Week 3: Real love, true love

2 September 2019 – 8 September 2019

• Prepare fan support
• Attend Segno Concert in Kuala Lumpur

I am finally doing a project update. Apologies for the delay! School work is catching up with me and I was suffering from severe Post Concert Depression (PCD). For this week, my blog post will basically be me reporting on my preparation for NU’EST’s concert in Kuala Lumpur (KL) and a blow-by-blow account of the events on the concert day. It was really a crazy day filled with exciting memories so please be warned that there will be extreme fangirling language ahead. 

Before I start my story, I would like to go back to sharing the reason why I decided to attend NU’EST’s Segno concert in KL in the first place. For those who are reading my project updates for the first time, you may not be aware, but I started this blog primarily for a module in school, CS4160 Korean Wave: A Multidisciplinary Perspective so I will be making references to what happened in class occasionally. Back to my point on why I wanted to attend a NU’EST concert in KL, I actually mentioned in class on our very first meeting for my self-introduction that I was in fact a fan of NU’EST and I still remember vividly that my Professor’s first reaction was, “Ooh their concert got cancelled right?”. I am sure my Professor did not mean it but that comment sort of rubbed salt into a still quite sore wound at that time because Segno Singapore was supposed to happen that same weekend. 

I am sure I was not the only disappointed fan in Singapore when we all saw this announcement on the concert organiser’s Twitter page:

Upon seeing the announcement, many Singapore ㄴㅇㅅㅌs (NU’EST’s fandom name) made plans to go to a NU’EST concert overseas. Some of them even organised a trip to Kuala Lumpur by bus, the city being the nearest overseas location for Singapore fans, and opened sign-ups for the trip on Twitter. At this point, I was still hesitating whether to go for the concert since I was not a fan of long bus trips (It takes approximately six hours to reach KL from Singapore by bus.). Too many uncomfortable experiences of suffering from travel sickness on such trips during my childhood flashed through my mind. 

However, I was eventually convinced to go for the concert and I have my fellow K-pop fan friend, Jun, to thank for that. Prior to deciding that I would go to KL for the concert, I met up with her to catch up after her exchange to Edinburgh, Scotland. She told me how she took a four hour train ride to London just to watch a Monsta X concert (Yes, she is a Monbebe) and that was when I thought, “Ah now a one hour plane ride to KL doesn’t seem so bad now.” (I still refused to take the bus.) I did not know when I would get a chance to hear NU’EST sing their songs live again and I knew I would regret it if I did not go to at least one of their concerts. Also, a fellow ㄴㅇㅅㅌ, Michelle, whom I met at a cafe event for NU’EST member, Minhyun’s birthday, was also looking for someone to go to Segno KL with. Long story short, the next thing we knew was booking our tickets for a flight to KL and our hotel accommodation. 

Just a week before flying off to KL for the concert, another friend of mine, also a  ㄴㅇㅅㅌ, Vivian, was looking for someone to bring her NU’EST cupholders and photocards to KL for a giveaway and I volunteered to help bring them to Malaysian ㄴㅇㅅㅌs for her. I posted a notice on my Twitter page and it received a warm response:

As mentioned in the tweet, some of the fan support were actually done by me and my friend, Isabelle, a fellow Singapore ㄴㅇㅅㅌ. We had received so much love from the rest of the fandom even though we were relatively new. (We had only started going to cafe events this year.) As such, we decided to do our very own fan support to give back to the fandom but since our design skills were lacking, we used tools like Canva. 

It was an eye-opening experience for us because we were both doing this for the first time. We were lost at times trying to find a good supplier on Taobao that would offer cheaper rates as well as grappling with the required dimensions for printing. We went with a supplier based in Singapore in the end and the dimensions for the photocard did not quite turn out the way we had wanted it to but both of us had a lot of fun in the process. Seeing the smiles on our fellow ㄴㅇㅅㅌs’ faces when they received the photocards brought great joy to us too and we felt rewarded for our hard work. 

