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The Ultimate Beginner's Guide To Event Cafes in Korea
Welcome to the very first edition of our new content series: Kooky’s K-Pop Tour! We’ll be taking you around Korea, introducing you to various places and spots loved by local K-Pop fans and K-Pop stars alike! If you’re planning a trip to Korea someday, then hopefully everything we share during this series will help you to plan your perfect trip!
For the first entry Taryn is taking you to something every K-Pop fan would be more than familiar with:
Event cafes are a staple in the K-Pop community - and for a good reason! Not only are they a great way to show your support for your favorite artists, but they’re also a fun way to make friends and meet other fans! For the Kooky K-Pop Tour, we went to a Han Seungwoo cafe celebrating the second anniversary of his solo debut - but before we talk about the experience, why don’t we start by covering the basics of event cafes?
Event cafes are typically events run by fansites to celebrate significant dates for their favorite artists, such as debut anniversaries or members’ birthdays. Typically, fans will work with cafes in the Hongdae and Gangnam area to open the event for 2-7 days, usually rolling over the weekend before or after depending on the special day. (Don’t worry if you’re not going to be in Seoul either, these days there are often cafes in big cities like Busan, Daegu and Gwangju, and in the artist’s hometowns.)
At these events there will be posters, food themed around the artist, merchandise decorating the cafe, and in some cases, even a dedicated photozone! When you purchase a drink, receiving a cup holder is a given, but sometimes you’ll also get unofficial goods like photo cards and stickers. Occasionally, you’ll even see music videos being projected and music by the idol playing in the background. Different fansites will also use the same cafes for these events, so you might find yourself visiting the same cafes over and over.
When it comes to finding out where and when these events take place, Twitter will be your best resource - simply search ‘컵호더’ (cup holder) and your favorite idol’s name. Fansites will post guides and essential information on their Twitter pages, making the information easily accessible but you may need to brush up your Hangul skill! Fansites will also post information on what kind of freebies will be given out during the cafe, and RT reviews from others who’ve already been. And don’t stress if you miss the event day, if you visit soon after the cafe may have freebies or sweets left over to give away.
“So what was my cafe experience like? Han Seungwoo is a member of VICTON and this was my first time ever going to an event cafe, so I was very excited to see what other ALICE’s had in store for his anniversary, especially since he’s my bias.
The event was organized by two collaborating fansites and they’d prepared multiple locations - surprisingly most were in Japan, but I was lucky enough to attend the cafe in South Korea. The cafe is called Caron.c and located in Gangnam; from the outside everything was unassuming but when I stepped inside, suddenly there were posters and photos of Seungwoo everywhere! There were purple decorations such as balloons and streamers hanging on the wall, and even a projector playing Seung Woo’s fancas and music videos.
Towards the front of the store, there was a mirror surrounded by photos and it was the perfect spot to take a photo to commemorate the day with fellow fans. And close to the counter was a massive glass case full of different types of macarons (my favorite!) I wish I could have tried them all! Ultimately, everything looked warm and pretty, which was a great contrast to the rainy weather outside - the fansites definitely did a great job organizing the event!
I went to the counter and while placing my order I told them I was there for the event, so the cashier gave me three custom photo cards and a button made by the fansites to give to other ALICEs and show their support for Seungwoo. I bought a latte that also came in a cup sleeve with Seungwoo’s picture, and of course, two macarons. Because I was visiting on a weekday and it was raining, unfortunately I was the only one in the cafe but that did mean I was able to take a lot of photos and enjoy the atmosphere while listening to VICTON songs and drinking my latte.”
“Though these sorts of events are slowly becoming more common overseas, there are still many fans who don’t have these events around them; personally I really enjoyed being able to go to see one of these cafes in person since I live in an area of the US where they typically don’t happen. However these are definitely events that are meant to be shared with others and I think I would’ve had a lot more fun if there were other fans. Still, I was really happy to be able to take lots of photos of the cafe and listen to an artist I liked while relaxing in public. It was cool seeing all of the merchandise and how creative the fansites were when it came to decorating. Overall I think it was a great experience and something every K-Pop fan should experience at least once!”
The first stop on our K-Pop tour was one we knew a lot of fans would be interested in, but we also know there’s a lot more you guys are interested in seeing, so leave us a comment letting us know where you’d like us to take you too next on the Kooky K-Pop Tour. Also, feel free to leave us questions if there’s more you’d like to know about event cafes!
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Writer: Taryn Novak, Han (O.L)
Editor: Han (O.L)