Unfortunately, we weren’t. So we would like to hear how the CJ Korea Big 4 concert was with Lee Hyori, Epik High, Seeya and SG Wannabe. Was Hyori’s “Cats” performance any good? Did Seeya wear their signature puffy dress and tight pastel top outfit? Did you cry after listening to SG Wannabe’s flawless performance? What random thing did Tablo from Epik High say to throw you off? What else was happening at the concert?
We are all dying to know so feel free to share your experience with the rest of us! You can also send us pictures at tips@popseoul.com.
Here are some pics from the NY concert that we managed to find…
*The 2nd leg of the Big 4 will be held in Las Vegas on August 11th.
It was a blast!
Managed to Tablo, Jinho, and Hyori’s sigs.
Couldn’t get any from SeeYa. =(
Honestly I don’t think Koreans want to market themselves outside of Korea…and if they do its more for merit and pride of the country. I say this as someone completely frustrated with trying to get anything Korean. I went to go buy the tickets but the people either:
1. Honestly didn’t know what I was talking about.
2. Honestly couldn’t understand my English
3. Didn’t pay me any attention because I am not Korean.
Like I drove around 3hrs just to look for Hanareum and buy some tickets but alas…didn’t get them. Trust and believe I was pissed.
And it get real annoying how some people will look at you retarded if you know anything about Korea at all. Like honestly everyone from the Ajoshi to Ajuma…all give a 0_0 OH YOU KNOW KOOREAN!!!
WTF. I live on the planet earth. It should insult you that people don’t know anything about Korea or Korean culture. Not be shocked that anyone has a clue about Korea..truly backwards…
Anyway hope all the people that got to go had fun. Send some pics.
Oh I’m so pissed off I couldn’t go. My friends all had work >_< so I didn’t wanna go alone. Hope there are some pics!
hyori looks like she lost a lot of weight compared to what she looked like at park kyung lim’s wedding. how long was the time period?
hyori is so cute~!! >”< she did lost some weight but i think she looks awesome
wonder wat work out routine she did to get those legs lol
I keep getting more and more excited for seeing the Las Vegas concert. I don’t know if I can take pictures though because the Ticketmaster ticket specifically says “NO CAMERAS” and I don’t want to not be able to get into the concert if they find that I have a camera with me.
Yummy Hyori Lee unnie.
are those shots of the concert?
its looks like it was at a high school or something… ><
Hyori is a skank.
what the hell?
that venue looks like shit.
what’s up with the cheap catering chairs?
it looks like Korean singers doing concerts
here didn’t improve much from the last
time i saw Ref and Solid at QC.
you up there who had trouble finding tickets.
you must be an idiot.
hanahreum, on 32nd? on union. on northern?
google maps, perhaps?
The Hollywood Bowl in LA last May looked more fun…
aha I completely forgot about this concert… although I wasn’t too excited about it in the first place.
re: jen,
aren’t a lot of places in the US like that?
they have a main floor level that has the stackable seats or whatever and then the actual nice movie-theater-type seats on the sides and back.
Re: Se7enFan
I heard from someone who called the NY office that the person that talked to him/her did not hesitate to make it clear that the concert was intended for a Korean audience. Hm…
Triple 6:
I wouldnt be surprised. I hope the Korean audience got what they paid for.
Se7enFan…
I’m really sorry this happened. what a shiet way to end a 3 hour trip. That’s the problem with the insular korean community in nyc. also, the ajumas and ajushis probably didn’t know anything about this event when you asked, since they don’t keep up on this stuff. it might have been better to ask a korean teeny bopper. Anyway, there is no excuse for the rude treatment you received. One suggestion though… next time look up the address on google and map it so that you know for sure where it is.
jen:
I went to a bi/jyp concert in cali 3 years ago, and the venue also sucked. well, the venue didn’t suck, it was the cheap ass stage. nothing like what they have in korea. i guess they don’t want to spend the dough to make it look professional or something. honestly, i think these concerts are for asian american fans.. throwin’ them a bone… i don’t think these us concerts are the main course for these guys.
It was amazing…and I can’t believe they cut me off on that picture…damn person blocking my face. >_< lol. but it was cool…loved epik high and sg wannabe’s performances!