On a side note, while writing this blog post, I was reading a journal article to prepare for the abovementioned class titled, “Transnational Identities and Feeling in Fandom: Place and Embodiment in K-pop Fan Reaction Videos.” The author, Anna Lee Swan, talks about how social networking platforms and their users’ global interaction contribute to a “social mediascape” that encourages the participation of dedicated fans (552). I find that her observation applies closely in this case as fan support posts like mine can be commonly found on Twitter, especially closer to the concert dates or days when there will be a member’s birthday event. By interacting with these tweets via ‘retweeting’ or ‘liking’ such posts, fans create a supportive community to share their love for their idols. Personally, I agree that such a community invites greater participation because I myself was moved to go for cafe events and be more active instead of being a closet fan as a result of the kind fans I saw on Twitter. In fact, some of these online acquaintances have translated to offline friendships so I can truly relate to the author’s point on the importance of social media, especially its role in building and sustaining relationships in a fandom. Furthermore, the idea that fans’ consumption of media is “processed through collective imagination to become an organized practice and the center of individual agency” resonates with me as well because the fact that fans frequently give out fan support shows that this act of love has become an accepted norm in the fandom and it excites a virtuous cycle of initiative in fans who have become recipients of such love and want to give back to the community (552). For those who are interested in reading the journal article, I will include a link below so do check it out!

Enough of the sidetracking, back to the story about my concert preparation. Another thing happened during that one week before the concert. iMe Malaysia, the concert organiser for Segno KL, had offered Singapore fans a sound check and send-off event fan benefit as consolation for our concert being cancelled. Michelle, my friend who I was going to Segno KL with, messaged me one night to let me know that our tickets had won the sound check benefit. I immediately went to check my email and this was what I saw: 

Imagine my excitement! This meant that I could see the boys even before the concert starts so I was really looking forward to it. That whole week I was so energised by the thought of going to the concert that I could not wait to finally go to KL. By Friday night, I was all packed and ready to go for my first overseas concert ever.

On Saturday morning, I woke up early to catch a train at 5.30am to Changi Airport where I met Michelle for our flight at 9.10am. Actually, our flight was initially booked for 10.30am but seeing that we might miss the sound check event, we decided to pay an additional $55 each to change our flight timing. It took me about one and a half hours to travel to the airport by train and I reached Terminal 4 around 7am. Once we were at the Terminal, we checked ourselves in via the self check-in counters. Then, we proceeded to have our breakfast at McDonald’s as we anticipated a long day ahead packed with activities which means it may leave us with little time for lunch and dinner (I would say we really had great foresight because this turned out to be true.)

While waiting for our flight, Michelle and I really had a great time talking about our boys and sharing our excitement together. This was when I realised that having a companion on such trips can be one of the best things ever. This is a picture of us right before we boarded our flight:

Our AirAsia flight landed in KL after an hour. After which, we proceeded to clear immigrations and went to the airport pick-up point to get a Grab to our hotel.

I just want to say that everything was a mad rush from here onwards. Once we arrived at the hotel (We decided to stay at Acappella Suite Hotel after some complications due to security concerns and this hotel was rated 4-stars by travellers on TripAdvisor.), it took us just 10 minutes from checking in to putting down our bags in our room to going back down to the hotel lobby again to Grab to the concert venue (kudos to the hotel staff for the maximum efficiency). The reason why we decided to put our bags down first was because apparently the concert organiser would be super strict with the bag checks. We were only allowed to bring one bag that is less than A4 size into the concert hall. 

The time was 12.10pm and we had to get to the venue by 12.30pm to collect our sound check passes and join the queue for the sound check event. Luckily, the ride to Stadium Malawati took only 5 minutes but our Grab driver missed the entrance to the Stadium so we had to walk in on our own. However, this turned out to be a nice mistake as we passed by a Malay Bazaar on our way to the Stadium. Unfortunately, we did not have time to look around and had to rush to the concert organiser’s booth to collect our sound check passes. 

Remember, I had some fan support that I needed to give out but I decided to pass the cupholders, which were really bulky, to our friend whom we met at the Stadium, who is also a Singapore ㄴㅇㅅㅌ as she would be going for the send-off event instead of the sound check. Once we got that settled and collected our passes, we joined the queue for the sound check event.

The general queuing experience was smooth but once we entered the main holding area, many fans were packed like sardines into a small space so it got quite stuffy and uncomfortable, especially since we had to wait for over an hour in that space. 

On hindsight, I think it was purely out of our collective love and anticipation for the boys that the fans managed to endure waiting in that space for such a long time. Yet, while I complain about how the waiting area was hot and stuffy, my waiting time was made much more pleasant by fellow fans who were all very patient and nice towards each other. We would all try our best to make space for each other and fan one another within the limited space. 

