 7PM.

This store is small, but compact with lots of official CDs and DVDs and more. The outside has a big banner advertising Infinite's fansign event.

You enter the store, go to the cash register, and tell the worker how many albums you want to purchase as they have boxes of "Be Back" waiting to be bought. I purchased three albums and wrote my name and phone number (as a way of identification, not for communication) next to the next available number on this signup sheet. The worker let me take a picture of the sheet, which I stupidly took in square mode. I came at 9:19PM and was already 932-934! One person before me (based on this sheet) bought 20 albums...I didn't know so many people had already purchased albums before me, and there were still three days left of the application period. The worker stapled together three lottery tickets for me, which I kept (other stores require you to drop it in the lottery box). My albums also came with my choice of rolled posters, so I got one of each.

Here is the outcome of my purchase. I was confused as to why I would keep my tickets, so I went back to the store on July 30 (also to see how many albums were sold). The worker spoke English well and explained that you just need to check the website for your name, and if you're on there, bring your ticket and passport to the event. I went at 7:52PM and already 3541 albums were sold...I just saw one girl who bought 75% of one page of the sign up sheet...that's like 30+ albums?!? But at least each person can only win one entry into the event, so 3541 is technically not the number of people I'm competing against, it's just some people are more greatly weighted. Only one more day left to go...

On July 31 at 9PM, the store's website will announce the randomly selected 150 winners for the event.

I've been pretty lucky this entire summer with my Inspirit life, so I'm hoping three entries is enough. But honestly, with my anxiety for others paying attention to me, I've been losing some serious sleep and wouldn't mind not being chosen...(especially what if Sungyeol recognizes me...?).

I visited the store again on July 31 at 7:30PM, and there were no Be Back albums or posters in sight. I saw the worker at the counter, calculating the winners for the event and highlighting them in red. I tried to get a closer look but it was difficult...

Well...the website announced the winners at around 9:10PM, and I didn't get chosen. My friend's two friends bought 10 albums each and both got in, so maybe that's the lucky number. By the way, the albums here were 17,000₩ each, while other stores are around 13,000₩ ㅠㅠ

Day 38: Entertainment Headquarters in Apgujeong and The Red Carpet HairSalon

Today, my friend and I decided to visit the entertainment headquarters located in Gangnam, as many are right beside each other. To get here, it's best just to look up someone else's directions as I was kind of cruising along and didn't take note of anything.

First, we passed by SM's old entertainment building, which is now supposedly their training center. It's just a regular, rectangular building on the main street, but with two large ads of SM's latest comebacks. On the side facing the street is f(x), but these huge trees are covering majority of their faces.

On the side street (which we actually didn't see until walking back to the subway station) is a smaller ad of Henry.

Walking a few minutes further and down some side streets, we saw JYP and its collage of artists. There is a Dunkin Donuts across from JYP, filled with fangirls with drinks waiting for vans to pull up.

Across the street from JYP is Cube, which has modern architecture and looks more chic than the others, and no fans waiting around.

Adjacent to JYP is Cube, and its Cube Studio Cafe is nearby. This cafe has its artists' memorabilia, which I didn't get a chance to visit. It was pretty calm here, and I think fans were just waiting inside the cafe.

To get a better idea of just how close these entertainment companies are, refer to this photo. Cube is the large building in the background, and on the right in the foreground is the Dunkin Donuts that is facing JYP, meaning JYP is practically to the right of me when I was taking this photo.

Walking further along this quaint road, we found FNC, which is just a tall building with a gate out front. It's very simplistic, though there is a large advertisement for AOA on the side. Again, there were just fans who would stop by to take pictures, then leave.

And then you walk to the end of this road, turn right and get back onto a semi-main road, and there's SM. It's a really plain building with the famous SM logo out front, a sign to the left and this little office to the right. Many fans were waiting out in front of the building, as well as inhabiting the playground park directly across the street.