Why come to the states if you don’t really want non-Korean to see you perform? Why not just stay in Korea? They obviously don’t really care about anyone but Korean-Americans anyway. In a country like this, they shouldn’t be allowed to do that.
@Karen but you want to know what the amazing thing is. They are delusional if they think that the average Korean American can even speak Korean. I don’t mean to be rude but lets keep it real. If you are Korean and born in America you are an American. You may ethnically be Korean but you listen to the same music I do, eat the same food I do even if you eat ethnic Korean food at home, and watch the same shows I watch and etc…
But when Korean show planners come to the US with that mentality and older Korean immigrants then they wonder why if their community gets discriminated against no one seems to care?? Like I am not trying to be harsh but I mean don’t say you want to do hip-hop and r&b and make bboy a part of your culture and say its for everyone but don’t want to include others in your own events. But we will see the outcome of this later this year. If Se7en fails to make it big then you will know the reason why.
Se7enFan, as you suggest let’s “keep it real.”
These are Korean artists. So what kind of people will be their fans? Mostly Koreans. But this is way beyond the point.
Don’t go off ranting about how Koreans have anti-foreign complexes when you would clearly not have a problem if you were able to find the damn Hanareum and get those tickets.
I was at the concert and there was a lot of non-Koreans so your complaint has little merit.
Be serious, woman.
I wish there was a 3rd leg of the concert and it was in Atlanta. I really wish I could’ve seen them
by the looks of the pictures, that was a pretty sad turnout in NY…NY is one of the top three media markets in the USA. i would’ve thought the large Korean contingent in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Boston would have made the trip to go see the concert.
instead it looks like it was a high school talent show held in a conference room in some hotel.
Korean-Americans may have better things to do than support Korean music, but i guess i expected more.
if Korean music promoters want to do it right and bring Korean talent to the American masses, here’s what i think:
they need to latch themselves to someone that is already entrenched in the American market, like say Amerie. Amerie’s scheduled events in Korea a few months back may have been cancelled due to lack of interest, but in the States, its the exact opposite. if Amerie were to do a joint concert with the likes of Se7en, Hyori, etc., they would win over more newbie fans that way than just to cater to a small number of Korean-Americans.
just my two cents.
why are Hyori’s legs so dark in the main pic? Is she wearing tights with those shorts???
I’m so jealous of all of you who went, my only friend who was available had to go to South Carolina. Tablo looks funny in that picture, lol.
Your problem could have been avoided if you used google maps. And the older korean generation who are the ones behind the counter selling those tickets, are too damn busy and tired at the end of the day to take an ESL class so that non-Koreans, like yourself, will have less trouble buying tickets for a concert that showcases less than stellar pop acts. I doubt they make any profit from the tickets nor do they pay for them first. Theres no motivation to sell you a ticket. So may be it’ll be easier for you to practice your Korean instead.
Re: venue
Now that I think about it, it doesn’t look much different from the general admission concerts I attend. I suppose if these venue did have seating, it would included cheap chairs. But then again, general admission usually cost 20-25 bucks.
Where did this concert take place. It looks too small to be Roseland. Irving, maybe?
BeSerious
American stars have fans of every single nationality known to man. Why would it be any different for Korean Stars??? Okay this isn’t me going off on a tangent about Korean anti-foreign complexes when in all seriousness they have not been to privy to their foreign fans. I did find the Hanareum and I did ask for the tickest. As a matter of fact I stopped at a Korean Music Academy in FAIRFIELD NJ that had a poster for the concert and the tickets and told me where the Hanareum was.
You best believe I was heated about not getting the tickets…and umm I don’t see you upset because you went. Its one thing to not get tickets but its another thing to not feel welcomed. Thats my whole deal. But what I found annoying out of everything was the 0_0…followed by YOU KNOW WHO EE HYORI IS??? And being looked at retarded because I am asking about the concert and where to get the tickets. Its that reaction that pisses me off not the fact that I couldn’t get the tickets.
Okay I am only telling you how I feel and how I see it…I’m not saying anything else so whats really good wit u then?
actually the venue was actually bigger than pictured above…the venue is not as big as the coloseum or anything..the good part was that any spot u sit in, u would be able to see the performers clearly.
