EXO’s fan meeting occurred right at the end of my trip; it took place on a Sunday, and the following Tuesday evening I flew home.

The two weeks in the lead up to the event saw a flurry of activity in my chat group, both for those of us who got tickets and those who didn’t. Plans were being made for people to meet up on the day, tips were exchanged for the upcoming merchandise sale (yes, as a fan you feel compelled to buy event merch), advice given on the best time to get to the stadium and the best order for getting things done, and interesting tales of people trying to buy second-hand tickets online and tricks (involving chemical syringes) for safely removing ticket wristbands so that others can then be given them.

Such an interesting experience to be part of this community!

The fan meeting was to be held at the KSPO Dome in Olympic Park. The venue is much touted as a good place to see groups because of its small capacity and this makes pretty much any seat in the dome a good one. The only slight let down is that the dome was not specifically designed for music events and therefore doesn’t have the best sound system for it. For future visitors, having now been there, I have to agree on both points.

In case you’re wondering, even from my seat in the ‘nosebleeds’, it’s only a 3-tier stadium and the view from my seat looked like this…

But I‘m getting ahead of myself.

Throughout my trip, and actually from the moment I bought my ticket, I had been suffering from a state of slight worriedness. The cause of this was the plain fear of getting to the venue and having something go wrong and not being able to get in; namely being refused my ticket because of the issue of matching names on my ID.

Apparently in Korea for concerts such as these, ticketing security is tight. And I mean, tight.

Unlike in the UK where you buy a ticket and as long as you’re holding it in your hand when you enter the venue, you’re a goodun. Doesn’t matter who bought and paid for it. Doesn’t matter if you just swapped cash for the ticket outside the door. As long as the ticket is legit, you’re golden.

In Korea, this is not the case. And certainly not for these events. The person named on the ticket when it was bought, that’s the person who the staff are sticking the required non-tamper proof wristband on, and that’s who they’re letting in.

And even then it’s still not that simple. My ticket was bought through a fan club pre-sale. This means that when I present myself on the day, I have to show them my passport for ID and also my live fan club membership (this means logged in live to my membership, not a photo of my membership card). Additionally, to get my merchandise, I also have to show my live SM Store account clearly showing my order. Not an email or a screenshot. Everything has to be live, and heaven forbid your internet chooses to go down at that point (at the same time 14,999 other people around you are also trying to access it).   

 All this to say, the day before the fan meet I made the decision to go to the Dome to check out what exactly was happening and how easy or difficult everything might be.

And I was pretty darn surprised. Everything ran like clockwork. The venue was really well prepared and spaced out for the different lines for tickets and merchandise. No-one seemed panicked or in a rush. The park is such a large space that it didn’t even seem like a massive crowd.

I spent time walking about, checking out all of the banners, watching all of the people, and of course eating food.

This is sausage bread.

It’s my first time seeing it actually in Korea and I was especially excited to buy and eat it as it was one of the first early recipes I made when I was learning to cook Korean food about 2 years ago.  

While at KSPO I happened to meet up with Thanh, a German woman from the chat room, whose friend had a ticket for today. We decided to hang around as the fan meet started, just to see how entry into the venue went and who knows, we might be able to hear something happening too….

You might have already guessed, but I stood outside the Dome in the rather chilly spring air for over 2 hours and listened to the whole fan meet.

Why, you might ask?

Given that I would be seeing it all for myself for tomorrow?

Because it’s EXO.

Live.

Even standing outside I could hear their voices with my own ears. 

And the sheer blow-my-head off excitement I felt was something I had never experienced before. The anticipation shivers and racing heartbeat didn’t stop the whole time I was listening.

The smile did not come off my face.

I might not have a two-day ticket, but I still got to experience in two different ways the event I had flown halfway around the world for. And given I’d come all this way literally for these moments, why on earth would I not stand out there when I could?

I also appreciated the fact that I could share this moment with other people who, like me, are EXO fans. In real life, standing here with people who understand a little bit about how I feel about this music and these 8 men. Who could discuss which songs they enjoyed most and why, or what member they follow the most and why. I even got to speak with an American woman who was waiting outside for her daughter, which was a really fun encounter. They live in China and had specifically flown over for this evening only and were flying back the following day. Through her daughter’s love of EXO, she inadvertently had built up a whole bank of knowledge about the group and the members and so we had a great talk about the group and the event itself, and by the end I actually started to feel that she really deserved a ticket too purely for her commitment to her daughter’s hobby. I also told her what a great mother she was, and that I still remembered clearly my parents driving me and my best friend to a Bon Jovi concert when we were 16 and the fact they sat outside the stadium for about 5 hours from start to finish so we could enjoy the concert (my first ever by the way). What parents do for their kids, eh?    

The following day dawned and I presented myself bright and early at the stadium at 10am. I was third in line for the merchandise tent (which didn’t open until 12), and a full 6 hours early for the fan meet. I wasn’t leaving anything to chance.

By 12.15, after a slight brief panic when my phone froze while trying to log into my store account, I had secured in my bag a brand new ugly green hoodie (which I have worn every moment since I returned home), 5 new photo cards (3 D.O. cards – 2 which were swaps, Baekhyun and Suho), and a strip of photos to stick in my diary for next year. Score.

Onto the ticketing booth, of which there are two – one for international people and one for Koreans (basically those who can’t have tickets posted to them and those who can).

Awesome thing – very short line at the international booth!

