Coco and Vivi at KCON 2013: A Whirlwind Recap

It's been a week since we got back from KCON, and we've finally settled enough to start posting some of our experiences.  Brace yourselves for an extremely long post containing an absurd amount of photos...

I wasn't even planning on going to KCON because I like to pretend that I'm a responsible adult and can't just drop everything to go to Korean conventions in other states, but when I woke up on Friday and realized I had no plans for the weekend, my husband and I decided to just get in the car and road trip it at the last minute.  I'm so glad I did! KCON was an absolute blast.  Here are some highlights:


The line to get into KCON was enormous, and unfortunately Viki's panel featuring Sean Richard Dulake and the ladies from Dramabeans was one of the very first panels of the day, so we only caught the tail end of it.

Fortunately, we were able to talk to Javabeans and Girl Friday after the panel, and they graciously agreed to play a round of Kdrama "Would You Rather" for the camera.

So yes, they're just as delightful and hilarious in person as they are on Dramabeans.  Seeing them in real life also made me feel a bit starstruck because I'm pretty sure that anyone who has every watched a Korean drama has also read something on Dramabeans. The only other time I ever met anyone remotely famous was on a plane to Albuquerque when I swear Robert Redford walked past me to use the lavatory. This experience definitely tops that one, though I suppose I could work on building a stronger celebrity-o-meter.

Javabeans and Girlfriday weren't the only ones we interviewed.  We also really enjoyed getting to know the many kdrama fans at the convention a little bit better.  Here was the first of our questions:

We got a lot of great responses, including some from Soompi, Viki, and 24-7 Kpop.  I love how some of these people didn't even bat an eyelash before deciding on their villainous alter-egos.

This was just the first of our questions.  We will have more of these fan question videos coming up in the next few days!

In the afternoon, we tried the "Anyone Can Cook Korean Food!" workshop, which should have been titled "If a chef prepares everything in advance, I'm sure you morons can figure out how to stir it all together, right?  Right?"  We successfully manged to put sauce into our bowls for some delicious bibimbap.

Okay, so I cheated and didn't place everything into a beautiful pile before I started eating.
Apparently, even stirring a bowl of stuff is beyond my capabilities.

Bibigo, the company who ran the workshop, gave everyone free Psy masks in honor of their most famous sponsor.
They also gave everyone free nightmares.

Of course, we also wandered over to the dance workshop, where everyone was learning sweet moves in preparation for the big concert.  It took us about four minutes before we realized we really didn't belong.

What the dancing should look like.  Notice how everyone is moving at the same time! So fun!

What our dancing actually looked like. I have no idea what either one of us is trying to do, but I feel pretty confident that none of it appears in EXO's music video.

What I really enjoyed about KCON was that there was always something going on at any given moment.  Coco and I (and Coco's mom, who was the biggest Kpop fan out of the whole bunch) just ran around looking at everything.

There was a center stage that constantly featured performers or competitions.

And, of course, plenty of Kpop cosplay to observe.

But seriously,how adorable are these two girls dressed as Crayon Pop?

Most importantly, there were about a million food trucks serving delicious food.

Coco tried these amazing bulgogi buns.  I went more traditional with a burger, which was great until I discovered that every single port-a-potty was out of toilet paper.  NOT an ideal situation to face after eating food truck burgers....I'll say no more.

The other great thing about conventions is that they give you all kinds of random free stuff with your food:

I was so excited about this Kim Soo Hyun poster!  Is he too young for me? YES! Do I have anywhere where I could reasonably hang a poster of a young Korean actor without being creepy? NO! But it was free, and that alone makes me happy.

Sadly, because my KCON trip was pretty impromptu, I wasn't able to stay for the concert on Sunday night.  Fortunately, Coco was able to attend, and she took some pictures to rub it into my face (and---by extension--everyone else's faces who didn't get to go.  Let's all moan about our misfortune together, okay?)

So excited for the concert to start! Who wouldn't be excited with a hot pink glow wand?

F(x)

EXO playing.  Look at that crowd!  So many Kpop fans, all in one place!  The energy at the whole convention was pretty amazing.

I'm definitely sold on attending KCON next year.  Stay tuned for some more KCON fan videos, as well as Coco's stab at KCON speed dating!

And the Winners Are...

