🏴‍☠️🖤✨ Omona Original: Attending Day 2 of the ATEEZ Concert in Seoul ✨🖤🏴‍☠️

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

I'm aaaallll the way in the back!

On January 8, 2022 I traveled to Seoul, South Korea to see ATEEZ live for the second day of their three-day concert, 'The Fellowship: Beginning of the End'. If you're interested in finding out what it was like attending a concert in Korea during the pandemic, read on!

1. Checking In and COVID Protocols
First things first, when I arrived at the venue I had to be sure to check in according to the COVID protocols that were in place. There was a mask mandate and all attendees had to be fully vaccinated (two weeks after the second dose) or show a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours. In Korea, we use a digital verification app called COOV as our proof of vaccination, so I opened the app to show my vaccination status. We also had to get our temperatures checked when we checked in and when we entered the venue. There was also plenty of hand sanitizer to go around. We also had to social distance outside and my group of four people was constantly yelled at to separate (even though attendees were all sitting in groups of four in the venue, but whatever).


My Lightiny (official light stick), castanets, and ticket!

After checking in and making sure we were all clear with the COVID protocols, we were given our ticket on a card that had all of our information on it. We scanned this card to enter the venue. They also gave everyone a hot pack! And most importantly: we were given engraved castanets to use to clap because we weren’t allowed to cheer or sing. There were enough castanets for every attendee, so if you attended multiple days of the concert you got more than one set of castanets!

Unfortunately there was not a merchandise booth because they did not want to cause a large gathering outside of the venue. Some fans were giving away freebies or selling slogans at some of the cafes across the street from the venue.

If you’re interested in seeing the full list of COVID protocols, they’re still available on the concert ticketing page on Yes24. (Click here!)

✨

2. Make Some Noise...with the Castanets!

Cheering and singing were strictly prohibited, though there were some moments where the crowd gasped or laughed along with the members. Instead of cheering, we were allowed to clap our hands or use our castanets. There were a few songs where there was a “fan chant” using the castanet, but (on my day of the concert at least) most fans just clapped the castanets along with the beat. We also clapped to answer questions the members asked us, clapped when we were excited, clapped when someone did something funny or cool...there was a lot of clapping that night.

It was a lot of fun to use the castanets! And holding my lightstick in one hand and the castanets in the other was nice because it kept my hands busy because...

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3. The Concert Staff was Aggressively Going After Fans Who Were Filming or Taking Pictures

My view! I was all the way in the back in the last row against the wall. Also, I had to sneakily take this picture so I wouldn't get kicked out.

Watching the staff go after people filming/taking pictures may have been the most obnoxious concert experience I’ve had. There was a presentation in Korean and English telling fans not to take pictures or record in order to “protect the artists’ portrait rights” and that we’d have to delete our pictures and be escorted out if we were caught. Nobody cared, me included, and we all tried to film anyway. (As far as I know this has been a policy at concert in Korea for years, as one of my friends who lived in Korea around 6-7 years ago said the same thing happened when she went to a SHINee concert.)

I tried to film the opening when the members came on stage but immediately realized I was being watched, so I stopped for a few minutes. The girl sitting next to me was filming too and as soon as I noticed a staff member come toward us I elbowed her so she’d put her phone away. For the next hour or so the staff watched us very carefully and even came to stand next to our seats, but we were in the back up against a corner of the wall so it would’ve been hard for them to get to us.

As the staff did our rounds we were able to take our phones out here and there, but I personally barely got any usable footage. I had to scour Twitter after the concert for clips of what I couldn’t record.

The word on K-ATINY Twitter was that the staff was being paid 30,000 to 50,000 won PER PERSON that they caught. Staff were practically running around the venue and working together to point out fans. They were also using phones to keep track of the sections they saw people filming in, and one of my friends said they were on Twitter to see what angles clips were being posted from. I saw five people being escorted out, including one fan pretty much begging for her life and still getting kicked out anyway. One of my friends went the first day and the staff made her delete all of her pictures, but they forgot about the recovery/backup folder so she was able to keep all of her pictures after all.