As I had no interest in seeing these buildings, I didn't want my trip to Gangnam to be wasted, so we also headed to Kang Ho The Red Carpet hair salon, which is known for celebrities to go to. Infinite goes here often, as they've been here just before the 2013 MAMA Awards (where they make those superman poses ㅋㅋ) and for their dating episode of This Is Infinite. Just a head's up, this hair salon is closer to SM's training center, so maybe stop by here before heading to the headquarters? It's also located in some back alleys, and it's hillside.

Directly next door to the hair salon is JYJ's Coffee Cojjee coffee shop, which I'll be sure to check out soon. Just as we arrived at the hair salon, my friend noticed a woman coming out of the salon with an entourage behind her saying how beautiful she looked, and to avoid looking like 사생펜, my friend wanted to leave...so I couldn't really appreciate the building and all of the memories it holds. But I'll be back!

Day 37: Infinite Tree Forest

Today I visited the Infinite Tree Forest to get in touch with the nature and Infinite. To commemorate Infinite's first world tour, Inspirits donated a tree forest in Infinite's name on August 8, 2013. This forest is one of many idol forests, majority belonging to SNSD, bordering the Han River.

To get here, get off the subway at National Assembly, exit 1. Directly cross the street at the crosswalk on the left, and walk right, along the fence until you reach a four way intersection, and cross it going straight (toward the river, not the huge church to the right). 

Walk about five or so feet until you see a mini trail veering at the left (if you pass by a long set of stairs, you've gone too far), parallel to the main sidewalk, and walk along that path for a minute.

You will see a whole line of these memorial trees, with mostly (there might have been one non SNSD) SNSD trees, all with the wooden stilts and gold ribbons. Keep walking and Infinite's is at the end!

Here is the placard for Infinite's trees.

There are seven trees, one for each member, and each has a name plate on it. There are also three wooden stilts and gold ribbons tied to each tree. Fans wrote notes and signed names to these, along with the name plates.

I had to take selcas with each tree, as if I'm taking them with Infinite. ㅋㅋ Here is a close up of Sunggyu's tree.

Sadly Hoya's name plate was removed! I hope they'll replace it soon...

This location is just by the Han River, so I suggest walking around there afterwards, or bike riding like Dongwoo and Hoya on Sesame Player. ㅋㅋ

Day 37: CNBlue Minhyuk's Family Restaurant

As CNBlue was the group that introduced me to Kpop, I had to pay tribute by visiting Minhyuk's father's BBQ restaurant, Hwang's Eel Restaurant (황가네 꼼장군)!

There are several subway stations nearby the restaurant, but the one I took was Yeongdeungpo Sijang Station (영등포시장역) exit 3. It's about a few minutes' walk and I'm sorry for being vague, but after you step out of the exit, walk straight for a few blocks until you reach a five (though it kind of looks like six) way intersection, and cross the street to the left diagonally, and stay on the left side of the busy street. You'll immediately pass by the Yeongdeungpo Rotary Underground Shopper Center exit 1, and keep walking straight until you run into another exit 1 of the same shopping mall, but this exit is in the middle of the block and directly across from exit 5. The photo above is the exit 1 in the middle of the block. Once here, there is a perpendicular side street on the left just a few more feet ahead, so face it.

Facing this perpendicular street, this is what you should see, and the ground floor is the restaurant!

The outside of the restaurant has several photos of CNBlue, keeping the restaurant low key about its idol status, but once inside there is no doubt that it's an idol restaurant as it is completely filled with CNBlue photos and post-it notes left by fans! 

One wall even has a shelf with post-it's and pens in a CNBlue mug for fans to use. 

Here's the note I left on the clothesline above where I ate!

This photo is from my seat in the very corner of the left half of the restaurant, which had tables on the floor, while the rightside had tables with chairs. Somehow, all the fangirls were placed on the floor (there were two parties of two and one party of six fangirls), while two business women were placed at seated tables.