After the long wait, we finally entered the concert venue but I was not able to take photos of the event as the security was particularly strict. The boys did a medley of three songs for the sound check, “BET BET”, “ONEKIS2” and “A Song For You”. I really liked that for the sound check, the NU’EST members were dressed in their casual clothes. The boys greeted us warmly and the fans screamed loudly in response too. We were all enthusiastically waving our lightsticks and some of the fans screamed the names of their favourite members. The highlight of the event for me was the moment when Baekho stumbled a bit when he was singing “ONEKIS2”. I was not expecting that from him because Baekho, being the main vocal of NU’EST, rarely makes mistakes on stage and honestly I have never heard of him making a mistake on stage too. The fact that he did when warming up during the sound check made the moment even more candid and I can now appreciate how sound check events truly give you a glimpse into less perfect idols with all their slight flaws, compared to the wholesome image that can be seen of them on stage. The other fans also did not mind the mistake and it actually made them cheer even harder for Baekho and the rest of the group. Before long, the sound check event ended. 

The sound check event lasted only 20 minutes instead of the 30 minutes that was estimated by the concert organiser and we left the concert hall feeling unsatisfied but all the more pumped up for the evening concert. As we were leaving the concert hall, Michelle and I were a little stressed out over having to search the vast event venue to find fans who were giving out fan support. However, just like godsend angels from Heaven, Malaysian ㄴㅇㅅㅌs from MYNUEST, the administrators (admins) in charge of the concert fan events, stood outside the concert hall after the sound check event to give out free ice-cream and hand banners to the fans who were exiting the hall. I was really touched by their kind gesture and I was once again reminded of the awesome fandom that I was a part of. There are many more instances of us getting help from friendly ㄴㅇㅅㅌs and I would feature those stories later.

Once we had collected fan support from the MYNUEST booth and in the time it took for us to settle down on the grass patch outside the stadium, I had already collected many photocards, slogans as well as a Minhyun poster. I was so thankful and overwhelmed by the love but I had to start giving out my own fan support too.

Between 2.30pm to 3.45pm, Michelle and I were seated outside the Stadium with other Singapore ㄴㅇㅅㅌs (I still find it amazing how we all managed to congregate together without planning to.) to give out our fan support. As usual, I received much more that I gave because many fans actually gave me the fan support they designed themselves when they collected fan support from me. We ended up exchanging our fan support and wished each other an enjoyable concert. Like we had predicted, we ended up skipping lunch and dinner because things were just so hectic and our schedule was so tight. Therefore, we basically had to run on our adrenaline-induced high for the evening concert.

Just before we went to queue for our VIP Standing Pen, Michelle suggested that we go to the toilet to avoid having to give up our spot in the pen for the washroom. To our dismay, we found out that there was only one washroom within the vicinity of the Stadium (short of the ones inside the concert hall but we could not go into the toilets inside yet). At 3.45pm, we spotted a long queue outside the toilet and it was an especially bad situation because NU’EST being a boy group, most of their fans were ladies and many of us had planned to visit the washroom right before entering the concert hall. Moreover, one cubicle was down as the toilet was choked which leaves only two cubicles serving the entire female fan population of NU’EST at the concert. To make matters worse, we had to make sure that we enter the queuing area for the VIP Standing Pen by 4.20pm. If not, we would not have our queue numbers honoured and have to start queuing from the back.

There was little else we could do so we ended up queuing for about half an hour for the toilet. During that time, we chatted with fellow ㄴㅇㅅㅌs who were also queuing for the toilet and we found out that some of them had come from places like Brunei and other parts of Malaysia for the concert. One of them was having trouble with her lightstick because the sides kept falling apart but another fan offered her own hairband to tie the sides together. At 4.10pm, I was getting a little anxious since it was not yet our turn to use the toilet but the Malaysian ㄴㅇㅅㅌs in front of us kindly let us through first upon knowing that we had to be in the queue for standing by 4.20pm. Thus, even though we were all exasperated over the toilet situation, the fans again turned it into a pleasant bonding time and demonstrated great solidarity. I was never more proud of being a ㄴㅇㅅㅌ.

