JYJ Wold Wide Concert in Seoul 2010.11.28
I would like to write it down fast so the memories are still vivid.
All in all, the concert was magical. It kicked in after the show even more than during. All night I was in an internet cafe with one friend, and I couldn't stop aweing how incredibly awesome this concert was.
I wanna tell you truthfully, that at first I didn't like it. But let me explain it further.
I arrived at Seoul around 4 pm on Sunday. I went to the venue and bought my ticket. Cheapest one - 3rd floor. I was tempted to buy a closer one but the VIPs were already sold out and an R ticket (that is almost the price of a VIP ticket but way further away from the stage) just didn't seem a very good deal to me, so I settled with the C area (3rd floor). Then I purchased official photobooks for my friends and myself, and around 5 we met with Jing. They had to wait for the toilet in a line that was 30 meters long at least. Longest toilet line I've ever seen. lol Around 6 we met briefly with Sarah too. Sarah catched a cold on Saturday so she didn't attend Sunday show, she just came to meet me for a while since I was in Seoul.
Outside the subway the temperature was under zero. I was warned by everyone and their cats to dress warm so I did as much as it was possible from my closet. I even purchased furry boots for this occasion (and for the upcoming winter too, of course), wore 4 layers of clothing, 2 socks, thick stockings under the jeans, scarf, hat. It turned out to be not enough still. We went into the venue around 6:45pm. I didn't really wanna sit down, but we had no choice since it was a sitting concert. Even walking around outside felt horribly cold, you can imagine how much worse it could get having to sit in one place. Fortunatly the concert started in time.
At the beginning I was not so impressed. The first 2 or 3 songs went down, and the sound quality was extremely lame, it was similar to listening to a middle quality fancam. I guess it was due to the fact that the stadium was open so it didn't provide good acoustics, and this way the volume was really not enough to reach the upper floors in the back.
Also, I was more and more freezing so I stood up on the stairs where there was no-one behind me and started jumping a little, but soon a staff member come up to me and asked me to sit back on my seat cause being on the stairs is dangerous. I don't think it was actually dangerous but rule is rule so I sat down again. Other people were in blankets, I should have got myself one too. I didn't seriously consider going out for it but it crossed my mind. lol
Now I feel like I should explain myself a little bit since some of you who read this account have never been to a JYJ concert and would give an arm and leg to be able to go, so you may not understand how can I complain about cold and anything at all when I am lucky enough to be at their concert. It's true, however, I have already been to to their dome concert in Osaka and all the circumstances there were perfect, so I couldn't help comparing. It didn't feel so extatic listening to Empty or some other catchy beat song and having to sit in the minus degrees while even the volume was low. The fact that I couldn't see the monitors (much less the guys) very well didn't add to the enjoyment either, but that part is the natural disadvantage of a behind seat ticket so it was actually caused by by own decision, I have no right to complain about that. :P
Then there was a talking part and I am not native Korean but even the Koreans around me couldn't hear very well what the boys were saying. The 3rd floor (including me) started to chant 안들려 ("cannot be heard") for around 30 seconds at least. It seemed that our complains were heard by some staff since during the next song (Still in love), they turned up the volume significantly. It was much more enjoyable from then on. But still, the true turn in my mood happened when Jaejoong asked "3rd floor, how are you?" And everyone shouted "Fine". As for me, I was really feeling much better from then on, just because he was kind enough to ask. They also mentioned the cold but fans shouted "It's okay" (not only the 3rd floor that time, but everyone).
I really really liked the new songs, especially Pierrot. I cannot wait to listen to it in studio version. :D
Yoochun's solo "Drunken truth" was amazing to an extent that I felt like crying. And when Jaejoong sang "For you it's departure" I really did, a bit. :) They surely know how to sing.
By that time it was completly dark and everytime I looked up at the sky, it felt amazing. When I looked down, I could see te red sea. I could almost believe that it was God's wish to remove the ceiling so in the heavens they can also hear them sing.
They talked about some of the Twitter photos as well, and 3rd floor constantly went crazy about wanting to see Jiji's pictures. We were not so lucky in the end, was no Jiji for us. lol But omgsun! Junsu's laugh is just too cute for words.
During the flashmob everyone stood up (finally!!!) and after the song finished, we didn't sit down anymore. (I am not sure about the rest of the sectors but on the 3rd floor we surely didn't sit down.) I didn't even feel cold by that time or maybe I just wasn't thinking about it anymore.
The nicest surprise (without a doubt) was when the guys came and sang in front of the upper floors using a small stage behind the first floor sitting area. It was a true celebration for us. :D I cannot possibly transfer how good it felt that they came all the way back to get closer to us. I really appreciated that.
First they asked a little bit about the university entrance exams and said a few good words to the students. (The discount tickets were for the 2nd and 3rd floors, so the majority of people there were high school girls, I guess that's why they were extremely active shouthing. (Not like I wasn't :D)
After the talking, the boys sang "Fallen leaves". It was very very touching and beautiful, Junsu's voice was really like an angel's. Actually all three of theirs. I kept thinking about my Hungarian friends and other international fans who would like to be there cause I missed them a lot and I wished they could be there with me too.
szólj hozzá: JYJ fallen leaves 2010.11.28
Actually, things keep going in a direction where nothing is impossible anymore, so I am positive that everyone who wants to see the boys will have the chance. Let's pray for that.
They went back to the main stage and played Be the One, the whole Jamsil looked like an overgrown club. :P
The concert ended with Empty remix. When the boys went down from the stage, everybody started to chant 사랑해 ("We love you"). I also joined. I don't know whose idea it was originally but it was the best idea anyone ever could come up with for a concert.
The moment the concert finished, snow started to fall.
When I went out from the arena, Korean high school girls came up to me and talked to me. They even gave me pretty presents. They were so friendly, I was really moved by it. I mean , I am just a stranger, and they were giving me presents.... I took some pictures about the area:
Then I went to Kyunghee university to meet one of my Korean friends. By the time I arrived, the snow was falling so hard I looked like a snowman. We stayed in a bar for a while then went to an internet cafe to spend the rest of the night there.
He was mostly watching anime and I chatted with my friends about the concert until my first bus in the morning to Busan.
I don't know how to describe it with words but when I went on Twitter and saw Jaejoong tweets, I felt like damn, this guy is just too much (in a positive way). How can someone be this much sweet, this much nice and caring, this much dedicated, always saying the right things, always appreciating everything we do for him (it's not like saying 'we love you' was much effort, it was only the truth, really). I never really trusted or loved any celebrity in the pop industry but maybe for the first time in my life, I have no doubt about a group, and this group is JYJ. They really earned my trust, and I will support them until the end of the world cause I love them so much it hurts. I really hope they would come to Europe next year so I can see them again with my friends. That would be just awesome. :D
It's a cliche to say, but the whole concert could have easily been a disaster for me the way it started off, but just with these 3 guys caring presence, their endless efforts to make us feel better despite all the bad circumstances that were not their faults in the first place, it became even greater than my Osaka Dome experience in the end. I don't wanna say the cold didn't matter at all cause it did at the beginning, but they kept asking us how we were, if we were cold, if we could see well from the behind. They did everything humanly possible to improve the situation and they didn't fail a bit. Besides, the they must have been cold too. They didn't wear much clothes and even though the stage reflectors give out some warmth, they were not always on the main stage and were not always moving. So I feel sorry for them too.
My deepest respect for them!
I will add pics and videos soon. :)) Thanks for reading!