Remember back in February when we held votes for our K-drama music awards ? And then I closed the polls but never announced the winners? Well, your agonized waiting for results is finally over! Unless, of course, you just clicked on the "view results" button a month ago, in which case you ruined the surprise. For shame!
You know how the Oscars come around and all kinds of pop culture gossip websites live blog the results for those chumps who aren't watching? (And yes, I'm one of those chumps who prefers to read the live blogs rather than watch the actual awards show).  In my imagination, this is how a live blog of  our k-drama music awards ceremony would go:

6:15-- The red carpet is awash with Korean celebrities supporting the music of their favorite dramas.  There was a rumor that Lee Min Ho might arrive to support the nominees from Faith and Boys over Flowers, but thus far, he's a no-show.  The fashion is ranging from adorable to downright crazy, though we're glad to see that Taecyeon left his accordion headband at home.  Good move, buddy!

The Dream High cast walking the red carpet.
Bow tie = 10,000,000 times better than accordion headband.
Image source

6:45--Right at the end of the red carpet, Kim Jeong-hoon shows up with Mae Whitman as his surprise date.  A befuddled reporter confuses Whitman for her man and speaks to her in Korean.  AWK-WARD!

7:30--With the stars all in their seats, it's time for the announcement of the first award of the evening.  We begin with the minor category of "Best Cover of 'Tell Me Your Wish.'"

And the winner is . . .

DREAM HIGH in a landslide!

With nominations in several other categories, the Dream High cast was the heavy favorite here.  In tribute to the You Are Beautiful Cast, Taecyeon, Wooyoung, and Kim Soo-hyun don wigs during the acceptance speech.  Everyone laughs heartily.

7:50--With the special awards out of the way, it's time for the serious business to begin.  First up is "Best Second Male Lead Theme."   Kim Jeong-hoon and Kim Hyun-joong are both sporting white suits in honor of their nominated characters. Fortunately, they decided against swoopy tan hair today.  Prior to the award's announcement, Jaejoong performs his theme from Protect the Boss.  No Min-woo juggles knives and pets adorable puppies in the background, making us wonder why the rest of these lame, mopey characters are even nominated.

Seriously, though.  The man has a magical dagger.
Most awesome second male lead ever.

And the winner is . . .

KIM HYUN-JOON and "STRANGER SUN"!

The audience mostly applauds, but some stoically glare at the stage.  This is the anticipated protest over the controversial choice to nominate "Stranger Sun" over "Because I'm Stupid" in this category.

8:15--In a shocking announcement, there is an unprecedented TIE in the category of "Best Ballad"!  Since "Carry On" from Faith and "Someday" from Dream High received an equal number of votes, the winner of the award is determined by a clap-o-meter a-la Saved By the Bell. IU has a solid response, but when the Faith theme song comes on, Lee Min Ho appears on stage unexpectedly, and the theater erupts!  Sorry, IU.  Maybe someone will give you a consolation kitten.

8:34--The announcers begin to announce a second tie in the category of "Worst Song to Get Stuck in your Head."  Upon beginning to play the two winning songs ("Lovin' Ice Cream" and "Never Say Goodbye") for the clap-o-meter, the audience quickly becomes unruly. There is a stampede for the door!  Children are curled in the fetal position, sobbing uncontrollably!  People are hurling anything and everything at the stage in the effort to just.make.it.stop!  This may just signal the end of the awards ceremony...

This is the exact face I make when I hear these songs.

9:01--Pandemonium ensues until Kim Hyun-joong spontaneously hops onto the stage and pretends to pensively play the violin in his white suit.  At the unexpected Ji-hoo re-enactment, 80% of the females in the crowd immediately faint, thereby putting an end to the chaos.  Once they recover, the show is able to continue.

9:10--Time for the final announcement of the night, and the song we've all been waiting for: "Best Upbeat Song."  You can hear a pin drop as everyone holds their breath in anticipation.

And the winner of the k-drama music award for "Best Upbeat Song" is . . .

"DREAM HIGH" from Dream High!

Well, this settles it!  Dream High is basically the k-pop version of Lord of the Rings in its ability to sweep (or tie) all categories for which it was nominated.  Wait, what's this?  Random members of the audience are standing in the aisles and doing this dance? At first the other attendees appear confused, but it's only a matter of time before they all join in!  That's right, folks!  Lee Min Ho, IU, and Yoon Eun-hye are all dancing side by side in what has become the best flash mob in all of history!

                                                          Why yes, I was able to find a video of Lee Min Ho dancing.  

                                                                               The internet is a magical place.

(Cut to commercial. And then exit my imagination back into sad reality.)

Do you agree with the winners?