Thankfully, because of the great ㄴㅇㅅㅌs we met, we exited the toilet by 4.15pm and managed to sprint the short distance between the toilet and the entrance gate to enter by 4.20pm. Once we were inside, it was another one and a half hours of waiting for the concert to start but Michelle and I entertained ourselves by taking lots of photos and talking to the other ㄴㅇㅅㅌs standing around us.

All in all, the concert was beyond amazing. The boys were so friendly and did so much aegyo (cute displays of affection) that my heart received one attack after another. In fact, being so close to the stage, I could see that the boys were really handsome in real life that I could only stare up in awe and forgot to scream at times.

My only regret was not being able to pull off the fan event, which was to sing a NU’EST song, “Blessing” just before the encore stage. The fans tried very hard but I think the event was not as successful because a lot of the admins were not in the standing pen to lead the event. Fortunately, Taiwanese ㄴㅇㅅㅌs did an exceptional job for our boys as seen in the fancam here from YouTube:

During the ending stage, some fans threw their gifts up on stage and NU’EST had a fun time playing with them. Seeing them so happy and having such fun, I felt very contented as a fan too.

After the concert, Shan, Michelle and I took a photo with a NU’EST standee right outside the concert venue before returning to our hotels. It was another good memory because the ㄴㅇㅅㅌs in front of us in the queue offered to take a group photo for us so we could all be in the picture together.

Once we arrived back at the hotel, I proceeded to take photos of our room for memory’s sake since I did not manage to as I was rushing that afternoon. Here are some photos I took:

Michelle and I also decided to treat ourselves to room service since we were famished from starving ourselves the whole day so we enjoyed a delicious supper.

That night, although we were super tired, we stayed up late just talking about our experiences that day, especially the many kind fans we met. We also decided to sort out all the fan support we had received and we were amazed to see how the amount of fan support was enough to fill an entire bed. Eventually, we fell asleep after occupying ourselves with organising our fan support and looking at the numerous fan cams that people have started to upload onto Twitter.

The next morning, we woke up early and went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast, which is included in our room charges. Here is a photo of the hearty breakfast we had:

While the breakfast was great, the greatest surprise came when we unexpectedly met Olivia, a Korean fan who had travelled to KL to watch NU’EST’s concert. We had been standing beside each other and bonded over screaming for the boys together the night before so we were ecstatic to see each other again. It turns out that we were staying in the same hotel all along. We exchanged our social media accounts and promised that we would host each other if we should ever go to each other’s home countries before inviting Olivia back to our room for more chit chat. We also took a photo together, each of us holding a banner or slogan of our favourite member.

Before long, it was time for us to say goodbye to each other as Michelle and I had to make our way to the airport to fly back to Singapore.

Despite last minute problems with our hotel booking and flight timing, our actual trip to KL was a very smooth experience even though we had to rush at times. Since this week’s post will conclude my project updates on the sub-category of K-pop fandom, I wanted to end by sharing some of my reflections on participatory fandom culture.

Joining a K-pop fandom, especially NU’EST’s, has taught me many things. I have learnt to embrace spontaneity a lot more which is interestingly one of the goals I had set for myself this year. Nothing spells spontaneous even more than making plans to go for an overseas concert just a few weeks before. I also learnt to appreciate the little things a lot more like the toilets near Singapore Indoor Stadium and the fact that everything is always within walking distance back in Singapore. 

Most importantly, NU’EST has taught me how to be kind and loving to each other as well as to my fellow fans. This is why I think this week’s title for the project update, “Real love, true love” is so apt. Besides being a catchphrase the members used a lot during their concert to do aegyo, it includes the name of our fandom and basically what our fandom is all about ㄧ love. I think the picture above taken by epopmalay perfectly encapsulates the essence of our fandom. We may be a humble fandom that is still small in numbers but our strength lies in our consideration for each other as well as our combined love for idols who love their fans more than any other idol in the world. I am thankful that this trip to an overseas concert and the people I have met there allowed me to relook into what I stand for as a fan and the fandom identity of our fan community at large. 

Reference

Swan, Anna Lee. “Transnational Identities and Feeling in Fandom: Place and Embodiment in K-pop Fan Reaction Videos.” Communication, Culture and Critique, vol. 11, no. 4, 2018, pp. 548–565, doi:10.1093/ccc/tcy026.