In the middle of September, I was lucky enough to get tickets to see Stray Kids perform at KSPO Dome. They named this 2 day weekend concert ”2nd World Tour MANIAC Seoul Special (Unveil 11)”. I didn’t expect the opportunity to see them in Korea would come, but I was very grateful and excited it did. I had bought the tickets on the global Yes24 ticketing website. Though it can be a little confusing at first, luckily they also had a page with instructions on how to get tickets. Another pro about the global Yes24 ticketing website is that you don’t need an Alien Registration Card or Korean bank account (like what many many other websites that do transactions most of the time require). I also really really love the price of the tickets! Korea concerts have the cheapest official tickets I had ever seen, around 100,000 won (for all types of seats). Meaning floor seats would be the same price as someone sitting at the farthest possible seat in the stadium. Compared to the United States where I’ve seen it would be around $350 at the least (around 470,000 won) for floor seats and that’s just if you’re lucky enough to get past all the scalpers and their bots (it’s very tough and not likely). The two times I’ve tried TicketMaster for Stray Kids’ concert in LA, by the time I got in the ticketing, all seats were gone, and later on when I rechecked, more than half of the tickets were being resold in the thousands (USD) due to scalpers/resellers. Don’t even get me started on the actual TicketMaster website upping the prices officially (not being resold by a person) in the thousands (USD) due to “demand”. In addition to the topic of Korea ticketing, since they need to verify your identity (at the venue by just showing passport or residence card), it further lessens the chances of resellers. It all feels like a very fair game and I respect it! It was the least stressed I’ve ever felt about ticketing.
I saw this concert as very special because Stray Kids would occasionally mention how performing at KSPO Dome was a big dream of theirs and I was glad I was abe to be there when that happened! There was a tent that said “ticket box” and signs to line up according to your first name letter. I just showed them my ticket confirmation (can be printed or shown just through your phone) and my passport (physical/real, not a copy). Then just like that, they give you your ticket. I also really like the ticket. It is like a PVC photocard (hard plastic) with the event, your name, seating. and has a cute picture of Stray Kids on the back. It is really nice to keep as a souvenir.
Everything is organized into tents, so I went to another tented area where the official merch was being sold. Luckily the line wasn’t very long even though it was the afternoon. A very few things had sold out on the first day, but they had enough stock again on the second day (also luckily it wasn’t anything I was planning to get). They had displays that showed all the merch being sold (if you wanted to see the real thing before actually buying). While in line, the staff hands you a paper showing all the merch, and you are supposed to mark which ones and how much quantity of what you are going to get. Then you get to a screen transaction kiosk where you tap everything you’re getting into your cart and pay. Then after that, you move forward to the part where the staff hands you what you ordered. I noticed that they also give some lucky draw (random) Stray Kids post cards according to how much you bought. It is like extra freebies with your purchase. They also had a tent to play SuperStar JYP (where I’m sure you could get a reward), and a tent to pre-order their new upcoming mini album at the time “Maxident” and get lucky draw (random) PVC Stray Kids photocards according to how many albums you bought, but I unfortunately didn’t do both of those.
Entering the venue was also incredibly easy. There doesn’t seem to be any specific bag restrictions like in the U.S. where they would only allow clear bags within a certain size and didn’t even allow me to bring water inside either. At KSPO Dome, I was able to use the same backpack I bring to school and bring my flask of water. While entering, they had a machine that actually scans your ticket and then you are inside! Another pro is that the food inside is regular priced (same price as it would be in for example, a convenience store)! No more $8.00 regular sized water bottles with no bottle cap. It really made me realize how ridiculous U.S. concerts are compared to Korea’s. You would be able to buy hot food/snacks, drinks at their expected prices. There was also an area with staff to help you if you had trouble working your lightstick for the concert. The whole experience so far really felt like a concert for the concert-goers, instead of a concert for the venue to make a lot of money, and I really did appreciate it.
As for inside the KSPO Dome itself, I also love the way it is structured! It can hold so much more people than other stadiums in Korea, yet allows the viewers to see up closer even if the seat is considered “far” (instead of seats going upwards, it moreover spreads horizontally with slight differences in height after each row). I ended up going to KSPO Dome for other concerts again in the future and had seen the views from other stadiums as well, but I can confidently say that I always get the best view in KSPO Dome no matter where I may sit.
The concert itself, my favorite one. Not only saying that because they are my favorite group, I am being totally unbiased. There is just so much variation in songs, performances, stage effects, and it goes for so long. You really get your money’s worth! In addition, they interacted with the audience a lot. Especially during the part when they go towards the audience even in the 2nd and 3rd rows for a few songs. Everyone got a chance to see them up close! I would go to the same concert ten more times if I could. It is very different from U.S. artists and their concerts. There is just so much more in performance and connection with the audience!
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