Korea Trip Chronicles - Attending a Music Show Using Discount Vendors
If you are reading this blog, chances are you are kind of into KPop. One thing I know a lot of you are interested in is attending music shows. I have read many blogs and watched a few Youtube videos on attending music shows that broadcast on TV such as M Countdown and Inkigayo. It all seems a little too cutthroat for my tastes. There are some where you have to get to the TV studio at dawn and line up and get numbers, then return later that day and hope that they honor the numbering system from before. I think if you want to be up close to the artist you want to see, you need to show up with the album the group is currently promoting, as well as an official fan club card in your name, and an official lightstick. Even then, admission is not guaranteed.
Along with the stress of possibly not being admitted into the studio for the taping, I’ve heard wayy too many stories about people getting into physical altercations in the line. Fangirls/Fanboys are ruthless! I was hoping to attend a music show, since the people I traveled to Seoul with are huge kpop fans. And I am happy to report that I did attend a taping of SBS MTV The Show!
One thing to note about television tapings in general. They are free. And, television studios are typically pretty tiny. Due to these two facts, you may not get in, even if you follow all of the rules, exactly. Also, although the way they tape these shows may be different from what you may expect, you should be able to catch a glimpse of about 10-12 different acts.
I am a planner and I do not like to leave things up to chance. I wanted GUARANTEED tickets, or at least as guaranteed as possible. And for this privilege, I had to forefeit the free aspect of attending the taping.
If you live in the US, you may be familiar with discount sites such as Groupon, or LivingSocial. With discount codes, you can dine out, attend baseball games or concerts, or get a haircut on the cheap. If you are going to be a tourist in Seoul, you can check out two sites that have discounts to various attractions. One of these sites is Trazy. Another such site is Klook.
Lest you think these sites are scammy, I can tell you that I had nothing but positive experiences with both sites. I used them not only for tickets to The Show, but also to hire a van to drive me and my crew of people to/from the airport, and I used them to rent a wifi egg. But as always, with everything, do your own research and be willing to take responsibility for your own risks.
Trazy is the site i used to attend The Show. At the time that I purchased them, it cost only about $54. But I just looked now and the prices is almost $75 on both Trazy and Klook.
Tickets are only available for certain dates, so double check that there will be a taping while you are there. On Klook’s site, they do not have any available tickets until October 2019 (as of August 25th).
Please be advised that there are age restrictions and other terms/conditions that you will need to carefully read and be aware of. If you have any questions, you can reach out to the staff at Trazy or Klook. And, newly, I noticed that Trazy now sells tickets to M Countdown!!:
M Countdown tickets are also available on the SM Global Travel website.
I will post about my actual experience attending a taping of The Show in a future post. Please check out my previous Korean Trip Chronicles posts here:
Trip Planning Tips
Apps I Used in Seoul