Here's a photo of the rightside, with more photos of CNBlue.

This is a grill restaurant, with baby octopus (쭈꾸미), fish, pork, beef and more. The ahjumma gave us a Chinese/Korean menu, as she knew my friend is Chinese. While we ordered, she made us order two per item. Everything is already pretty expensive, so after ordering two orders of 쭈꾸미 and two of 갈매기살, our party of two cost 36,000₩.

Here is the 갈매기살 we ordered, and everything it comes with: leaves, mint leaves with eggs, sauces, garlic, cold seaweed soup, salad and dduk. The meat was so delicious, especially in the soybean paste sauce! And the baby octopus was marinated in spicy sauce.

While we were eating, a man who seemed like the owner, aka Minhyuk's father, kept fixing or posting photos on the wall near the front entrance. Later on, all the other fangirls got pictures with him out front. So after we paid this same man, we asked for photos too! We went to the storefront and took some photos. While I was taking my friend's photo, I kept backing up and almost ran into a moving truck, but Minhyuk's father was so nice to tell me to quickly come closer. He was so friendly and smiling; it was definitely a very heart warming experience.

Day 33: Music Korea Kpop Shop in Myungdong

Myungdong doesn't have many Kpop stores selling official merchandise, but I did find one cozy Kpop shop called Music Korea. This store is located on the third floor of the massive, wooded Nature Republic on the outskirts of Myungdong, in a corner intersection. You have to walk through Nature Republic and up the stairs, so either go through the front entrance (and get bombarded by determined sales ladies) or through the side and up the stairs. If you go up just one flight of stairs, you get to see five abandoned Exo standees, as well as a second floor of Nature Republic (that closes at night) and the entire set of Exo standees on display (I didn't count if there were 11 or 12).

Go up one more flight of steps, and there are Kpop and Kdrama posters lining the walls. At the top of the stairs, there are lighted posters (Infinite's Be Back!) and a banner for a past Got7 fan sign event application period. And throughout the rest of the store, there are many other lighted displays of Infinite, and some of others.

And moving along, there is also a wall of autographed albums! Exo, Infinite, CNBlue, Toheart...

And then there's this gorgeous wall of Infinite from "Man in Love"! Annoyingly there are also seats here that are always occupied, but I finally got some pictures with it^^

Here is the glorious Infinite section. There are lots of new and some more old (SS501) official Kpop albums, DVDs, photobooks, etc. as well as a good selection of limited and first press items. There were several copies of CNBlue's Ear Fun Limited Edition Minhyuk version and Jungshin version selling for regular price, while all other places would only carry Jungshin, if any. There were also several copies of Infinite's The Origin, as well as L's Bravo Viewtiful Part 2 First Press Edition selling at half off, for 11,000\. And many new releases come with a rolled poster; no posters are for sale sadly. There is also an extensive collection of OSTs and Kdrama sets. The prices in all also seem fairly reasonable and comparable to other stores. Lastly, the workers are friendly and speak multiple languages fluently, so don't be afraid if you don't know Korean.

Day 31: Grand Mart

Today I shopped at Grand Mart, a multistory, miscellaneous mart next to Sinchon Station (신촌역). Honestly this place is rundown and carries items aimed more towards middle aged people, with not-so-fashionable clothes on the top levels, household bedding on the ground floor and groceries on the three basement floors. Because of these surroundings, I had my doubts about whether or not I could find anything interesting in here, when I came across two surprises.

I rode the escalator up to the fifth floor (there are supposedly seven floors, but the escalator stopped at five), and found underwear and...Elite uniforms! This was the first time I spotted Elite uniforms in Korea, so I was so surprised and excited! The two ahjummas working asked if I needed help, and I embarrassingly stated in Korean that I'm an Infinite fan and asked to take pictures, to which they agreed.

There were advertisement posters and event posters lining the walls, along with advertisements hanging from the ceiling and photocopy signed mini posters on the counter.

