WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG AND SPAZZY AND PHOTO-HEAVY . ALSO, NONE OF THE PHOTOS ARE MINE. CREDITS BELOW.

Last December 5, 2009, the 1st Philippine Kpop Convention was held in Starmall Alabang. Now, if you’re a Pinoy Kpop fan and didn’t get to attend, let’s just say I feel very very sorry for you you missed half of your life. Why? Because that event was made of epic, awesome and fabulous and here are just some of the reasons why:

- FAN CLUBS REPREZZZUNT’D! -

As you probably know, the event was spearheaded by Cassiopeia Ph (and I’ll have a separate shoutout for them at the end) but all in all, 13 participating FC’s worked together to make the event kick-ass. Cass Ph, Big Bang Ph, SJU Ph, GGPh, ShineeWorld Ph, TripleS Ph, 2ne1 Ph, Wonderful Ph, 2OneDay Ph, Cloud Ph, Shinhwa Ph, Primadonna Ph, Perf(x)tion Ph represented and made sure their booths were dolled up and fan-friendly enough that the attendees would go wild! And boy they did, especially with those muddaeffin’ standees of win!!!

ss501 complete standees. No shit, people literally went batshit crazy soon as the rest of these standees arrived at the venue, mid-program. Poor kid who was singing, everyone pretty much left their seats and rushed to check the commotion.

There were 12 booths for all the FC’s (because Primadonna and Perf(x)tion shared one). AND BIG BANG FTMFW!!! Yes, please. I’m biased. Sue me.

One of the cutest booths IMO: the GGPH booth, with pink fan message post-its and lights in the shape of a heart!

I personally didn’t even get to experience those booths until before our egress and I realized then why the fans were going crazy! So many posters and merch and photos of their idols and they even have activities for those who’ll drop by and check out their booths! I give it to the FC heads for making sure their area won’t be “kulelat” and for basically making the fangirls/boys’ mouths froth. There was also the Hanbok studio, Korean Henna and Kalligraphy.

- SOLD-OUT TICKETS -

When we were planning for the Kpop Con, we initially pegged for about 1,000 attendees (as per the number of active fans who attend gatherings). And so, we had 1,000 tickets printed (because it was rushed, hence, expensive AND JEEBUZ WE DIDN’T HAVE MUCH FUNDS >_<;;). A week before the event, we had about 15 pre-sold tickets and we were kind of… concerned. Until 2 days prior, ALL THE TICKETS WERE SOLD-OUT AND PEOPLE WERE PANIC-BUYING FTMFW!!!

THE HISTORICAL TEEKOTS

OUTSIDE THE VENUE! And the event had started already!

So anyway, at the venue, the queue outside was like… the ones in LTO or SSS. I kid you not. Even those who didn’t have tickets went and supported the Kon and we ended up having A LOT of attendees. If you had told me a couple of months back that that many people would go to our event, I would’ve laughed at you. But I’m glad the Kpop fans had proven me wrong and had given their all-out support to the cause/fandom.

Uhm, did I mention it was in Starmall?! IN ALA-FRIGGIN’-BANG?! My hair grew an inch on my commute going there but it was all worth it.

- LOL HOSTS -

Uhm, please don’t hate me for organizing AND hosting the event at the same time. I’m not narcissistic or anything and even if I am, it’s not like you can do anything about it, right? Believe it or not, I brought up the idea of getting just celebs to host (like my idol, Sam Oh, for example) but the other committee members thought that they may not be able to relate enough with the audience (I’ve been hosting Cass gatherings since forever and I’m glad they haven’t thrown tomatoes at me yet).

And since I still wanted a celebrity to host the event with me, I called up my friend, Roxanne Barcelo of Darna and Batang Bibo, and without batting an eyelash, she agreed to do it. And just to clarify, SHE IS A KPOP FAN. Maybe not as much as me or that kid who gave Taec a fan letter with her menstrual blood eeewwww or many of my pals, but in one of her albums, she sung the Tagalized version of Kiss’ Because I’m a Girl and the English version of Nina’s Answer the Phone. Bitch, plz. She even did it pro-bono. Though she jumped for joy when we gave her a 2ne1 album as a thank you gift. LOL. Love you, Rox!

