Meeting (and touching) U-Kiss IRL [fanmeet review]

[magenta-story.livejournal.com]

U-Kiss Fanmeet in Niigata

I went to quite a few K-pop concerts while I was in Japan and just recently got around to blogging some of my concert reviews. I thought my fellow U-Kiss fans (all 30 of us) might like to read about my experiences getting to actually touch and speak with the members of U-Kiss.

U-Kiss Fanmeet in Nagoya

See those red arrows? See how they point to an ecstatic fangirl?

That would be me.

Now, it may look like I followed U-Kiss halfway across the country – first Nagoya, then Niigata. But really, it was just a series of happy coincidences. I planned the first fanmeet in Nagoya, and was visiting a friend and her family in Niigata during the second fanmeet.

I could talk about waiting 6 hours in 45 degree heat at the first fanmeet, or arriving at 6am and still not being first in line for the second fanmeet. I could write about all the wonderful new friends I made while waiting in line, most of whom also went to multiple fanmeets. I could describe every minute of anticipation, the fangirl squeal welling higher up inside my chest as every hour passed. I could write about the Q&A where they answered questions submitted by fans. I could lovingly recall every detail of the half-hour mini-concert.

I could definitely go on forever about flirting with Eli from across the stage the whole time, while the fans surrounding me watched with increasing awe and jealousy. I heard “Eli really DOES like American girls!!” from several people. I was in the 5th row in Nagoya and the 3rd row in Niigata.

But you don’t care about that. You only care about what happened when I actually met U-Kiss and got to speak with them.

The Meeting

Kevin was first in line to shake my hand, so I was able to speak with him the most. As I walked up, he gave me a big grin. The first thing he said was, “Oh my god, hi!!” like we were long lost friends. He was probably really interested in why this random foreign girl was at their fanmeet in Japan.

As we shook hands he asked, “Where are you from?” I told him I was from Toronto, which he thought was cool. Then I told him they should come to Toronto on one of their tours. He laughed and said “Maybe we will!” They’ve done tours in South America, why not North America? Then my time with Kevin was up, and I moved down the line.

For the second fanmeet in Niigata, Kevin saw me coming again and grinned and waved. As we shook hands he said, “Hi again!!” I laughed and told him, “I promise I’m not stalking you, I’m also here to visit a friend.” He laughed and said, “No, that’s great, thanks for coming again!”

Soohyun is not one of the English speakers in the group, so both times he just gave me a huge grin and laughed as he shook my hand, saying “Thank you, thank you!” The second time I saw him he was visibly more excited to see me again.

Kiseop, Hoon and Dongho are also not English speakers and they were a bit more reserved. They each smiled and thanked me for coming as we shook hands, but not much else.

A.J. was an interesting story. He used to be in a different group, Paran, and one of my best friends LOVED that group, until they broke up. A couple years ago, after U-Kiss had already been around for a while, two new members joined, one being A.J., the other being Hoon. You never know how fans will react when a new member joins an established group, but they were both embraced wholeheartedly.

At the first fanmeet, A.J. seemed aloof and reserved. It was only a couple days later that U-Kiss announced he was going on hiatus from the group temporarily to study at Columbia University. He shook my hand and said thank you quietly. I knew I had to deliver a message on behalf of my best friend, so I told him, “No, thank YOU! I’m so excited you joined U-Kiss, I’m a big fan of Paran!” He seemed taken aback at first and then he warmed up and smiled at me, saying “Oh wow! Thanks so much!” He squeezed our hands together tighter and gave a more vigorous handshake after that. For the second fanmeet, he was definitely happier to see me, and was smiling right from the beginning. I didn’t say anything else about Paran, but thanked me for coming out again.

And lastly, Eli. Oh, Eli. The tall one, the muscular one, the one who likes American girls. In the height of my U-Kiss fangirl craze I used to say, “I’ll be American for Eli.” He was last in line both times, which was most unfortunate. Since I had taken the time to actually speak with a couple of the members – fans were only supposed to get a handshake and move on – the line managers were anxious to keep the line moving as fast as possible. I only had a chance to gaze into his eyes, shake his hand and introduce myself. For some reason I really cared that he know the name of the crazy fangirl who had been flirting with him all afternoon. All he had time to do was grin at me, say hello, and then I was physically scuttled out of the line.

Then it was over. I was still reeling from my fangirl high and swore to never wash my U-Kiss-touched hand again. That lasted until I touched something sticky on the subway ride home.

So there you have it. A real life encounter with the members of U-Kiss, including actual touching and conversation. These moments will sustain the fangirl in me for many years to come.


Source: Not Exactly Social
Image Source: U-Kiss Fanpage photo gallery

This is my very first post, Omona! I hope you like it. And yes, I did flirt with Eli shamelessly. I regret nothing.