I was so tempted to ask if they had any freebies, but chickened out.

Afterwards, I headed to the grocery area, asking for bath towels. They sent me down to B3, where there was more underwear, bathroom supplies, sports equipment and...Kpop CDs! This was the most random thing, but in the corner by the register, there was a display of the latest Kpop albums. I asked when they would have Infinite's upcoming repackaged album, but they didn't know when it'd come. I also asked if they had any posters, and the worker showed me a tub of rolled up posters and offered to give me an Infinite poster for free! He had trouble finding it since he had labeled them in the corners, but I just looked at the image of the back half of Myungsoo's hat and hair from "Last Romeo" and knew I found one. I think he commented to another worker how I found it like that. ㅋㅋ While the "Last Romeo" era posters aren't flattering, I'm so happy to now have one!

While Grand Mart may seem dull, don't underestimate its many wonderful surprises! Also there are food samples that are really tasty!

Day 29: Infinite Sungyeol's Family Restaurant

Today is Friday July 18, 2014, Infinite's first comeback stage for "Back." My friend and I had planned to eat at Sungyeol's family restaurant for a week or so now on this day. His restaurant is located just behind the third exit of Hapjeong Station (합정역), right in Seoul. We arrived at 7:11PM, and the tables were packed, so we put our name on the waiting list, which the waitress assumed wouldn't be until 8:30PM until we'd be seated. We wasted time nearby and my friend later found out it's so crowded (usually you can easily get a seat) because of Infinite's comeback stage, which is broadcasted on their television. We came back at 9PM with still a full house. But when I was walking outside, I noticed a male figure inside...and realized it was Sungyeol inside. Many fan girls were outside the restaurant, but my friend and I went in as we were still waiting to be seated. Sungyeol was leaning against the corner of the counter, watching his drama, High School: Love On, and occasionally serving drinks to customers. I could not believe I was about a foot away from Sungyeol, my legs were shaking so badly! He looked larger than life and more perfect than ever; he still had makeup on (eyeshadow). I stood by the doorway so when he tried to bring drinks outside, he gently said "excuse me" to me in Korean and gave me eye contact.

For about five minutes I constantly took photos (as were others, and everyone else had their noise-making photo-taking Samsungs while I used my quiet iPhone). Sungyeol noticed, grabbed my phone (which had an Infinite keychain on it...), selected the Camera Roll, and started selecting all of the photos I took of him. At first I thought he was changing my background to him or was going to take a selca with me...but then he kept selecting photos (as I got a little carried away...) and once he selected them all, he tried to delete them. (You can only delete multiple selected photos on the Photos app, not Camera Roll...) so I showed him to do it individually while apologizing in Korean. I was so caught off guard and felt so guilty that I was using that scared, whiny, I'm-about-to-cry voice and kept saying 최승해요 and added 저는...delete. He deleted one photo and one video, and I deleted some more in front of him. He told me that he's deleting them in Korean and my friend translated. This was all with his straight face, as I felt so ashamed of myself. He then went back to behind the counter. Five to ten minutes later, at around 9:15, he and a manager left, with fangirls following closely behind. 