Personally, as someone who is used to filming as much as I want to at the kpop concerts in the US, I was really annoyed by this and I don’t plan on going to any other concerts here because of it.

✨

4. Now for the Fun Stuff: The Concert Itself
San was hinting at the setlist being intense prior to the concert and he was not lying. They opened the concert with Wonderland, Pirate King, Say My Name, Treasure and Precious. The setlist was so much fun to watch but I can’t imagine how exhausting it was to perform!

The concert was intense, high energy, and theatrical in the best way. I watch their performances all the time online but I was still blown away by the energy and how hard they hit the choreography. And they maintained that energy throughout the entire show. Their choreo is really intense and they performed a lot of hard hitting songs but I didn’t see any of them falter or show that they were tired. Their energy kept me energized and on the edge of my seat throughout the entire show.

They also did sing live! There was a backing track at some points, but they’re so loud when they sing I could clearly tell that most of it was live. Jongho sounded absolutely phenomenal and I loved hearing him live. They all sounded very good and I was very impressed. The show ran for exactly three hours from start to finish.


The entire setlist (without all the ments, VCRS and outfit changes marked, sorry):
1. Wonderland (Symphony No.9 “From the Wonderland”) ✨
2. Pirate King (Overload Mix)
3. Say My Name ✨
4. Treasure
5. Precious

6. Utopia
7. Better
8. Still Here
9. Wave

10. Inception (SMA Remix)
11. Deja Vu
12. Take Me Home ✨

13. Desire
14. HALA HALA ✨
15. Answer
16. Declaration Intro - Fireworks ✨

17. Good Lil Boy - The Leaders - To The Beat ✨
18. Thanxx

19. Rocky
20. SBS Gayo Intro - The Real ✨

23. Star 1117 ✨
24. Turbulence

My personal favorite performances are marked with the ✨ emoji because I think my opinion is that important.

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5. My Personal Feelings as an ATINY, if You Care

ATEEZ is known for their dancing and their acting during their performances and I really loved seeing it firsthand. From start to finish they gave 500% for every performance. It was so exciting to see each of the members focused and in the zone in their own way while they performed. Individually the members are honestly just so cool and talented on their own, but together as eight they’re totally a force to be reckoned with. I’m kind of glad my seat was wayyy in the back because I’m not sure I could’ve handled seeing them up close for my first time lol.

I was really happy with the setlist overall and I think the way they set up the setlist was perfect. Selfishly I wanted to hear Mist because it’s my all-time favorite ATEEZ song so I hope they’ll perform it again in the future! Also, there was a funny part during a ment where San was singing Take Me Home so Yunho could dance and his voice cracked a little and he begged us to give him one more chance and then he killed it! I was also really impressed with Seonghwa’s singing!

I want to give a shout-out to the stylists because they did an amazing job of styling the members. I felt like the outfits really fit the members’ personalities and what they were comfortable with wearing. They also suited the performances and the songs perfectly. I really loved all of the outfits but my personal favorite outfits were the white and cream ones!

I am just so happy and thankful that I was finally able to see them live and in Seoul no less. I have less than pleasant feelings for the concert staff and the no filming rule but even that annoyance could take away from the absolute joy I felt watching them perform live. I hope next time I have closer seats so I can see them up close. Seeing ATEEZ live was everything I dreamed it would be and so much more.

I know I didn’t write a lot about the COVID protocols and all that (which is probably what most of you clicked this post for, lol) so if you have any questions about anything please let me know!



Thanks for reading! ❤️


Source: ATEEZofficial on Twitter (header pic) / all other photos are my own personal photos

Comments

[996677.livejournal.com]

idk anything about ateez but what an interesting write-up op, thank you! the castanets sound very novel and fun to me, how cool :DD

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

Not a fan either but I love reading about concerts anyway so tysm OP!!

