Have you ever dreamed of meeting in your favorite Korean artists when you visit Korea? How about talking to them face to face while holding their hands? And be able to tell them how thankful you are for their lives and how much you love them? Have you ever imagined them calling your name and saying that they love you too? That kind of once in a lifetime encounter with them is easier imagined than done. Going to Korea does not guarantee that you will have a chance to meet your favorite Hallyu artists. But if you are really determined to achieve that dream, then one of the ways on how you can meet and greet them is to join fan sign events.
Getting into fan sign is not that easy. It requires effort, time, money, and maybe some sort of luck. Buying hundreds of albums or official merchandise does not guarantee that you will get in. The whole process is also quite complex especially if you are an overseas fan and cannot understand Korean.
Before moving to Korea, I was also once an overseas fangirl and it was difficult to find information online on how foreigners like me could join fan sign events in Korea. After several attempts, thorough research, and trial and error, I successfully made it into several fan signs of my favorite Kpop idols. And since sharing is caring, I’m sharing with you a detailed guide on how foreigners can attend fan sign events in Korea. Note though that with the recent pandemic, most entertainment agencies are doing Video Call Events instead of offline fan sign events where lucky fans could talk to the artists via video call. The process of applying is still quite the same except for the online application.
Table of Contents
KNOW THEIR FAN SIGN EVENTS SCHEDULE
BUY ALBUMS OR MERCHANDISE AT THE PARTICIPATING STORES
WAIT FOR THE RESULT OF THE FAN SIGN EVENT
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
KNOW THEIR FAN SIGN EVENTS SCHEDULE
The first thing that you should do is to know their fan sign event schedule. You can get updates by joining their official fancafé, following their social media accounts and of course, by asking your mutuals for for help you if are not that active on social media. Here is a sample notice thru fancafé:
For comeback promotion, they usually announce the fan sign event schedule a week or just few days before the event. While they announce the winners 1 to 2 days prior the event.
BUY ALBUMS OR MERCHANDISE AT THE PARTICIPATING STORES
Once you already know the schedule of the fan sign or video call event, you have to buy their albums or the products that they are endorsing to join the event. Make sure that you buy it from the participating or their partner stores. For offline stores, you have to go to the physical store and make the purchase there. You will have to fill out a form with your details such as name, mobile number or email.
If you can’t go to the store, you may ask someone who lives in Korea who can do so in your behalf. If you don’t have a personal Korean mobile number, you just write your current mobile number and leave your email address too. Anyway, should there be changes on the fan sign event date or venue, the agency usually announces it too. Just always remember to double check if the name you registered is the same as what is in your passport because if you happen to win, they might ask for a copy of your passport for identification.
For online application for video call event, sometimes the process varies per online store but the standard is to buy the albums through their website or app. You will have to provide details such as name, birthday, mobile number, email address and KakaoTalk ID. Note however, that most of the participating online stores are in Korean and might ask you to create an account first before buying but you can use an auto-translate to know how to navigate the site and where to input your details. The payment options vary per website too. Others accept international cards and Paypal, while others don’t so it would really help if you know someone in Korea who can assist you in paying for your albums through bank transfer, cash deposit or online payment. Here is a screenshot from Video Call Event application:
WAIT FOR THE RESULT OF THE FAN SIGN EVENT
The last step is you wait for the result and pray that you will be one of the lucky fans who will get to meet your favorite idols whether online or offline fan sign events. The participating stores will provide a website link where you can see the list of winners.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
AM I AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFIED IF I BUY AN ALBUM?
Qualified for an entry only. Usually 1 album is equivalent to 1 entry, but they determined the winners thru a lottery.
HOW MANY ALBUMS SHOULD I BUY?
Buying more means more entries but it doesn’t guarantee success. I know someone who bought more than 70 albums but didn’t get in. Another only bought 8 albums and she got in. I guess, if it’s meant for you then it’s meant for you.
IF I BUY MANY ALBUMS FROM PHYSICAL STORE, CAN THEY JUST DELIVER IT TO ME?
In some stores, album posters are not guaranteed especially if their stock has been depleted. Posters are usually guaranteed for pre-orders.
CAN SOMEONE BUY ON MY BEHALF?
For physical stores, most of the time, yes. If you know someone who lives in Korea, she can buy it for you and input your details on the entry coupon given by the store. Just make sure that it will match the details on your passport. They just usually ask for name and mobile number.
I hope this article will help you in achieving your dream of interacting with your favorite Hallyu stars especially your biases through fan signs or video call events just like what happened to me. If you find this article helpful, share it with your friends and mutuals. For more fangirling tips like this, subscribe to KoreabyMe and read my other published articles on the site. You can follow me on Instagram too!
)