My initial reaction and concluding thoughts: I honestly felt like I had become a sasaeng fan at that moment, and felt so ashamed that I should revoke my Inspirit life. I didn't want to associate myself with Infinite as I felt so ashamed at what I had become. (Even three hours later I'm still holding off watching their comeback stage. This is much worse than Myungsoo's scandal). As my first encounter with an idol (let alone him being my second bias), I didn't want him to remember me as *that* crazy girl. He singled me out and no one else, so in that sense I felt like I had crossed the line by taking so many photos. But after clearing my head and getting multiple opinions, I am clearly just an international fangirl who just wanted to eat at his restaurant, it's not like I wait out every night hoping he'll come to the restaurant so I can violate him. And it's clearly known that this is Sungyeol's restaurant and that he works here often, so therefore fans will come here to see him and take photos. This is clearly a marketing strategy, a really well-planned one too, for more customers to come. And everyone inside is also a fan to begin with, so of course people will take photos. But then also this is Sungyeol's personality at airports, how he avoids fans and whatnot. But thinking about airports, people activately follow Infinite to see exactly what time they'll be there and take photos and videos while I was actually going to the restaurant to eat. So what I'm getting at is, I've learned to tone down my fangirl feels (though it was perfectly accepted at Dongwoo's) and respect people's privacy (I definitely gave him space, I didn't try to go near him!). But I don't think I'm completely in the wrong...I'm just very confused now. All I know for sure is he held my phone, he stood right next to me, he knows I exist (but maybe not in a good way?).

I feel bad to post any photos from this trip, and I didn't dare take any more photos of the interior of the restaurant, even after he left. I can never show my face in the vicinity of this restaurant again, and I had to pay in cash for fear that they'll track down my credit card (I'm still on their security camera ㅠㅠ), so I'm a bit sad about that. But honestly, since there are hired workers here and not Sungyeol's family, and this is located in a bustling area, it has that type of restaurant feel where you have to act a certain, high class way. Versus Dongwoo's restaurant, I felt so homey, and being immersed in my surroundings was not just acceptable, but appreciated. And at Hoya's, where I did feel a little distant from his father, but it still had a nice, quaint hole-in-the-wall setting. I just hope I'll bounce back to my Infinite obsession soon as I've definitely over invested in their upcoming concert.

A few days later, I'm finally barely able to post some pictures from this visit. The banchan included radish cubes (which don't really go with fried chicken) and salad with noodles. We ordered boneless fried chicken, which came with fries, chips, and three sauces: ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauce. Honestly I couldn't savor this meal and have been trying to bury this dinner out of my memories so I don't have much else to say.

A week after this traumatic outing, I was forced to pass by here after I swore I wouldn't come back. It was pretty calm, and I noticed the restaurant's delivery motorcycle! I was too excited that I took a blurry photo -.- Also the Seattle friend I was with this time mentioned something as we were passing by here. It turns out that this restaurant is an international chain and there is literally one branch directly across from my home university...what...

Day 25: Myungdong Station

Today I browsed through Myungdong Station, which has little shops within the subway station. There are at least two independent Kpop shops, which can be easily found just by walking around. I went to one that has fan goods that aren't tacky, such as Kpop student name tags for 1,000₩, lightsticks, faux leather bands, beaded jewelry and phone caps for 7,000₩. Inside, there are many Kpop albums and other official goods, such as DVDs and photobooks. I was surprised that this store still has several copies of the first press edition of L's Bravo Viewtiful 2! Also in the Infinite section, there were packets of IU&Infinite Elite mini posters for 10,000₩. Also there were slogan towels, and I found an official Infinite Man in Love era one for 15,000₩!

I ended up buying the Infinite phone cap, which has the Be Mine era logo, the Elite poster set and the slogan towel!

I couldn't help myself and visited these shops again. One shop had a large selection of T-money cards (cards used for public transportation and more) with idol photos lamenated on top! Sadly they are 10,000₩ each while regular T-money cards at convenient stores are 3,000₩. Also this shop had one copy of the first press of L's Bravo Viewtiful Part 1! And also there were Infinite collection card packs sold individually for 3,500 Won each; I was so tempted to buy them to complete my rares...I ended up buying a Myungsoo T-money card and his photo essay book, just so I could complete my postcard collection (review to come).

So in all, while Kpop can be found all over Seoul, I suggest Myungdong Station for more collectible, official merchandise, as well as hard to find first press editions, as well as pretty fan goods (meaning they don't exploit faces, but rather just have the logo and is more so simplistic and doesn't scream out fangirl). Next time I'll have to check out that other store in hopes for more rare Infinite merchandise.