Wrt filming usually it's chill in the UK but for GOT7's London concert staff were literally like hawks during that, no idea why because at the other Europe stops they dgaf but they basically gave up during the encore anyway. It's annoying but sometimes I get the feeling some groups don't like it either, there have been concerts where the members were asking us all to put our phones down and seemed to be a bit annoyed, maybe they wanna see people's faces? I'm always in 2 minds bc I have a shit memory so taking vids is nice so I can watch them again but then I hardly do so maybe I should enjoy the moment more lol.

The castanets were a super cute touch~

[lolknope.livejournal.com]

I only listen to like 3 songs but I find them so funny and watch their jessi interview often lol they are so funny!

I’m so happy you made this post and that you had a good time. Your nails are so cool lol.

I didn’t have any issues filming when I saw day6 but that was here in the US and nobody cared lol

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

idt you meant to reply to me? but day6 was one of the groups that kept on telling us to put our phones away looool. young k was right in front of me and bc i was like 2nd row it felt like he was staring into my soul like this D:< xD

[lolknope.livejournal.com]

Oh god no I’m sorry 🤣 this was supposed to be it’s own comment!

OMG we made brief eye contact at my concert and I felt my heart fall out of my ass. I’ve never felt so stunned in my life lol. He walked passed my row and he’s so beautiful and his eyes are so dark I was dyin lol

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

loool meanwhile I'm scared to death staring back at him and slowly putting my phone away o_o

[sweetestbliss1.livejournal.com]

They also told us to put our phones away at the day6 concert I went to, but were more like "enjoy the concert and don't focus so much on recording"

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

Tbf that's prob what they said to us too but yonk seemingly staring at me was too much lmfao

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

their interview w jessi is so good, i might rewatch it today now that you’ve mentioned it

yeah all the kpop concerts i’ve been to in the states said the same thing abt filming but the venue staff never cared

[belintuchiha.livejournal.com]

Ahhh so much fun! I am jealous but also very happy for you.

[rose-potion.livejournal.com]

Oooooh I love this! Happy for you! K-pop groups in general seem to be a lot of fun! Hopefully this year will be the year I see a group live (doesn't seem like it though but *touch wood)* lol

Personally I wish there was a non filming rule like in Japan (is it Japan, I don't remember) everywhere.
Now concerts are just filled with people's arms up in the air and their smartphone glued to their hands. I understand wanting to keep memories but I don't buy an expensive ticket to not see anything but little screens. If you want to see something you need to have barricade seat or 100 rows which is not easy!
But I'm old and grumpy and I have little patience for this kind of behaviour.

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

I’m more of a strategic filmer. I like seeing what the setlist is beforehand so I can plan which parts of the song/choreo I want to keep as a memory and then for the rest of the time I’m enjoying the concert. It does get really annoying trying to see anything when you’re in a floor seat, I agree! I usually wear platform shoes to concerts because of that 😂

[sweetestbliss1.livejournal.com]

I do this too. I just film my fav songs

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

op thanks so much for sharing. i don't follow ateez at all but i have a soft spot for jongho ever since kingdom. the castanets feel very ateez! wasnt it difficult to not make any sound?

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

It was so difficult 😭 my arms got such a workout because I channeled all my wanting-to-scream energy into waving my light stick and clapping the castanets lmao

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

wait. why couldn't you clap/sing/cheer? Especially as fans were wearing masks...
I'm confused.
I mean, it's nice you got a nice piece of merchandise (the castanet) but it seems interesting.

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

we could clap but we just couldn’t use our mouths for anything other than breathing, lmao. korea has really strict covid rules

[chiives.livejournal.com]

your nails are lovely op!

i get why they don't allow pictures, it's really obnoxious to be in a concert and see all these people on their phones recording instead of actually watching-watching the concert. AT THE SAME TIME, i'd find it annoying as a fan if i wasn't allowed to record anything. soooo lol.

