The SMTravel Package for Shinee World V

When Shinee World V was announced for early September 2016 in Seoul, I wanted SO much to be there. I had recently relocated from US to Hong Kong and hey, wasn't one of the reasons (so I convinced myself) was to be closer to the center of action? After all, Hong Kong to Seoul is only a 3.5 hour flight away and I even had enough air miles for the flight.

I was checking the SM Travel package website every hour deliberating over my decision to buy. When I saw the premium packages sell out, I took the plunge and bought the Deluxe Single package which was around US$700. Deluxe just meant I was in a higher standard hotel than the other two categories, otherwise everything was the same. Only the Premium package had special souvenirs and better seats.

The whole ordering process was straightforward - I was provided with an online account where I could post questions that were answered within 24 hours. In the next few weeks leading up to the concert, I received email updates with the hotel name, schedule and information on how to pre-order concert merchandise.

My allocated hotel was Belle-Essence Hotel in Gangnam and about a 8 minute walk to Yeoksam station. The hotel was large and comfortable if a little dated. It is in the business district of the city so there were not a lot of interesting shops or areas to walk around in. Coex Mall was 2 subway stops away. My package was 2 nights - stay Friday and Saturday night, check out on Sunday. I was attending Shinee World V on Saturday night - September 3, 2016.

The SM check-in booth at the hotel opened at 9pm on Friday. We received souvenirs at check-in - large poster, blue Shinee V World pouch, a jigsaw puzzle and a clear pouch with Shinee magnets. The pouch also contained fan letter paper and pen so we could write a message to Shinee. We also received an identification lanyard to wear for the entirety of the tour tomorrow. Importantly, we also had to randomly pick our concert ticket. I wasn't too happy with my seat - it was in section F4, 8 rows from the front of the stage but very much to the right but it was my own random pick. I had also bought some concert merchandise - the Key t-shirt designed by Bridge Ship House and a light stick which I received at check-in.

The schedule had already been sent to us via email the week before - tomorrow's tour included a backstage tour (!), a visit to the Shilla Duty Free, lunch at SMTown, a visit to the SMTown Coex Atrium and finally, transportation to the concert venue and back to the hotel.

At the check-in, I also got a better picture of the scale of operations. We were all put into groups with our own tour bus for tomorrow's tour. There was about 40 individuals in each group and there were 6 buses departing from Belle-Essence hotel. SMTravel was also using other hotels depending on the price category chosen. Later, I was told there were 25 buses which meant there were approx. 1000 individuals that had bought the international package. I would say 95% of the tour group were from Japan - with 5% coming from assorted countries in Europe and Asia. All were female - mostly in their 20's and 30's. There were some noticeably older ladies perhaps in their 40's/50's and an adorable mother/daughter pair. The daughter was 11 years old and a Locket.

Souvenirs - poster, jigsaw puzzle, blue and clear pouch with magnets, lanyard. T-shirt & lightstick purchased.

Before the 9pm check-in, I had actually visited SMTown Coex Atrium earlier that evening. I am so glad I did - this 6-storey place is like a candy store for a Shinee fan and you need 2-3 hours at least to enjoy everything. Also, visiting at 6-8pm meant that the place was quiet.  I had found out that the tour the next day only allowed for 1 hour at the SMTown Coex Atrium which didn't seem enough. My decision to go to SMTown Coex Atrium the night before was also validated when I found the place heaving with Shinee fans from the tours the next day. 

The impressive entrance to SMTown Coex Atrium

When I arrived at SMTown Coex Atrium, my first stop was the 6F Exhibition floor where they were hosting a Shinee art exhibition. This consisted of the pieces that Seong Lib, Bridge Ship House and Andy Rementer produced in collaboration with Shinee. The Seong Lib MV to "Destination" was beautiful (   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmSrLm7IaaE )but the Bridge Ship House drawings was fun and had a lot of Shinee references. I particularly enjoyed the poster where Shinee are pictured in a dorm environment - Taemin is practicing dance moves, Minho is playing computer games, Jonghyun is listening to music, Key is relaxing and Onew is being random. Even Key's dogs - Comme des and Garcon are in the poster!

