Ungatekeeping: How to Meet K-Pop Idols in Korea via Stage Greetings

Until where will your fangirling take you? For me, it took me to Seoul, South Korea multiple times. Recently, I was lucky enough to watch the SBS Inkigayo music show live for the first time. Shortly after, I was able to see Red Velvet in person. 

On my recent trip, I met a friend (and fellow K-pop fan) who bought tickets to their concert film premiere with a so-called “stage greeting.” After enjoying “Red Velvet Happiness Diary: My Dear ReVe1uv in Cinema” on the big screen, Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy, and Yeri graced the event and shared a special time with fans. TBH, I couldn’t understand most of what they said since I don’t speak Korean yet, but seeing them in person was such a precious fan moment! Below, I’ll detail as much as I can how you can do it next time, too.

What are Stage Greetings?

The first time I encountered this term was when IU’s The Winning concert was announced. There were stage greetings scheduled at the CGV cinemas and I wondered what that meant because I was planning my trip around that time. I even tried to score tickets but they were sold out in a minute when ticketing opened!

Stage greetings or guest visits (GV) are a way for the artists or the cast of a movie to directly connect with viewers and express appreciation for their support. When movies (including concert films) are premiered in Korea, the artists hold these special premieres where they would make a brief appearance to literally greet everyone in attendance. 

These are usually not exclusive to official fan club members, too, so everyone has a chance to score access. Some might even hold a more extended chat with Q&A sessions and interactions with fans–similar to an interview format.

In the Red Velvet Happiness Diary stage greeting event, we were able to get a hand banner and one exclusive random photo card (I got Joy!) There were also curated photo zones in the cinema area. The concert film (which was so heartwarming, by the way) was shown first and then the group appeared after.

Red Velvet Happiness Diary

Red Velvet Happiness Diary: My Dear, Reveluv in Cinemas

How to Get Access to Stage Greetings?

I wish Korean K-pop fans would have ungatekept this a long time ago! (Or maybe I’m just not following the right accounts? Haha!) Anyway, now that I know more about it and successfully attended one, I’m sharing some tips you might find useful (and hopefully entertaining with some songs from Red Velvet’s 10-year discography):

Note: Knowing Korean (or at least knowing what tools to use for translation) will be a great advantage. Having a Korean friend will be an even bigger advantage (shout-out to Justin, the friend I mentioned earlier!)

1. "You Better Know" the Schedule

When your bias group or idol’s concert gets turned into a film, keep an eye out for stage greetings or guest visit announcements. In many cases, the official artist channels will post about it, such as their official fan cafe, SNS page, or those of their respective entertainment company. There may be cases when the posts will only appear to Korean followers since the event is promoted more for domestic fans.

The cinema where the event will happen would also share announcements. CGV, Megabox, and Lotte Cinema are the top ones, so follow their channels! Their Naver or Kakao SNS might have better information, too, but Instagram will be a good entry point for us international fans. I also found these Korean IG accounts @cymovieofficial and @cgv_icecon that compile several stage greetings or GV announcements.

IU Concert The Winning

Red Velvet Happiness Diary

These announcements usually tell you the following key information:

• Event date/s and time/s
• Location/s
• Cast or artist/s to attend
• Ticketing time and date
• Price and freebie inclusions, if any

2. You Need Some "Cosmic" Luck

The event I attended cost just 25,000 KRW or about P1,000 per ticket. Given the perk of seeing artist/s live, the prices of these events are understandably more expensive compared to the usual movie ticket price in Korea (which is roughly around 10,000 to 15,000 KRW or about P400 to P600). Still, it’s relatively affordable compared to concerts, so tickets are highly in demand. Therefore, you need to stretch your ticketing war muscles!

As mentioned earlier, the tickets for IU’s GV were sold out in like a minute. For Red Velvet, I was able to check after an hour of the ticketing time, and they were gone. But what’s great about Korea’s ticket-buying system is that cancellations and refunds are possible. So, check the ticketing portal even after seats get sold out and see if any available seats pop up. This was the case for me: I randomly checked around 10 pm the day after ticket selling and saw some seats open up. I DM'd my friend right away, and he was able to secure three seats! The catch is…

3. You Also Need a Korean Phone Number, "My Dear"

This was the blocker for me: I didn’t get one! And you needed a Korean phone number to book movie tickets online and probably receive the mobile voucher for the tickets. That’s why I needed to rely on a friend. But there are ways for tourists to get sim cards with Korean phone numbers! 

A Korean phone number is just often required for reservations in Korea–from movies to restaurants. This is because many businesses use local messaging apps and communication systems that rely on phone numbers for verification and contact purposes. I’m also not sure if you needed a Korean bank account or credit card since I didn’t get that far in the process (but usually, international credit and debit cards work for payment).

4. "Look," "Pause," and "Be Natural"

Once you have the voucher, look for the kiosks so that you can exchange it for a physical ticket. The process takes about 5 minutes, similar to ordering at cafes or doing a self-checkout in many Korean stores. Then, find the claiming booth for freebies, if there are any.

If you have some time to “Chill Kill,” go around the cinema floor to check for photo zones so you can pose, take selcas, and document the day. If you want some snacks, you can grab some, too.

Lastly, be natural and just enjoy the show! Once the stage greeting time comes, you can definitely cheer for your idol and take fan cams. Of course, don’t go all “Psycho” and try to get close to the artist if you’re far away. Giving gifts and asking for autographs isn’t usually allowed unless the artist or their management gives you a go signal. If you want to see more of them, you could try waiting outside the cinema where they could pass by. 

That’s it! I hope you got some helpful tips that would allow you to see your idols if ever you have an upcoming trip to Korea. The first stage greetings event I attended is definitely not representative of how all of the GVs go, but it’s now one of the highlights in my “Happiness” diary as a K-pop fangirl. Manifesting similar experiences for you, too, bepeu!