Mad about Korean boys

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN — I never really got the Korean telenovela craze till my friend Pin gave me a DVD of the popular Korean drama Boys Over Flowers. This is Korea’s version of Hana Yori Dango of the Japanese shojo manga series by Yoko Kamio.

I was hesitant to watch at first because that would mean following English subtitles for all 25 episodes. But when Pin convinced me this was the ultimate stress buster, I finally caved in.

By episode 3, I was hooked. Episode 6, I was having sleepless nights. I finished the whole series within three days. Within two weeks, I was singing in Korean and surfing Korean websites like soompi.com and popseoul.com.

When another fanatic friend of mine mentioned that the cast of Boys Over Flowers would be appearing in Yokohama for a two-day event that was to include Korean boy bands T-Max and my current favorite, SS501 (pronounced “double S, 501),” I was ecstatic.

Within minutes, Pin and I were booking plane tickets, concert tickets, and a room at Yokohama Grand Intercontinental. We figured this hotel had the highest probability of walking into the pop stars since it was right next to the concert venue.

September 4: Arrival

Upon arriving at the hotel, we asked the bellboy and concierge if the cast or any of the band members were checked in. All we got were quizzical looks. None of the front desk or housekeeping staff seemed to even know what Boys Over Flowers was all about. What scared me was that there were no promotional materials anywhere! I was getting paranoid that we got duped into buying the tickets online while there may not be any event at all!

September 5: First day of the event

7:30 a.m.: I was half asleep when Pin went on her way to jog. A few minutes later, I got her text message that there was a line forming to the venue. That made me breathe a sigh of relief. And then, “but it’s only 8 AM. The event doesn’t start till 4:30!”

She replied, “So should I leave the line? I’m the 10th person, and the line is getting longer.” 

That made me think. We still had to pick up our tickets. We weren’t sure if we had seat numbers or if it was first come, first serve. 

“Don’t leave! I’ll change real quick and we can switch every two hours.”

After five minutes she sends me another text: “Oh my god, I think I saw Kim Hyun Joong! He’s entering our hotel, wearing all black!”

I flew out the door and into the elevator.

On my way down the escalator, I spotted a guy in all black followed by an assistant. It was him. I held my breath, hand inside my bag searching for my camera. I looked at him; he looked at me. I swear, we made eye contact. Then I looked away, pretending not to know him. AARRRGHHH!!! 

When I got down, I ran in my four-inch heels to Pin, screaming, “It’s him! It’s him!” I shoved a tissue box to her and insisted she make him sign it. 

“But I’m not dressed, Ker!”

I reminded her we flew all the way to Japan for this.

After a few minutes she came back saying she couldn’t do it even if he was right in front of her. I grabbed the tissue box and ran to him. By this time, he was already signing autographs for about 10 girls. I waved my camera for a photo. He looked, I melted, and the hotel manager said, “Sorry, no pictures.” 

He rushes to a cab. I managed about three stolen shots.

While waiting for our tickets to be released, Pin and I chatted with some Japanese fans waiting in line. Not only were they armed with posters and drawings of the Korean boy bands and the BOF cast, they had homemade dolls of the Korean celebrities.

I was really touched when one of them gave me a poster and photos of Kim Hyun Joong when she found out I liked him.

Later, we found out the whole lower section of about 4,000 seats was reserved for Japanese and Korean fans only. There was no way we could talk our way into being seated there. 

But then when we were brought to our section of another 4,000 seats on the second level, we were happy to find out we were in first row near the center of the stage.

The show was so much fun even if we didn’t understand a word. 

Lee Minho was adorable and both Kim Hyun Joong (with SS501) and Kim Jun (with T-Max) gave awesome performances that made us jump up to our feet, dance and sing along with them.

That night, we bumped into Kim So Eun (who plays Geum Jan Di’s best friend in the series) at the hotel bar entrance.

She didn’t seem friendly so we didn’t bother asking for a photo. 

We got the impression that Korean celebrities don’t like being photographed; they only do autographs.

September 6: Second day of the event

We knew our seat assignments already and were able to buy all the merchandise we wanted from yesterday’s show so we didn’t have to rush to the venue till 5:30 p.m.

We spent the day exploring Yokohama and having lunch at Chinatown.

Back at the hotel, we decided to wear something eye-catching as this time our seats were in first row, right across the stage.

“Ker, you really have to wear the sequined dress, so if ever the light hits us… it’ll bounce back!” Pin suggested.

Today’s show was better than yesterday’s, not only because the cast was now complete with Koo Hye Sun and Kimm Bumm, but also because the crowd had more energy.We also had an English- speaking Japanese seatmate!

Oh, and the sequined dress worked because Kim Hyun Joong waved back. He really did, I caught it on video along with our screams.

That night, while having drinks at the bar we spotted SS501 members sans Kim Hyun Joong. Reports had it he had Swine Flu symptoms after the event!

Day 4: The last day

I was blessed with another Korean celebrity sighting on my way back from the Landmark Mall. I saw Kim Hyung Joon “Baby” of SS501 (not to be confused with Him Hyun Joong) but I learned my lesson and didn’t bother stalking him anymore. 

Even though I didn’t get to have pictures taken with any of the celebrities I saw each day, the fun I had with my friends and our newfound Japanese friends made it all worthwhile.