[Jan 2020] Day 12: Saying Goodbye to Korea and My Incheon Airport Experience

After an unforgettable 12 days, it was time for me to get back to reality and say goodbye to Korea. My great Inspirit friend spent the morning with me before I had to go to the airport. We went to the Woollim Building; I wanted to see if the new banners for Golden Child's Without You would be up by now, but they were still the Re-boot ones. And of course for the third time I forgot to try and look for the new Woollim building that's nearby.

Next I walked by 3GO Cafe. Someday I'd like to attend a cup sleeve event, hopefully at this cafe!

I wanted to go to Infinite's favorite restaurant back in the day once again to have the kimchi stew I always crave so much, but unfortunately they were closed.

My friend suggested that we go to Mangwon Market, because there's a restaurant there where Myungsoo ate at before. On the way to the market, I saw a health store with an Ateen for I-pace ad!

Once we reached Mangwon Market, it was still a bit early so many of the stalls haven't opened yet, including the one where Myungsoo ate at. We ate at a restaurant in the market that was already opened. We made our order at this touch screen kiosk and paid through there, but then the chef ended up asking what we had selected anyways.

Afterwards my friend and I parted as I got ready to go to the airport. The last time I saw her was 6 years ago, I wonder when the next time I'll see her again...

I took a taxi to Incheon Airport. I had 2 large check-ins, 1 small carry-on, and 1 backpack, and was worried how I'd lug so much from the taxi to the airline check-in counter. Once I got off the taxi, I saw a whole bunch of people across the street directly in front of one of the airport entrances, and figured they were all waiting to cross the street to leave the airport. I stacked my luggage and rolled them to the crosswalk, and with how organized the city is where they indicate you to cross the street on the right side like how cars drive on the right. Then suddenly all those people waiting to cross the street? They all had DSLRs pointed to my right and snapping photos like crazy. I looked over and saw a female celebrity walking toward me. Trying to avoid being in paparazzi photos and to give her space, I tried scooting my stacked luggage to the left side of the crosswalk but my classic oblivious self ended up knocking them down in front of everyone...I finally recovered and then she was suddenly standing just a few feet from me.

We then crossed the street where she stood in front of the entrance as the mob gathered around her. She posed a few times. Other travelers paid her no attention and walked through the mob and behind her to get to the airport. I waited until she finished posing, then went on my way to the check-in counter.

Throughout this whole experience, I felt so guilty for what felt like invading her space, though everything was just coincidence. But after talking it out with my support system, I realized that just because she had celebrity status didn't mean that she owned the crosswalk, and even more so I gave her space.

Then I searched on Twitter who this celebrity was (as I legit only know Woollim idols), and found out she's Rosé from Blackpink. Hmm definitely a big deal! I didn't think I'd end my trip like this.

Inside one of the airport stores, there were a couple copies of the Ateen 2 Photo Essay Book for sale!

I took Korean Air back to the US, and unlike the flight going to Korea where I spoke all in English, this time was much different! I sat on the aisle next to 2 Korean women, and they'd speak to me in Korean when they needed to get up. I also spoke to them in Korean asking about the headphone jack (though I know I botched the honorifics...). And for both meals, the flight attendant listed out all the options and drinks in Korean. Though I didn't fully understand the descriptions, I was able to understand the keywords and chose the Korean dish option both times. I'm naturally shy and to communicate in a foreign language on top of that, I was really proud of myself.

On the plane I also watched "The Host", a movie with the same director and lead actor as "Parasite" about a man-made monster in the Han River. I'm so glad I saw this movie at the end of my trip, or else I'd be a bit scared going to the Han River!

To reflect, this has definitely been one of my best trips (along with KCON18NY). Seeing Golden Child live has been my motivation for a long time, along with travelling to Korea again, but after graduating from college it was hard to find the right timing to take time off. And finally for Golden Child's first concert, I was able to embark on this solo adventure. I had a lot of stress and anxiety over this trip (as I'm naturally a super anxious person), but I'm really grateful how Kpop (specifically Woollim artists) has continually pushed me out of my comfort zone and grow to be more independent and adventurous. My schedule over these 12 days also worked out really well, where I had a packed Woollim-focused agenda and covered almost everything I had wanted to visit, including places outside of Seoul. And lastly, I'm grateful the timing worked out and I am safely back at home, since the virus was just starting to break out in Korea during the tail end of my trip. That being said, I don't know when the next time anyone can see their idols live again, so I'll deeply treasure all the precious memories I created from this trip. I even created a photo essay book documenting my trip~

[Jan 2020] Day 11: Incheon Chinatown - Golden Child's "Gol-Cha!" and "Future and Past" Photoshoot Site, and Mapo Bridge - Sunggyu's "Kontrol" MV Site

As mentioned in my Day 9 blog, I'm so grateful that Seungmin revealed the general vicinity of where Golden Child held their photoshoot for both Gol-Cha! and Future and Past! On my last full day, which just so happens to be Lunar New Year (January 25th, 2020), I headed off to Incheon Chinatown! While people usually go back to their family's hometown for the holidays, my Inspirit friend of more than 6 years had to stay in Seoul to work. I'm so grateful she had this day off and gladly spent it with me.

