A group of Zelda's

Last Thursday marked the 2nd anniversary for TBS eFM, the English-speaking radio station that I work at. While the day went by pretty uneventful, Saturday was their 2nd anniversary concert, which I completely underestimated.

Mark's friend, Dave, came to Seoul for the weekend to visit. He has taught and lived in Busan for the last 8 months and this was his first time in Seoul. My boss asked if I wanted to bring any guests, so I figured I'd bring Mark and Dave. When Saturday evening rolled around, I warned them to keep their expectations low. I honestly imagined it was going to be in some small meeting room, where we'd all have awkward small talk and then go our separate ways a couple hours later.

Boy, was I wrong. We were told it was at Yonsei University's main auditorium, which got me thinking it might be just a tad bigger than I originally imagined. When we got to the campus, we asked a student to lead us to the main auditorium. Luckily, she was going to the same auditorium. This is how our conversation went:

Her: Oh, I'm going there too! You can follow me.

Us: Thanks

Me: Are you going for TBS eFM's concert?

Her: Yes! I waited in line all morning for tickets. They gave a few out this morning, so there was a very long line. (looking very worried) If you don't have tickets, you might not get in.

Me: Oh, I think we're ok. I work for TBS so I think we're on some kind of list.

Mark: Did you know she (pointing at me) is the voice of the nation for The Evening Show?

Her: Really?!? What's your name? I listen all the time!

Me: (hits Mark) No, I'm not. I do a very, very small segment called The Bigger Picture on The Evening Show.

Her: Oh wow, that is so cool....

As we walked up to the doors, Tim (the producer and my boss) greeted us and gave us our tickets. We parted ways with our helpful new friend and took our seats. I'm not exactly sure how to put into words what happened for the next 2 hours. Basically, Mark, Dave and I experienced a volatile emotional rollercoaster, experiencing utter joy, absolute shock, serious awkwardness, excitement, fear...everything.

Basically, the concert was a compilation of various K-Pop artists, traditional bands and even a Queen tribute band. Hands down, it was the most enriching cultural experience I've had in Korea. I got to watch girls scream and almost faint as famous bands like Shinee took the stage. I watched with absolute amazement & shock & horror as the 7 members of K-Pop band Touch danced to 90s-style choreography with unusual attire--imagine it: jeggings (jean leggings), knee-high boots, lambskin jackets. One guy even had lambskin wings attached to his jeggings. I mean, the level of tackiness, is unmatchable. They deserve some kind of award for that, right? ;)

[A reggae band, Mr. Kim & Windy City, opened the show]

[Our personal favorite, Touch...for obvious reasons.]


[Are you ready for this?]










[The Chorus of Ambassadors' Wives sang a world folksong medley]


[OVueen Band is a Queen tribute band...he seriously sounded like Freddie Mercury himself!]


[The stars of the night, Shinee, being interviewed by the hosts]




[And what makes K-Pop that much better? It's screaming, googly-eyed fans!]

As we left the auditorium, we heard two English women say, "They were like a group of Zelda's." Mark turned around and said, "Exactly!" and everyone laughed because not once was the name of the group mentioned. We just knew.

I'd have to say that was one of the best, most ridiculous experiences I've had. Seriously, K-Pop fanaticism takes "crazy" to a whole new level.

Until next time, bisous xoxo