On the stage with Rox, who was made to look like Dara, with the palm hair and all, while I, well, uhm… I was… supposed to be, uhm… Tina Paner? Idk. All I know is ROX IS MADE OF LOVE! *huggles*

Okay, I actually performed at the Kon after I was introduced. Wil and I only had a day to rehearse prior to the event and this was the first time in six years that I’ve danced in front of an ‘audience’. Man, I’m getting old. Need to get my dancing mojo back. But the cheers from the audience really helped a lot!

A day or two after the Kon, my boss saw a fancam of this perf and dear gawd, he was like:

Chris (with hands covering his face): @__@ OMG KRING IS THAT YOU?!?!?! WHY ARE YOU GYRATING ON STAGE LIKE THAT?!?! AND WHY THE EFF ARE YOUR SHORTS TOO SHORT?!?!
Chrina: Uhm, she wore that during the Flippish launch.
Chris: I know but she wasn’t dancing!!!!!! OMG I CANNOT. I CANNOT WATCH THIS!!!
Chrina: What, are you his dad now?

LOLOLOLERSKATES. And this was during a meeting. Trufax.

Oh, and I hope you guys somehow enjoyed my jokes/stand up Komedy. I heard someone booed me for representing YG too much LOL true story said I’m the female Jo Kwon, but can I be the female Kim Hee Cheol instead? Yes? But wait, I’m already the Filipino Hyo Ri! Woot woot! I’m usually more hardcore when I bash Kpop artists during Cass gatherings but I kinda tamed down since meeeehhh… some fans are just too sensitive. I wonder if anyone got it on video. ^_^;;

- KONTESTS AND GASSOOS -

I may not have been able to mingle much with the fans (not mine, but of Kpop in general -_-) on the floor but I pretty much saw all the performances and got the chance to see the performers and contestants up-close. Avii did her thing and shook what her momma gave her with Brown Eyed Girls’ Abracadabra, while the dance crew, CommOne Ground of CSB wowed (and I do mean HOLY SHIT WOW’d) the audience with their Kpop dance medley of win (btw, some of them are kinda… cute, too lolz)! 9Flames, Mini Moni, Pink Voodoo and the Mental Assassin himself, Justin Pinon also provided entertainment, pre-show. THANK YOU, GAIZ!!!

Avii pwning everyone’s faces with her sexy moves. Ooohh yeah!

COMMONE GROUND TORE THE HOUSE DOWN!!!

Pink Voodoo. They’re real Koryans.

Geez, I’m always so amazed by the sheer natural talent that we Filipinos have. And we don’t even train, we’re just naturally awesome like that. Shout-out to the finalists and congrats to the winners, Jenny Kim (who happens to be a real Korean, too, nyaha!), Z&G from TripleS Ph and Kawaii Maknae Chikas! And oh, to the girls of 9Flames for winning the Kosplay competition! Next time Imma cosplay Kang Ho Dong. He’s releasing a Xmas album this month.

9Flames: they were superstars that day!!! OMG TOO MANY FANBOYS HAHAHA!!! I’m telling you, it’s the shorts. The PPS! And plus, how can you go wrong with NINE cute girls?!

Sungminnie cosplayer kissing the Kangin standee. I think he gained more fangirls that day than O-Town ever did their whole career. Also, he knows fanservice. He even kissed me WHAT. This kid is cool.

5. FANGIRLING FOR A CAUSE

Congratulations, Pinoy Kpop fans! We have raised more money for the Gawad Kalinga kids than what Kobe Bryant gave the organization last year! True story. In the next few weeks, we’ll be organizing another GK Day for the Kpop fans but this time, it will be with the beneficiary community. And even if you don’t care much about where the ticket sales went, at least remember that the very objective of this convention was to channel the fans’ energy and enthusiasm into something positive and productive and I assure you, IT WAS ACCOMPLISHED! Now summady pop a bottle of champagne open. I need a drink, or two.