This was my third trip out to Incheon in a week, all to go to Golden Child's (and Sunggyu's) photoshoot locations. By now the virus was becoming more known, so my friend brought a mask just in case. We took the subway line 1 all the way to the end to Incheon Chinatown.

Our plan was first to eat lunch in Chinatown and explore what this neighborhood has to offer. We weren't sure if it would be desolate because people are spending the holidays with family, or if it would be crowded because it was Chinese New Year and what better place to spend it than in Chinatown. It turned out to be the latter, there were many people in Chinatown of all ages. For the most part Chinatown was one long pedestrian-only street, with side areas branching off. There were lots of vendors on these streets selling snacks, fortune cookies (crazy that these were 500₩ instead of being free at restaurants!), and toys.

We ate at what appeared to be a fancy Chinese restaurant, and ordered white jjajangmyeon, xiaolongbao, and shrimp toast. As a Chinese American, I've been exposed to the entire spectrum of authentic Chinese food to super Americanized Chinese food. But for this particular meal, it was really Koreanized Chinese food. It was definitely a fun experience trying another culture's take on Chinese food!

After filling our stomachs, it was time to find the photoshoot site for Gol-Cha! and Future and Past! From the behind-the-scenes clip, I could see part of Chinatown in the far background, but it was too hard to just search the site like that. After rewatching the clip on the spot, I finally noticed that the location is actually the Incheon Art Platform, just a few blocks away! And when I first saw one of its brick buildings, I was so awestruck, overly delighted to have finally found this magical place.

The Incheon Art Platform covers about an entire block, with brick buildings surrounding the edges and a pedestrian walkway in the middle, along with fun sculptures to admire. More brick buildings also branch off onto other blocks.

I tried taking similar matching photos as from Gol-Cha! and the behind-the-scenes photos on Naver (ie. Seungmin's pokeball photos, above). I was just going to take majority of the pictures in front of any brick wall, but it turns out each building has its own brick style, and my friend was determined to find the exact spot for each photo!

Here's Jangjun sitting on the steps. I clearly wore the wrong outfit, I couldn't really spread my legs that wide lol.

In the middle exploring, Bongbeom tweeted asking what were we doing! So I replied back with this photo that I'm taking a photo^^ Aah the excitement of finding the cover photo for both Golden Child's debut mini album and first concert!

If only there were a few more Goldenness with me...here is my solo shot mimicking Jaehyun's pose from the OT10 concert photo.

I went back to the stairs to take this shot of Jangjun too.

Across the street was where Seungmin took his photo in front of this metal door. This is now on the sidewalk facing the street, whereas all previous photos were within the platform.

And here is where Jaeseok stood! If you look at his photo, you can see he's sooo tall; he reached to about one brick below that back line.

This is where Daeyeol posed!

As well as this gray wall.

And Youngtaek was here!

Here is the walkway area OT11 were walking around in the inner jacket photo of Gol-Cha!

And this is what I'm saying about how the brick walls all have their own style, yet my friend was able to identify them from the pictures! This is where Jibeom posed.

And here was Bomin~ Yes this blog post has became my own solo photoshoot; I was clearly having so much fun here! This was definitely one of my highlights of this trip besides the concerts.

This is probably my favorite photo from the shoot, Donghyun's photo!

Joochan posed here~

And Sungyoon here!

Another Sungyoon shot from the same area. Both Joochan's and Sungyoon's brick walls were across the street.

And Jaeseok's here was back in the inner pedestrian walkway of the platform. It was a great idea to come here during Lunar New Year, since there were very few people and I could freely explore the area and take pictures without worrying about others.

Afterwards, we took the subway back to Seoul and walked across Mapo Bridge. Why Mapo Bridge? The instant my Inspirit friend saw this scene from Sunggyu's "Kontrol" music video, she knew Sunggyu was walking across Mapo Bridge due to the anti-suicidal messages ingrained on the rails. This history of this is pretty interesting: there were many suicide attempts on Mapo Bridge, so there was an initiative to add encouraging phrases along the rails to make it seem like you're having a conversation with a friend, along with a sculpture of someone comforting another person. However there was an even greater increase in suicide attempts here after these were created, so they tried to reverse it by removing the phrases etched on the rails.

Now there are higher rails and an emergency call booth to help.

The sunset here was absolutely gorgeous. Though now looking back, this reminds me a bit like the movie "The Host" (which I saw on the plane ride going back home). I'm glad I didn't see this movie prior to going to the Hangang River, or else I'd be a bit scared!