Bridge Ship House pieces

There was also a photo exhibition from the previous Shinee World concerts - you could order copies of the photos for KRW4,000 (discounted price for SMTravel package members). I was most fascinated though by the exhibit below of the Shinee World IV costumes. You got a picture of their dress sizes, how short Jonghyun's trousers are, how heavy the clothes seem to be.

Stage costumes from Shinee World IV

SM Town Coex Atrium has 6 floors - the 1st floor is just the imposing entrance with banks of screens playing MVs as you travel on the escalator. 2nd floor is the merchandise shop. 3rd floor is the SMTown Studio - not much here if you have not bought a package to learn kpop dance, make-up etc. 4th floor is the SM Liverary which has a cafe where you can buy Shinee cupcakes as well as a food store to purchase Shinee drinks, popcorn and so forth.

A Corridor of Shinee- great for photo opportunities

The 5th floor is the hologram theatre. Unfortunately, there was nothing I wanted to see when I visited but outside was a huge screen when they were airing MVs. Lucifer happened to be playing. 

Large screen for airing MVs

For some reason, I was captivated by the hand-matching game in which a machine takes your hand print and apparently matches it with the hand print of your chosen SM idol. I chose Key but unfortunately was only a 51% match. I'm not sure what criteria they use for the hand-matching but the game also helpfully gives you a few SM idols that it considers are a better match for you. 

Fun hand-matching game

Didn't Tao leave SM already?!

Close by were also some 3D palms of your favorite idols - it seems a few were signed. I know I have big hands - about the size of Minho's. My fingers were definitely longer than Key's and Onew's.  Taemin's hand was noticeably smaller than his other Shinee members.

Key's hand palm

Onew's hand signed

Taemin's hand

 Within the 6 floors of SMTown Coex Atrium, there were just so much eye candy around and so much to discover. On one of the floors, the columns were floor-to-ceiling poloroids for you to find your favorite artists. I found this section of Shinee "candid shots" which I couldn't resist taking a photo of.

Poloroids on the walls

More poloroid photos- Onew looks incredible in the pic on the left

Then, I headed to 3rd floor cafe/food shop where SM was selling food items branded with your favorite idols. I didn't much care for Shinee popcorn or drinks but I did love the artwork in the cafe - it included some arty prints from previous Shinee photo shoots.

Photograph exhibit on the 3rd floor Cafe

I also loved the cuteness of this Shinee 'marzipan?' display.

Marzipan version of Shinee -so cute!

3D photos for photo opps

To the 2nd floor where you can buy a little bit of Shinee to take home with you. I particularly liked this collaboration with "Kitty Bunny Pony" where each Shinee member was represented by an anthropomorphic object - a bit random that Taemin is a teapot but the other's are spot on. I didn't end up buying anything as I felt I had enough souvenirs from the tour and my pre-concert merchandise.

2F shop - Shinee goods designed by "kitty bunny pony" - I love the tofu and key!

So on to the day of the concert! The tour started early at 8am where we checked in and got on our buses. Our guide was fantastic and gave us an outline of the day in English and Japanese. She spoke in Japanese for the benefit of 5 English speakers (myself included), the rest of the tour group were Japanese. The first stop on our itinerary was the Olympic Gymnastic Arena for the backstage tour! I loved this segment as we actually climbed onto the stage for a group photo!!

Our tour group on the stage

We were then taken into Shinee's dressing room where there were 5 mirrored table stands, a fridge with water, juices and soft drinks. There was a table laden with bananas, nuts, Starbucks coffee and other drinks/snacks as well. It seemed like a nice snack spread and if you wanted a healthy snack, you could definitely get one. There were also racks of clothes that were covered up, guarded by a staff member. We could see the black shoes poking underneath the covers though - no doubt, this was Shinee's concert wardrobe! We were told we could put our fan letter into the clear persplex letter box for Shinee. No photos were allowed but I recognized the dressing room from various instagrams etc. that Key posts.

