Despite this, I remain extremely grateful that I was able to meet them and talk with them. :DDDDD
My account on the TVXQ/HoMin fansigning is copied from my facebook, so I'll talk about the JYJ fansigning first.
JYJ FANSIGNING... Well, JY FANSIGNING
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| Seat Assignment Box |
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| Olleh Square Stage |
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| Olleh Square Stage 02 |
The fansign was in Gwanghwamun in the Olleh Square Cafe center. They had an auditorium in the back and so I went to get my wristband. So, I went to one of the security guards (who was quite intimidating) and tentatively asked him where I was supposed to be for the fansign (There were about 5 different lines/groups of people... it was confusing). He then asked, "Wristband?" And I held up my ID and said, "ID?" Then, he said, "Oh, table." And I said, "Oh, thanks." LOL So, I got my wristband and drew a seat number out of a box. I was in the middle of the very last row.
So, anyway, we are all getting excited and everyone sat choosing which picture they wanted them to sign. And they brought out chairs with two rabbit pillows and a duck pillow. Junsu is associated with ducks, so that was obviously his chair.
So, Jaejoong and Yoochun come out and do a little introduction. They started out by saying, "Annyounghaseyo." Then Jaejoong, said, "J imnida (I am J)" and Yoochun said, "Y imnida (I am Y)." Yoochun then collapses against the table in laughter, because he realizes after they say it that that joke is really lame. Then, the fans are shouting, asking them "Where's Junsu?" Then, they said that Junsu couldn't be there, because he had a scheduling conflict with his musical. I retierate --> TT.TT
Honestly, if I had to pick one of them to get an autograph from, it would have been Junsu. And after they said that, the security staff took away the chair with the duck pillow on it and that action was 10x more devastating than them telling us that Junsu wasn't going to be there.
Anyway, THERE WERE TONS OF TELEVISION CREWS THERE. I was mortified, because I called in a sick day and ditched work so I could be there. In hindsight, I really over-reacted, but I was really worried at the time that I was going to end up on the news and my boss would see it and I really didn't want to get fired.
Anyway, I was part of the last group to get signed, so I had to wait a while. Every time a camera shot my way, I was careful to keep my face covered with my book. I'm actually in this clip, from 2:22-2:24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdSlRYN98w4. When the camera is shooting from the left and its filming the right side of the auditorium, I'm at the very top row, in the middle, in a blue coat, with a book over my face. LOL Now that I know what the footage was used for, I wish that I didn't hide my face, but oh well. Better safe than sorry.
So, I went up to Yoochun first. Like the HoMin fansigning, I was planning on speaking Japanese to Jaejoong and I would at least try English with Yoochun (he lived in the states for a few years and he's kept up with his English somewhat). I wanted them to sign my name as "Sarah Noelle" so it matched my HoMin autographs.
YOOCHUN
Although, I was expecting Yoochun to talk to me in English, I was shocked by how good his English actually was. As soon as he saw me, he softly said, "Hey." And I kinda tilted my head in surprise and said, "Hey" back. Then, he extended his hand and said, "It's nice to meet you." I shook his hand and said, "It's nice to meet you." Then, I opened up my book for him and he wrote "to" and then he asked me, "So, can I ask your name?" I was absolutely shocked by the formality. So, I said, "Sure. It's Sarah" and I spelled my name. Then I said, "New word. Capital" then I realized that he might know what capital means, so I corrected my self and said, "Big N." Then he looked up at me in confusion and repeated, "Capital big n?" LOL
Then, I repeated, "Yeah, big N" and mimed the writing. Then, I finished spelling Noelle for him. After that minor hiccup, he asked me where I was from and I told him "America. I'm from Louisiana, right next to Texas." Koreans generally know where Texas is, but not really Louisiana. Anyway, then (while he signed his name) I rambled (quickly) telling him that I am a teacher in Korea, and I went to their Seoul concert in November and how much I loved it, and that it was my first concert in Korea, and that I will support them. He nodded and smiled at me and might have said something acknowledging. Then, we bowed to each other and a security guard clamped his hand on my arm and pulled me away.