Comments

[jjang-intae.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on your first post (＾▽＾) All the boys sound absolutely lovely (｡♥‿♥｡)

[magenta-story.livejournal.com]

Thank you! They were all SO NICE. At the second fanmeet, Soohyun had come out on stage first, so he was the first one to see me again. He did a double take, then turned around to the others excitedly and pretty much went, "HEY, she's back!" Then they came by and waved and said hello from the stage.

It was fantastic.

[jjang-intae.livejournal.com]

That's so cute :3 Glad to know they were so nice to fans ^_^

[nandexdame.livejournal.com]

"I could definitely go on forever about flirting with Eli from across the stage the whole time, while the fans surrounding me watched with increasing awe and jealousy.

But you don’t care about that."

excuse me, have you forgotten where you are posting? yes we care about that, this isn't reuters!

[magenta-story.livejournal.com]

Haha, well, I originally wrote this for my blog, which I'm trying to keep a little bit lower on the fangirl scale. Maybe I'll do a separate post about it. And about how all the little fangirls next to me were absolutely DYING.

[nickle4apickle.livejournal.com]

YES! Please do! :D

[markthatcoin.livejournal.com]

"yes we care about that, this isn't reuters!"

LOL you made me laugh out loud for real

[lobotronic.livejournal.com]

hello friend :D I C U POSTING IN OMONA! naisu work

[magenta-story.livejournal.com]

oh hai! Fancy running into you here. ;)

[af-fx-tion.livejournal.com]

aw, Kevin seems so sweet (as always).

[magenta-story.livejournal.com]

It really seemed like Kevin had been waiting for me to show up in line so he could ask "What are you ever doing here??" Random white girl in Japan at a K-pop fanmeet. Yup.

[aleash1989.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the post! My first post was U-Kiss related too. It was about Eli and NS YoonG becoming hosts for Kpop Tasty Road.

I care about every detail and would eat it up! lol U-Kiss be my bbs. I want the dets please on you flirting with Eli even if I did say shut up when I first read that you flirted with him.

I've heard reports about just how absolutely kind U-Kiss is during fanmeets. No matter what anyone (mostly non-fans I would think) may say, I think the members are truly genuine with what they say. The time spent with fans at fanmeets shaking hands is brief, but U-kiss has such bonds with KISSMEs whether they meet irl or not.

Plus considering how Korea has reacted to them and how they weren’t very liked in the early days (things have slowly gotten better over the years), it's easy to see why the members love KISSME/fans so much. The members and NHM could have given up years ago. I don’t think anyone would have blamed them back then. However, NHM was able to see the immense love of international KISSMEs from all of the love calls they got to hold/be a part of events overseas. This is why all the members frequently say they love international KISSMEs so much. They know we are their backbone and they wouldn’t be where they are today if it weren’t for us. It is not just us they continue to do things for – all they do is for EVERY SINGLE KISSME AND FAN WORLDWIDE. I love that so much. Didn't U-Kiss at one point have the nickname of being the nicest idols? It's no wonder that they did.

(Hehe. My love for U-Kiss runs deep. Can you tell? lol)

[magenta-story.livejournal.com]

I agree with every word you wrote - they seem like the nicest, most genuine people ever. You can really believe they love their fans. Glad you enjoyed my write up! If there's enough interest I might write some more about my adventures!

[aleash1989.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh you should read my "Why I Love U-Kiss" entry for the Google+ Hangout contest. (When is that every going to happen, huh NHM?) 3000+ plus words like my above comment. lol I'm a writer. *shrug* What can I say? ^___^

You can bet there is going to be enough interest. We here at Omona love detailed fanaccounts.

[bunica1990.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the fan account. It was a joy to read.

[weerainbow.livejournal.com]

I don't read that many fan accounts but decided to check this one out and it was a lovely read! Thanks for sharing your extremely happy encounter with U-KISS, they sound like they couldn't have been nicer :)

[lainmyownworld.livejournal.com]

let me go cry into my pillow now


lol but eli is the shortest heheh

[magenta-story.livejournal.com]

They always talk about how Eli is one of the taller male k-pop idols, if only by 1 cm or so. I think only Soohyun is taller.

[lainmyownworld.livejournal.com]

is it as a joke? lol I'm pretty sure he is the shortest, not by much

[magenta-story.livejournal.com]

I think it's because there's usually only one or two members above 180cm in most male k-pop groups, and Eli is exactly 180.

[markthatcoin.livejournal.com]

Kevin sounds just as adorable irl as i imagined omg

so glad you had fun OP ^_^ great first post!!! you should add the tag for "celebrity encounter/fan report"

[magenta-story.livejournal.com]

Good advice, thanks! I forgot that tag existed.