We left via the VIP area - I also recognized this area where countless selfies and photos are taken of idols with their family and friends before or after the concert. They had helpfully put up some cardboard cut-outs of Shinee so you could take some photos with them.

VIP area at Olympic Gymnastics Arena

It was then onto a very early lunch - at SMT in the Cheongdam area. The restaurant was impressive, modern and stylish, kitted out to take in bus-loads of Shawols today. The Shinee placemats was a nice touch!

Having lunch on the boys

The English speakers managed to find themselves on the same table so we could share our Shinee stories. I was so touched with how passionate each Shawol was and how we came into Shinee world at different times - the Ring Ding Dong era, Sherlock era etc.  The lunch set was just ok though. We were all given a bulgogi set - the soup was a little lukewarm. There was a vegetarian set as well but I didn't see what it was.

Bulgogi Lunch at SMT

There were lots of camera phones going off when the dessert came out - the slice of cheesecake was in Shinee colors with the words "SHINee" delicately stenciled out in matcha powder. Lovely!

They even capitalized the SHIN!

After lunch, we stopped by Shilla Duty Free and given an hour to shop. This was a bit of a zoo, as we mingled with busloads of Chinese tourists. The basement shopping floor was the most purse-friendly with the Korean beauty brands and foods - however, it was an unpleasantly hot and claustrophobic with no windows. Plus, it was heaving with people. The spacious upper floors with higher ceilings was reserved for the luxury brands with decidedly less people. Some Shawols tried to capitalize on the experience by buying skincare from The Saem. However, the selection of goods was not as extensive as the shops in Myeongdong where I parted with KRW150,000 for snail wrinkle creams - all in the pursuit of 2 Shinee photo books.

Most Shawols stood at the meeting spot, playing with their phones. We did get a little souvenir though - a Shinee/Shilla Duty free passport holder! On to our next stop - 1 hour at SMTown Coex Atrium. I spent most of the allotted hour waiting in line for the photos I ordered. Instead of the Shinee  World concert photos, I had ordered the photos that were available from the 5th floor standard selection. The mini size was still a good 8x10 inches - some had matte and others had a glossy finish. The usual price is KRW5,000 but as a SMTravel package member, it was discounted to KRW4,000.
Forget about even buying stuff from the merchandise shop on the 2F. The line to pay snaked round the whole store - I'm sure it would have taken at least 45 minutes.

Once outside, we were given another little souvenir - Shinee chibi bookmarks! I got a Taemin but exchanged him with a Taemint for the Onew. I really wanted Key but no such luck. We were then taken back to the hotel for 2 hours rest and asked to be back on the tour bus at 4pm for the concert. I took the opportunity to grab a decent meal outside the hotel, as I knew there was going to be no dinner that night. I ended up in a fab place where they served spicy bean sprout stew (kongnamul guk) with rice for only KRW8,000.

More tour souvenirs - the Onew bookmark and the Shilla Duty Free passport holder

At 4pm sharp, we all ended up back on the tour bus, ready for the concert of a lifetime. The tour guide did one last roll call and then talked us through the meeting spot for our ride home. We were told the bus would leave 30 minutes after the concert and bottles of "Shinee" water was handed to each of us as we left for the concert! It was so fun to walk to the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in the daylight - fans were still lining up for concert merchandise and there was real anticipation in the air.

We were an excitable and satisfied bunch as we got on the bus after the concert. The English speakers on the bus were all seated separately in the arena but we sat together on the bus to talk about our favorite moments and highlights. As we pulled into the hotel, we were given one last souvenir - gourmet cookies in a Shinee World box.

Shinee water and cookies

All in all, I was very satisfied with the tour and did think it was worth the money. For one, I was not sure how I could have bought a ticket on the Korean website (I heard it was sold out in 2 minutes!). It was a lovely opportunity to meet other Shinee international fans and of course, not everyone gets a backstage tour and a photo to prove it! Here's hoping SMTravel do a similar tour for a Shinee World in Tokyo Dome - I will be very sorely tempted.