JAEJOONG
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| Picture of ME with Jaejoong that one of my friends found on a fan site-- SCORE! This picture was taken when I was spelling my name and I absolutely had no idea that there was guy with a video camera right next to me filming our ridiculous encounter! |
Jaejoong was done with the fan ahead me before I was done with Yoochun. So, he had a little while to think of some English, but by the time I got to him, his expression was still a deer in headlights. So, I gave him my book and we both said, "Annyounghaseyo." Then, he got right down to signing his name and then he asked me for my name in Korean. OMG, spelling it for Yoochun was a piece of cake compared to spelling my name for Jaejoong. Spelling my name was pretty much our entire encounter. So, I spelled my name for him and he carefully and diligently wrote each letter. When he finished writing Sarah and I then said, "New word, n" and he looked up at me with an interesting mixture of shock, horror, and chagrin in his eyes. So, then I spelled "Noelle" for him and with each letter we were both laughing, because he was running out of room and he wrote my name so crookedly. But to be fair, I didn't have a post-it note to write my name on like at the HoMin fansigning (from now on, when I go to fansignings, I will make sure to have a post-it note) so he didn't know what my name looked like or how long it was. After he finished, he breathed a sigh of relief that that was over. LOL I'm sure I wasn't remembered as the white girl, but as the girl with the ridiculously long name. So, he handed the book back to me and I thanked him profusely. And he both said, "Annyounghaseyo." And I chuckled all the way back to my seat. I'm really sad that I didn't get to tell him anything-- I gave him a fan letter which said everything I wanted to say, but still... it wasn't best impression. ^^""
TVXQ/HoMin FANSIGNING
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| Album Cover |
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| Inside Album: Photobook Cover + CD |
So, the fansign was held at an art center in Ideogwon, way south on Line 4 and a flippin' mission away from the subway station. I'm so happy that there were other fansign winners on the subway with me or I would have never found the place. I met two Chinese girls who are here studying business at one of the the colleges and they helped me out. TVXQ fans FTW. It was really confusing, because there are several buildings that comprise this art center, which would have been fine if they weren't on opposite sides of the highway intersection. >.<
I was the only white person there and the only English speaker. Which is awesome, because I don't have to try hard to be memorable. I'm sure that at the end of the day, they'll remember, "There was a white girl at our fansign."
While I have to compete against more fans here in Korea, I stand out because I'm not Asian.
As a note, I was not the only foreign fan-- there were several Chinese and Japanese women there who didn't live in Korea. It was a shame that no fanboys were at the fansign.
They walked out and major cheers. Changmin wore a knitted hat, with two pom poms that hung down to his waist. Yunho work a plaid scarf and a long sleeve shirt. Yunho spoke first, then Changmin. While they were sitting down, getting situated, the hall was really quiet. And of course, I coughed-- a deep chest cough (I was sick). Changmin was looking around at the crowd and when I coughed, he turned, looked directly at me, and we made eye contact. YAY~! I was three rows away from them, had an aisle seat, and I was in line with the middle of their table. So, I was very visible (in my opinion). They're used to looking out into a sea of faces, so I might not have been as visible as I hope I was.
The fans were lined up for Changmin to sign first and then Yunho.
CHANGMIN
When it was my turn, I greeted him in Korean and he responded. I was so nervous, I forgot to open up the book, so he looked at me and mimed signing the cover and he might have said, "Yogi (Here)?" And I said, "Ani, Ani (No, no [a little impolitely ^^"])" and I quickly opened the book to the right page. He then diligently copied my name from the purple post it note that we were given. I decided that I wanted them to sign my name as "Sarah Noelle."
Anyway, when I first walked up, he stared at me kinda blankly, so I thought to mysellf, "Fuck, if I don't start talking this is going to be over before it started." So, my mind went into "Japanese mode" and I started talking to him in Japanese.
I totally wish I had MADE him speak English. Because, I know that he can (a little) and his English is really pretty. But, my nerves kicked in and I completely focused on communicating, which may have been better. Oh, well.
Anyway, I started with "O genki desu ka (How are you?)" I'm sure all he heard was Japanese and it didn't compute because he was in the middle of writing my name and I'm sure he didn't expect to hear Japanese from me. He looked up for a second, and said, "Hmm?" I repeated the question, and he nodded several times while saying, "Ah, ah, ah. Genki desu!" Then, he finished my name and asked me in Japanese "Where are you from?" I told him America, but that I was living in Korea as an English teacher. Then he said, "Ah, hontou~ (Ah, reaLLY.)" Then, I replied, that I taught in Songpa-gu, Jangji-dong, and he made a surprised sound (because that's where he lives-- in Songpa-gu, not Jangji-dong) and finished signing my name.
