Good news! K-pop is coming to your area and you miraculously managed to get a ticket! Those three minutes of vigorous clicking and refreshing may have been the most stressful moments of your life as you battled both fandom and ticketing sites, but now you will be seeing your idols perform in person. It feels like the sun is shining, all food is delicious, the flowers are blooming, and world peace has been achieved. But is that it?? Now it’s time to somehow mentally and physically prepare yourself for the night of your life. But how? Preparing for a K-pop concert is certainly different from preparing for other concerts. The K-pop concert experience is usually a full day (for some ultra-fans, two days) of preparations, interacting with other fans, standing in line, and buying merchandise, all of which happens before the concert even officially starts.
But don’t worry! This guide is here to help you best prepare for your K-pop concert, ensuring that you have the best experience of your life! Check out our top 10 steps for getting ready for a K-pop concert below!
1. Make a concert playlist and listen to the songs (a billion times)
The first thing to do after getting your tickets to the K-pop concert is to make a PLAYLIST with all your favorite songs from the group’s albums and listen to the songs over and over and over and over again! Learn the lyrics, the choreography, and the fan chants (like you don’t have these memorized already~) and get hyped for your chance to finally see your idols perform LIVE!!
2. Plan your outfit and remember you’re just right 😉
This is your chance to dress as swag as you want. You can go goth, wear your K-pop merch, and even dye your hair crazy colors—all are accepted at a K-pop concert! Just make sure you are comfortable with your outfit and you will look AMAZING for your idol!! Keep in mind that you will probably be standing around in lines for most of the day, so maybe leave the impractical shoes at home, but ultimately, you do you, guys XD
3. Pack your essential items—DON’T FORGET YOUR TICKETS & LIGHTSTICK
While you will be SUPER EXCITED when the day of the concert finally arrives, it’s easy to forget some essential things you actually need for your concert experience to happen. To make your life easier, here is a list of some items you should bring (this is not a comprehensive list, so pack according to your own essential needs too!!):
- Tickets – PRINT YOUR TICKETS and make sure you pack them somewhere safe.
- Money – This is rather obvious, but you need money for food, transportation, and to buy ALL the merchandise, so if you still have some money hidden away after buying all your idols’ music and concert tickets, bring it along with you to the concert. I know, you’re going to be so broke, but it’s worth it!
- ID – Never leave your IDs at home, guys!
- Phone – DON’T FORGET YOUR PHONE!!!
- External battery pack (and phone charger) – If you happen to have one, this is always a good item to bring along with you! After all the photos, videos, and social media networking before the concert actually begins, your phone battery DIES really quickly, so having an external battery pack will allow you to tweet about your experience all you want, without having to worry about draining your battery.
- Lightstick (and extra batteries) – Make sure you remember all your fan merch, signs, and most especially your lightstick to welcome your idols with all the love!
- Speakers – Bringing a small speaker to blast K-pop music can really help the hours in line go by in a snap! You’re also bound to meet new friends and help everyone get even more hyped for the concert!
- Bag – If the concert venue allows you to have a bag, bringing a bag to hold your things is a good idea! You can also put any merch you purchase into your bag, but keep in mind you will have to hold it throughout the concert (especially if you are in the pit), so a smaller bag is ideal!
4. Confirm concert location, line-up times, and arrange transportation
Make sure you know where the concert is actually being held well in advance of the day of the concert. This is especially true if you are traveling to a different country or state to see your idol. Fortunately, K-pop fans are pretty easy to spot, so if you see a massive group of fans with signs, lightsticks, and merch, as well as people singing and dancing, you’re probably in the right place! Figure out your route and means of transportation early (don’t forget you need to arrange transportation to go home too!!). If someone is picking you up from the venue, it’s a good idea to plan ahead of time where you will meet in case your phone dies or you lose your friends through the craziness of the crowds once the concert ends. Also, keep in mind that most venues prohibit lining up before a certain time for the safety of everyone and especially the fans (camping out overnight is usually not allowed), so check your ticket section and be sure to look at the social media of the concert organizers for the most up to date info on the show. You’ll want to know exactly when and where you need to line up!!
5. Charge your phone and make sure you have data space for all your new pics
CHARGE YOUR PHONE and don’t forget your phone! Double-check before leaving for the venue, then double-check again! You will want your phone to take pictures and videos, use social media, arrange transportation, input the contact info of your new friends, play music, and basically, everything else you do! Let’s be real, we are on our phones all day, and this is especially true when you are waiting around for hours at a time in line before the concert. It’s also a good idea to bring an external battery pack and phone charger with you. Your phone is useless if it runs out of battery! And keep in mind, you need to find your way home eventually once the concert actually ends… Phones are very useful! Make sure yours is charged before leaving home!
6. Check the weather and prepare as necessary—SMART is BEAUTIFUL too
Now I know that you have the PERFECT outfit picked out, and you have been looking forward to wearing it just for this special occasion, but keep in mind that the large majority of your time will be spent waiting in line, usually outside… While looking your best for your idols is certainly essential to the K-pop concert experience, remember that your health is just as important to your idols as their health is to you!! So if the weather looks to be in the extreme zone (scorchingly hot, freezingly cold, or dreadfully wet), make sure you prepare and pack accordingly! Your idols will be the happier for it ;D
7. Plan your meals and prepare snacks
While the nervous anticipation you feel for the concert is part of what makes the experience so fun, it starts to become rather not-so-fun when you are starving. So make sure you eat a meal before you leave for the concert venue, stay hydrated, and bring snacks to eat while you are waiting in line.
8. Line up, get wristbands, and check out the merch
Once you get to the venue, make sure you go to the appropriate tables to pick up any wristbands or ticket perks you may have purchased, and find the right line you need to be in (this is not always as easy as it sounds). There will be a lot of people there already. There always are. So if you can’t figure out where to go, just ask! While you are waiting about the venue and have figured out where you need to be and where, also check out any merchandise tables present to stock up on all your K-pop swag~
9. Meet new friends!
Honestly, one of the best parts of the K-pop concert experience (besides the actual earth-shattering concert performances) is meeting new K-pop fans while waiting in line at the venue. Find new friends who share the same Korean music obsessions as you, share your opinions on the latest K-pop news, sing along to your favorite songs at the top of your lungs with no fear of judgment, and show off all those mad dance skills you acquired while preparing for the concert! Don’t be afraid to talk to new people and make friends! We are all one big family after all 🙂
10. HAVE FUN!!!
You are about to embark on one of the best experiences of your life. Enjoy and memorize every moment of the night 😉 Have fun and stay safe~
What do you usually do to prepare for concerts? What do you have to bring with you when you leave for the concert venue?? Share your thoughts below!
~Ash
