“I start with the show time. Then I can plan the rest of the day.”
The questions this character owns
- When you come to Seoul for one show, what do you fix first and what do you leave open?
- When the merch queue and entry time overlap, which takes priority?
- After the show, where does the rest of your time in Seoul go?
How Hina decides
Hina is a 21-year-old traveller who works for a marketing company in Tokyo. Between work and K-pop concerts she is in Seoul about twice a month, and some weekends she flies over just for Korea-only merch and pop-up goods. When a show date is announced, she checks flights and the routes around the venue. She is the first to start a conversation and laughs hard at small things, but when it comes to what she loves, she can focus for hours.
What Hina looks at first
Hina starts by writing down the day’s fixed times. When the show starts, when the doors open, when merch sales open and close. With those three on paper, the slots that can’t move become clear.
Next, she thinks about what she will be carrying. She sorts what goes into the venue with her, what she needs to store, and what stays at her accommodation. She picks what she needs that day from a light stick, her phone and a power bank, and packs her bag to match the rules on what she can bring into the venue for the show she booked.
How she plans a day
Hina’s pieces start by setting the order of the day. She decides what she most wants to enjoy, fits the travel and the waiting around it, and uses whatever time is left to find something else to enjoy. She chooses when to move before the show, when to make time for merch, and whether to wait outside a pop-up or do something else instead.
From one show to a day in Seoul
Hina comes to Seoul for one show, and then goes looking for something more in the city. If the venue is in a park, she spends an hour there before she enters. If there is a building full of merch, she gives it the next morning. The show is the centre of the day, but it doesn’t fill the whole day.
What Hina doesn’t carry over
She doesn’t carry the rules of the last show over to the next one. Entry, ID checks, where and when merch is sold, and what you can take in are set by the organiser for each show. So Hina reads the notice for the show she booked first, and plans the day by that show’s rules.
When the plan changes
If the merch queue is longer than she expected, Hina sticks to the entry plan she set. If the show runs late, she checks whether she can still make the ride home she picked, and if the times don’t work, she changes the plan for getting home first. The plan can change, but she keeps the one thing she most wants to enjoy. The same habit runs through the pieces below.
Verification disclosure
In articles, Hina’s point of view is labelled “Hina Plans”. Factual information is managed as records with a source and a checked date, and neither Hina’s point of view nor her images are used as factual sources.
Leads
- Kukje Electronics Center (Gukjeon): figure and gacha shopping guide — Hina starts on the ninth floor, explores the shops below and compares prices before choosing her favourites — Figure and gacha shops at Kukje Electronics Center (Gukjeon) in Seocho are spread from 2F to 9F.
- The Hyundai Seoul pop-up guide: queues, floors and bag storage — Hina takes the underground walkway from Yeouido Station and plans a half-day around the pop-up, the queue, bag storage and a place to rest — Pop-ups at The Hyundai Seoul change location, entry and queue arrangements from event to event.
- KSPO DOME concert day: planning the hours before and after the show — From Exit 3 of Olympic Park Station, Hina plans where to leave her bags, when to queue for merch and how to get back after the show — KSPO DOME (Olympic Gymnastics Arena) is in Olympic Park in Songpa-gu.