I handed him (the bodyguard) my gift (red ginseng candy, a mixed cd, and a fan letter written in English) and he thanked me for coming. I replied with "Annyounghaseyo," then we bowed to each other and I was directed to Yunho's line.
YUNHO
Yunho's line was really long, because he's a chatterbox. He talks to every single fan and makes a lot of eye contact. An awesome thing about Yunho is that if you ever meet him, he remembers you. He has an amazing memory. =)
Changmin, on the other hand, is very efficient in his signing. There were about nine girls ahead of me, waiting for Yunho to sign their book.
When it was my turn, we greeted each other in Korean. Then, I reverted back to Japanese, asking him how he was. He said "genki desu ne" and he looked at my post it note with my name on it, looked at me, and said "Sarah..." then I pronounced Noelle for him and he repeated my name. Then all the sudden, in English, he asked me "Do you know Korean?" I replied "Chogeum" ("a little") and he made an impressed sound "Oh!/Woah!" I then qualified my previous statement with "Sincha chogeum, sincha sincha chogeum. (Very little. Very, very little)" He chuckled and asked me (in English) if I liked Korea. I told him that I love Korea~ "Korea Saranghae." He chuckled again and told me "Thank you" in English. Because of that answer, he gave me two hearts in his signature~~! I again gave him (the bodyguard) my gift (same as Changmin, but with 2 mixed cds). He then handed my book back to me and said in English, "I hope you have a good day." I think I said, "You too. Annyonghaseyo." And we both bowed/nodded to each other. And then I sat down.
At the end of the fansign, Changmin was finished and looked over at Yunho's line of 7-8 girls, slightly amused and exasperated, because I'm sure he has to wait for Yunho a lot. LOL He then decided to finished drinking his water, which caused fangirl screams to erupt from all of us sitting and watching him. Changmin can work a crowd. Yunho works to get a crowd together, but Changmin easily manipulates them. It's quite amusing. One of the fangirls would scream "You're handsome" "You're popular" "You're cool/cute" etc. He would just nod and occasionally put a finger over his lips and as if to say "That's a secret." He then would drink the bottle of water, put the cap back on, take the cap back off, and repeat. He was also wearing a knitted hat with two long pom poms down the side-- so he would play with the pom poms while waiting for Yunho. It was super cute. I am in awe of Changmin.
"Wae" came on at the end of the fansigning and we were all gettting geared up to sing along and do the fan chants to the song. But, Yunho finished before the song really got started, so they cut the music after the intro. We all went, "Awwwwwwwwww." Then Yunho said something along the lines of, "Oh, why did they cut the music? I like that song." LOL ^o^ Then Yunho spoke (I think he apologized for their poor conditions-- they're sick, poor bbs), then Changmin spoke. Changmin spoke really softly in that deep voice of his. I was mesmerized. I don't think I breathed. They made a lot of direct eye contact with me during their closing speeches. SQUEE! Then they left.
I'm super bummed that I couldn't take any vids or pics of the fansign. It was a closed fansigning and they were super strict about photography. If they caught you with a cellphone or camera, they would take your phone/camera, search it for pics, and erase them if you took any of the fansigning.
Minor note/revelation: Through this account, I've realized that I am continuing to live my life with code-switching. Two interactions, three languages. At this rate, I'm becoming a Jack of All Languages, but a Master of One. WAE~~~!
TOTALLY FORGOT to tell them to take care of their health and I forgot to tell Yunho that I saw him at the Evisu signing & Goong musical. When I met them, so many things were rushing through my head, so it was hard to say everything I had planned to say.
But, I have no regrets. I am so happy that I was able to meet them and talk to them in person. I also gave them fan letters that said everything that I want to say to them, so it's okay that I was probably in their presence for less than two minutes.
Being an international fan kind of sucks, but being a fan in Korea rocks! I am so euphoric right now. I never in a million years thought that I would be able to meet them and talk to them face to face. And now that I have, I want to meet them again and again!
This is why I am only a Cassie. It takes too much energy and stress to be a dai-fan. DBSK (TVXQ + JYJ) may be the only group(s) in my life that I become a hardcore fan of. I do support other groups, but I am a FAN of DBSK.
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