Reply:
You being non-Korean who is a fan of Korean artists, I would think you would already expect such behavior.
So why are you ticked off?
You see an Asian person speaking English and you don’t expect to be greeted with curiosity. Why? Because speaking English and knowing American culture spans the entire globe.
However, you see a non-Asian person speaking Japanese and people will be surprised. They will say, “Oh! You speak Japanese!” This is neither racist or meant to demean.
In the same way because you are clearly not Korean (as you say), when you ask about Lee Hyori, people will be surprised. There is no need to be irritated.
Just crack a smile, say yes, and ask “so… where can I get the tickets again?”
I’m sorry that you couldn’t get your tickets.
Smile, and take things lightly.
Be Serious
I think you and Se7en make some valid points but how could Se7en know how people would react. Instead of being shocked they should be happy someone even knows who Epik High or Hyori Lee is, people in the Hip Hop community dont get shocked or suprised if someone says they like Ludicris or TI it doesnt happen that way.
I mean people get angry when you stereotype Koreans and when you know something about the culture they still look at you with bewilderment. I am like my friend what planet are you on?
the concert was incredible, especially from the the view that i had- right in the front, so close to the singers enough to see them sweating and even got to touch their hands many times!
first performers See Ya were decent, but they were kinda like “wang tta’s” because the real “party” started after Epik High’s performance. So when See Ya was performing, everyone sat in their seats like how it was supposed to be. and then of course Epik High came out, and Tablo and MithraJin being the crazy selves they are got the crowd started and had everyone ditch their seats and run up to the front, right at the foot of the stage. They were great performers, but very inappropriate at times hahah cuz they cursed a lot and stuff, but they def knew how to get the crowd pumped up. Tablo squirted water all over the crowd, etc. Then came out SG Wannabe, and thanks to Epik High the fans were crazy and aroused. But SG wannabe didn’t need Epik High’s help because their performances were flawless as always, giving you shivers. JinHo was amazing, dancing crazingly to STAY, YongJun was Adorableee and all the girls were yelling his name.. and as for DongHa, dont know wat was wrong with him but he didn’t seem too happy or enthusiastic? and then of course came out Hyori in her incredibly slutty but hot outfits, she was good, but that police outfit was very scandalous haha. she pulled out 2 fans from the crowd and brought them to the stage and even grinded with one of them. but she said they weren’t that sexy and said “aw how disappointing” haha i’m sure those boys were crying..
overall, concert was incredible. I bet the artists were very impressed and happy with the result and love the “American” fans because we were just crazy!! you could tell from their faces that they were so happy cuz they couldn’t stop smiling!
nope- but my friends had videos ^^
hyori was singing britney’s “everytime”
Yeah Dongha wasn’t too smiley.
It’s either:
1. He fought with his new girlfriend
2. He’s incredibly missing his new girlfriend
3. He’s extremely worn-out
Re: kak2gi
“i would’ve thought the large Korean contingent in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Boston would have made the trip to go see the concert.”
Really? I didn’t know there were a lot of koreans in Boston. Anyway, they would’ve gotten more out of state people if they actually sold tickets online. That was my problem. I found out that you could order by phone too late and even when I called, the person that kept picking up knew NO english except “wrong phone number”.
P.S BeSerious, just wondering, how was your backstage experence?
ok guys if you ever travel in manhattan and need to get ANY and i mean ANY k-pop info , cd’s ,and anything else your heart may desire. between 28th street thru 34th street between 6th & 5th avenue in midtown manhattan is little korea town it’s were i got my ticket for the show at. the store that was selling the tickets is in this area.thru out my time in this little area in manhattan i have been able to meet some of my fav k-pop artist like rain,bigbang,jinusean SeungChul Lee , 이수영 etc & was also able to befriend Loptimist,MC 몽 his 2nd ablum cover is him walking down 34th street and 8th ave (it’s the my story cd) and g1 은지원 ( i meet g1 while he was doing a shoot at the timesquare train station for his G1-03: 만취 In Hiphop album) at times they may be surprise that non-koreans may know of them and about the music but always remember that music is universal(as you may now know i am not korean but half-black half latino . i was the big black guy hanging out by the side of the stage with some of the camera crew guys during the show)the show was great had a great time just wish that more artist may make the trip to the states to perform
Yeah Korea way is a really cool place^^ Go to the k cdstore the owner there is really nice! I’m only half asian but I look more spanish so he found it shocking that I listen to kpop^^ but he was nice about it.