Afterwards we went back to Myungdong and snacked on some street foods. This street food experience was so different than the one I had at Incheon. Here in Myungdong, which was super busy since it's open to tourists even on Lunar New Year, one stall worker spoke to my (Korean) Inspirit friend in English, and my friend was saying how most of these vendors are foreigners. Here is my octopus skewer~ We also had strawberries wrapped in red bean paste and mochi.

For dinner we ate at a pork neck bone soup (감자탕) restaurant in Myungdong. It was completely crowded with Chinese tourists and the waitress instinctively spoke to my Korean friend in Mandarin.We had the gamjatang with fried rice at the end. I had felt really comfortable throughout my trip until this day, with all the tourists who were quite rude and really negated my travel experience.

And to end the night, my friend and I went to a 7-11 for a midnight snack. I had an instant dried pollack soup (I wanted to try this after reading a bongbeom fanfic...) and of course a banana milk. This wraps up my 2020 Lunar New Year and the last full day of my trip!

[Jan 2020] Day 10: Sky Park, Woohyun's Dad's Restaurant, Ichon Station, and Art Monster

My 10th day fell on the eve of Lunar New Year, January 25th. I spent the morning going to Sky Park since Jangjun and Jaehyun went here in late 2019 for an episode of Star Wars Season 2. I didn't realize what a trek it was to get here! About a 30 minute walk from the nearest subway station, then 292 steps up to the mountain top, and then another trail before actually reaching the park.

The park is really large and at this time of year, the grass is really tall and makes for really pretty photos. One section is filled with this tall grass with pathways in between, creating like a corn maze.

Other sections have various sculptures and art installations. My favorite was this bird nest like sculpture where you can climb up from the inside.

Next I went back to U-Plex in Sinchon to visit the Samsonite Red stall. I had wanted a Samsonite Red backpack for years; they always look so fashionable yet comfy. I found a cute lavender colored backpack that I have since been using to go to work.

I also walked through the basement of U-Plex to go to the subway station, and happily saw the same 2 Bomin ads for Dahlia. Then the beauty shop there caught my eye when they played Bomin's Dahlia commercial on their flat screen! I was too embarrassed to stay for long, so I only took this quick picture.

Afterwards I met my Inspirit friend of 6+ years and we headed to Woohyun's dad's restaurant 강촌숯불닭갈비 in the Sangbong neighborhood for a late lunch. Despite being Lunar New Year Eve, the restaurant still had normal operating hours. We went to the restaurant around when they opened at 3PM and were the only patrons throughout our stay.

Woohyun's dad and an ahjumma created us and sat us down. They later handed us large plastic bags. I thought they were rolled up posters of Woohyun so I acted super grateful and said thank you in a super high pitched voice; my friend then told me they're for our jackets so they won't smell from all the grilling...

The walls are all lined with Woohyun's official posters and fangoods.

This restaurant's specialty is their charcoal grilled chicken ribs. There are 3 different flavors, and each order comes with 3 ribs. We ordered the soy sauce one (pieces cut and on the side) and the seasoned one (entire order is centered). Wow the chicken was so moist and flavorful! This was definitely the best chicken I've ever had, and I can't wait to go back and have it again...sometime in the future...

We also ordered spicy mixed noodles to go with our chicken.

After we paid Woohyun's dad, he went outside with our dirty grills and started cleaning them. I knew this was my last chance, so I bravely asked him in Korean if we could take a picture together. He gladly cleaned his hands, gestured for us to stand in front of Woohyun's picture, and he posed with a finger heart, the pose that Woohyun had made famous!

Next my friend and I went to Ichon Station, the filming location of another scene from Sunggyu's "Kontrol" music video. Sunggyu filmed in front of this mosaic of N Seoul Tower.

Sunggyu also walked out from this exit of the station.

Afterwards, my friend and I went to brewery Art Monster in Gangnam, where Woohyun filmed many scenes from his "Hold On Me" music video and and held his photoshoot for the A New Journey album photobook. The alleyway leading up to Art Monster is featured in the music video; it looks similar to the trademark Hong Kong with its neon signs. As much as I wanted to go inside Art Monster since more of the music video and the photoshoot took place, I don't drink and would have felt so out of place.

Later on my friend and I wanted to have raw beef (육회). I love Korean raw beef; in the States, it'd always be an appetizer at more upscale Korean restaurants, but in Seoul, there are pubs that mainly serve raw beef to go along with alcohol. I definitely wanted to have an entire meal dedicated to raw beef! We walked all over Gangnam and unfortunately the first two locations we went to were closed due to the holiday, but finally the third place was open. We had the raw beef prepared two ways: the bottom is mashed and seasoned, and the top is straight up sliced raw beef with all the sauce on the side.

And lastly I visited my friend's place, where she showed me her signed copy of X1's debut album. She's an accountant and her coworker's account was for a company (either the company that manages X1 or another company within the entertainment industry) who gifted him with this.