And here came the moment of truth, my deep-down worry. The name check. And I only mention this because my passport contains my first, middle, and last name; however, my EXO-L membership and my Yes24 ticket only contain my first and last. The reason for this being, Korean websites don’t have a space for a middle name. When filling out Korean forms, they usually only have one space to add your name, because a Korean name is written like this – 도경수. No gaps.

I read horror stories on the internet about people being turned down for minor transgressions like this and not being issued their tickets, and so every second it took for the lady’s eyes to flick back and forth between my passport, my face, my phone, and her screen; felt like an eternity. I kept waiting for her to inhale a deep breath and shake her head sadly. I kept running through my head my Korean sentences, for if nothing else, I had at least reached a level of language where I could attempt to argue and explain the issue at hand (cue a little pat on the back for all my Korean lessons).  

With a little nod of her head, she handed back my items, asked for my wrist and applied (very precisely and carefully I might add) the coveted wristband (which was still attached when I ended up sleeping that night).

As I excited the ticketing area, still staring in shock and awe at my wristband and ticket, I suddenly panicked when another lady stopped me. What? Did she suddenly think there was a mistake? Was she going to rip my ticket and wristband from me? Was I not going to get to see EXO after all?

Nope. She was just checking that I had everything I needed correctly, before handing me my goody bag for the event (postcard and more photocards included).

I let the day just float away waiting in the park. I had brought a book to read (The Barefoot Mailman – thanks Bunny!), I ate more sausage bread and a sugared doughnut, I watched the curious practice of fans dashing from one area of the park to another chasing fan-made goods that were on offer (I didn’t quite understand it but has something to do with Twitter and social media), I kept staring at my ticket and wristband, and I resisted the urge to go and take photos with the cardboard cut-outs of the members (mostly though because I didn’t have anyone to take photos for me).

The moment they opened the doors (an hour before the fan meet), I went in. I found my seat (with a little help from another already seated fan) and watched as people streamed in and the stadium filled. I saw people make friends with their seat mates (aided by the gifting of sweets), people testing out their fan lights (I don’t have one, just to clarify), and of course the taking of many selfies that the event staff around the place tried to stop (technically there was no videos or photos allowed but nobody abided by that rule as demonstrated by the fact yesterday’s fan meeting was all across the internet already).

I pulled my binoculars out of my backpack. Yes, you read that correctly, I brought my best binoculars (Opticron 10×42), and let me fully recommend this to everyone else if you are in the KSPO Dome and are anywhere past the second row. They were perfect and amazing for seeing everything in exceptional detail.   

The lights in the stadium dim.

And the three massive screens burst to life.

It’s the beginning VCR and the concept they have chosen is awesome.

A total gangster vibe, luxurious ballroom staircase, huge wooden dining table, plush red drapes, and EXO appearing one by one in suits.

And while I will always refer to EXO as boys (which is certainly not true with them all being between 29 and 35), when you see EXO in suits, the word that pops into your head is MEN. Of that there is no doubt.

The VCR fades and then in a flash, there they are.

EXO on stage and in suits.

Singing.

Dancing.

Live and in person.

And though the whole stadium has erupted in cheering and waving light, I sit in total silence. Totally transfixed, and existing in some state of shock and slight bewilderment. A complete 180^o change to how I reacted while outside last night.

They are through their first numbers and on to an opening ment (the speech bit) before I suddenly come to a little bit and realise what the issue is.

They’re real.

And that might sound like a totally ridiculous thing to say, but there absolutely is a difference in the level of reality of a person between seeing them on a TV screen and seeing them in the flesh and in 3D.

And this realness just floored me for 150 minutes of my life.

The sheer solidness and weight of these 8 people.

And through crystal clear binoculars, that feeling hit me with even more clarity watching them during their second ment.

I look down and can see Chanyeol standing to the left with D.O.

And his arm catches my attention. I can see his tattoo. And for some reason, this smacks straight into my chest. I can see Chanyeol’s tattoo. It’s real. It’s there. And I can see it in startling detail on his folded arm. Real. Live.

I move my view slightly to the right. And there are D.O.’s hands. As close as if I was staring at them right in front of my face. The solid size and weight and shape of his hands. It’s fascinating.

Sehun. Who can’t seem to stay still. Whose feet continually jiggle when he sits, and who fusses with his trousers, constantly adjusting or pulling them up when standing or moving.

Chen, who is virtually motionless during the ment. Surprisingly so, as he can be so incredibly loud and animated.   

Baekhyun, who just seemingly can’t stop talking and moving about on the stage.

They’re just mesmerising in their sheer reality.

And that’s how I spend the whole event.

In silence and staring.

Because I just can’t help it.

I had been worried that this event might have been a repeat of last year which only contained two songs and lots of sitting still (it was COVID rule limited), but this fan meeting was basically like a mini concert.

The whole evening flicks back and forth between songs, speeches, and games. The boys are fun and entertaining to watch.

Captivating.

It’s lovely to see the members laugh and tease each other. The VCR’s between sets are enjoyable and amusing. The boy’s outfits have been well chosen as have the songs they sing; 6 in total, including a new one as a preview of their upcoming album this year.

I am beyond happy with the whole event.

And when it finally ends, I realise that I am sitting in Korea and have just seen EXO live.

An experience I honestly thought I would never have the chance to have.

I feel…content.

I feel…complete.

It is a rare moment where if someone asked me there and then what my next adventure would be, what is there on my bucket list left to complete, I would have honestly stated ‘I’m good, thanks. There’s nothing left in life I need to do’.

That’s what kind of moment it was.