Shinee Noona: SMTown Museum Visit

It took me a little while but in May 2019, I finally got the chance to visit the SMTown Museum in Seoul which has a dedicated floor in the SMTown building in Coex Mall. Specifically, I wanted to see the Shinee section which I enjoyed immensely.

Firstly, we got some cake pops and drinks at the SMTown Cafe. The cake pops were beautiful but a little dry.

Photogenic cake pops

Shinee drinks

Upon paying the entrance fee, you get to choose your security card and lanyard by selecting an idol. I had a hard time choosing between my biases Key and Onew but I eventually went for Key. The trials of being a Shawol!

I pored over the Shinee discography wall , taking in the candid photos from their music videos and the handwritten lyrics for Selene 6:23 and Odd Eye. I spent lots of time here, relishing all the details. I loved the photos - many of which I have not seen before.

Lyrics for "Odd Eye"

The Shinee corridor was resplendent with the colors of the "Odd" album so it felt like entering an underwater dreamscape. There was then an angled entrance to the "Married to the Music" room. I loved the styling in the MtoM music video so I wished this was a little more extravagant - perhaps made to look like the actual house where they were having the party. Also, the set-up of the virtual photo with Shinee was a little awkward - you had to stand between 2 window panes and it was odd to figure out how to stand next to Shinee. Later on, as I walked through the TVXQ section, the virtual photo where you sit in-between Yunho and Changmin on a sofa was much more natural.

At the end of the exhibit, you finish in the shop where you can look at your virtual photo. Unfortunately, all of my shots looked terrible so I didn't end up paying for any. I was planning to spend on Shinee souvenirs at SMTown but for some reason, a lot of the Shinee goods were out of stock. Why is that!? For example, there was bracelets for every other SM group except the Shinee version was sold out...It felt like a whole tour group of Shawols had raided the store ahead of my visit!