I wish I could’ve gone to this concert
but I couldnt travel all the way from VA to NY just to buy the tickets x_x
damn the whole concert & live celebrities front of me just caught my heart.lol
the concert was just awesome~(: besides all the disputes within the front to middle rows about everyone standing up & all (i was one of them^^)
the concert was great, but what pists me off the most was the fact that when epikhigh came out, everybody from behind just ran up to the front of the stage front of the front row people, which is pretty screwd up. They didn’t even pay for front row tickets and they ended up getting a better view than the people who DID pay for the front row view. Instead, the people who payed good money ended up either not being able to see anything at all or stand up during the whole concert. what the hell was that-_-;
but overall, the concert was great and a night to remember~
Yes, seeya wore the outfit, cats was good but lipsynced, i din’t cry,and as epik high left the stage, tablo yelled, “Say F*ck!”
at first, chae dongha’s mic didnt work, lol. jinho was SO HOT- even though he isnt actually good looking at all. he was dancing all over the place, having the time of his life! and of course you know abou the random guy(dan aka shaq) who danced with hyori.
I had a blast; my friend and I are are the non-asians (LOL) in one of the pictures, and I found that — contrary to Se7enFan — everyone was helpful and enthusiastic that I enjoyed Korean music and spoke Korean.
Everyone that performed was amazing and I think I enjoyed this show more than the YG concert.
sevenfan-
you make valid points, and i understand how you may feel the way you do, but- you have just percieved it so wrong. i don’t even know where to begin. i don’t understand why you were irritated that the people were surprised that you know who hyori is. why is that an insult to you? being prejudiced generation after generation isn’t easy. seeing nonkorean speak korean- that must have made the people feel good, if a little shocked. why is it insulting???if you freed a group of slaves, and they had never expirienced such kindness so they asked “are you freeing us? is this real? i can’t believe it!” would youbet mad at them??
i don’t even know that to say to you
I’m kind of late on seeing this but to Se7en Fan: You are obviously just upset that you couldn’t get your tickets and go. The man who sold me tickets was really nice, and he seemed happy to know I was into Korean music. http://popseoul.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/0806-nybig43.jpg
I’m right behind the girl in the green shirt, who, is not Korean at all, by the way. I’m not Korean, either. We actually were treated REALLY nicely by everyone throughout the concert. I’m pretty sure they thought that it was cool that people who weren’t Korean actually paid money to go see the concert and that we knew who they were. Actually, we met Yong Jun from SG Wannabe and he was ridiculously happy to see my friend in her SG Wannabe shirt.
Deterring non-koreans? Rubbish.
I called for tickets the day of the show, but once they got stumped after an english question they finally couldn’t answer, another lady came on the line. I couldn’t speak a darn word of korean, but she was incredibly helpful/nice the whole time.
Then she asks my nationality (Chinese-American), and finally 8 hrs later I’m picking up my ticket at the theatre amid a table full of old Korean ladies I never spoke to, who ALL KNEW my name, were so curious about how I heard about the event, and were so eager to help and present me the ticket.
And that theater is big. It’s got multiple balconies on every angle, although I have no idea why they used regular chairs to line the very front. I guess they just needed to invent extra-EXTRA front row seats and didn’t want to waste that space in the front.
And yeah I paid for that $150 front row seat, which didn’t do much once the people rushed to the front. But that was actually OK cuz frankly at least their heads aren’t ABOVE the stage rim, know wut I mean???
……You see, what REALLY annoyed me were the couple dudes at the very front center who literally stood on their CHAIRS first and caused my entire section to stand on our chairs as well for the entire Hyori part. Even when some supervisors beckoned us down, all of us did except for the two boys, and so we had to stand on our seats again, and again.
And I couldn’t holler to them from where I was at, simply b/c those two boys were a meter away from Hyori and she woulda been really distracted!
yo dat consert was shizzle son word up.
is that takanori gomi on the right side?