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

like I said in another comment I totally get the annoyance and I’m more of a strategic filmer so I like to plan what I’ll film so I can enjoy the rest of the concert fully while still being happy that I got my videos to watch later! like I paid 121,000 won for my ticket and I can’t take a couple pictures? so annoying

[yuujinchous.livejournal.com]

i don't stan ateez either but thank you for this lovely write-up, op! very interesting. i've always wondered what it's like to attend a concert or fanmeeting in seoul. op, do you mind me asking: do you speak korean, fluently? what's communication like with staff and getting around there if you don't speak korean? i always wonder because it's a concert in korea after all so the venue/artist staff has technically no obligation to communicate with you in english but maybe they do it automatically when they recognize someone as a ~foreigner? idk

and sorry to hear that filming was such a hassle! kpop concerts are pretty lax with filming here in europe i'm pretty sure, at least i don't think i've ever seen someone get thrown out for filming at any of the got7 concerts i've been to :o i mean professional cameras are banned but everyone's filming with their phones! personally my strategy for filming without missing any of the important is that i check the setlist first on twt and then i usually go to 2 stops per concert tour so at the first concert i film whatever performance i want to keep and at the second concert i don't film any performance unless it's a song/performance i really really love and the rest i just enjoy with my own two eyes. however, i always do film their talking sequences heheheh they're the best

also that looks like such a cute cozy venue lmao :')

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

I don’t speak Korean fluently but I speak it well enough to get around on my own and handle what I need to. I also don’t live in Seoul (quite far from it and in a much smaller city, actually) so I’m used to people not speaking English to me even though I’m visibly foreign (not that I expect them to!). Some of the staff spoke a little bit of English to me when they saw me but it was just to tell me they needed to see my ID or my vaccine certificate.

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

Yesss you did it OP! I remember you talking about this post. It looks great!

I'm really happy about the COVID-19 protocols and I wish we had that here in the U.S. 😭 K-pop groups keep having members test positive for COVID-19 after they come here, so I'm worried for the groups and fans that have shows scheduled in the next couple of months here.

I don't think I've ever seen the ATEEZ light stick. It's really pretty.

The filming thing must have been annoying. Honestly I don't really take that many photos or videos at concerts, because whenever I do I always look at them afterward and think "this does not accurately capture my memory of that night!" (that probably says more about my photography skills than anything else)

[namikaze-jkc.livejournal.com]

It looked like so much fun! I'm glad you got to see them live! It must've been frustrating though trying to keep the cheers and screams in >

[sweetestbliss1.livejournal.com]

The only concert I've been to where staff were really strict about filming was a SHINee concert in Toronto. I had to sneak to film a little bit.

[mizukigirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks for writing this post OP! I'm going to their concert in Newark so it will be interesting to see the difference in COVID procedures between the U.S. and Korea. The Newark venue is so far saying that everyone above 5 years old needs to be vaccinated and the vaccinated don't need to wear masks. SMH

I would have been annoyed at not being able to take any photos and videos of the concert. I typically only take short clips of my fave songs, but then put my phone down so I can watch it. I hate it when my view is blocked by other people filming the entire concert. :(

I cannot wait to see HALA HALA live! It was the song that made me interested in them

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

With the way omicron is running rampant in the US you'd think venues would do the bare minimum and require masks...whew it'll be a miracle of ATEEZ can complete their tour at all.

Same here. I usually just film my favorite parts of songs (I definitely plan ahead) and then I enjoy the rest of the song.

HALA HALA was amaaazing live. I was most looking forward to seeing that and Say My Name because those are the two songs that got me interested in them. You're gonna love it! I'd love to hear what you thought of the concert after you see them. 😁

[mizukigirl.livejournal.com]

It really will be a miracle after how BTS and another girl group got COVID after doing their tours here.

I'll message you about my concert experience! :) I'm more of a casual fan who listens to their music, but doesn't check out all their content.

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

Lol I came back to this post bc now atiny and army are fighting over castanets