- PHILIPPINE KPOP AWARDS -

Of course, we also did the awarding for the 1st Phil Kpop Awards at the event. I’m sure fans would’ve creamed their panties and cried blood if their idols personally accepted those awards but at the moment, that’s as possible as getting Lady Gaga to wear jeans and shirt while performing. And so, the respective fanclub heads of the winning idol groups accepted the *insert tiny voice here* trophies on their behalf but nevertheless, the walls almost tore apart from the fans’ screams!!! Especially since the FC heads brought the standees with them. IKR?

And the winners are:

Album of the Year (2009) // Super Junior – Sorry, Sorry
Song of the Year (2009) // Nobody – Wondergirls
Hottest Male Kpop Star // Kim Hyun Joong of SS501
Hottest Female Kpop Star // Park Bom of 2ne1
Music Video of the Year // Gee – Girl’s Generation
Best New Artist of 2009 // 2ne1
Best Variety Idol of 2009 // Kang Dae Sung of Big Bang

ALL OF MY BETS, EXCEPT FOR ONE, LOST. >___< FAIL. Also, promise, next year the trophies would be as big as SNSD’s Sunny.

- PINOY KPOP FANS ARE JUST… THE BEST! -

OMG. I’ve been a fangirl all my life but seriously, this was one of the highlights of my “fangirling” career! Just the fact that attendees were almost 50% female and 50% male just explains that this community is not shitting with you. Maybe I’m a bit older now (okay not a bit but REALLY OLD in fandom standards), but I kinda found it funny that they were like… dying over the standees, which, I’d like to remind the kids, are made of paper and carton. Harhar. My eardrums almost combusted, too, when the music videos were being played. You read that right- music videos. And they were mother-crackin’ goin’ ballistic.

Kay. That’s the hall area that’s not the “theater” area. Can you see the booths? No? I can’t either.

And this is the view from the tech booth, near the stage. THOSE FANS CAN MAKE YOUR EARS FALL OFF. NO SHIT. They have the best cheers in the world!

The Mental Assassin going around and amusing the fans. In this photo, he friggin’ bends a fork with his mind. Bitch, plz.

My friends who went there, who aren’t particularly Kpop fans were culture-shocked at the amount of… adrenaline and rabidness (their words, not mine) the fangirls have. Chrina even said she saw some girls crying over a poster. ‘WTF’ was written all over her face, as she relayed the story to me. Hehe. And holy cow, the concessionaires’ goods were sold out in less than 2 hours or something ridiculous like that. It was that insane! I don’t blame or  judge, however, because I, well… am one of them. And fuckin’ proud of it!

8. FIRST EVER… IN THE WORLD.

Let it be known… that the First Philippine Kpop Convention is the first ever Kpop Convention in the world. There have been many Korean Festivals and what not but a Kpop convention with ALL the FC’s working together? Unheard of. Remember, the Kpop fandom is notorious for its anti’s and fan wars and I guess it’s refreshing to see, for once, fans of different groups gathering together, with no animosity or anything, for one common goal. It’s beautiful, really, if you look at the greater scheme of things.

Be proud, Pinoys. Be proud.

CAPTION THIS! Haha. With the guys from Anime Alliance who were just…. so much love. Thank you for helping us keep order during the Kon. Hope to work with you guys again in the future! ^_^

Oh, and there were people asking for my photos and such and it was like… SO SURREAL. Like OMG, who am I, Anne Curtis? LOL. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that and I’m always honored and grateful. *tears* If I’m not BS-ing my self or hallucinating and I really do have fans, I just wanna say THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

To say that I was happy with the event is a major understatement. I consider the Kpop Con one of the biggest accomplishments in my life thus far, with the help of the committee, of course. Since its conception last May, we have been working on it with all passion and enthusiasm, despite the hardships and criticisms that we’ve had to deal with. Again, we didn’t have a single sponsor and funds mainly came from the FC’s/concessionaires. We ex-dealed and haggled our way to the top and thankfully, we were able to make it work.

I’d personally like to thank the Cass Ph Core, who not only believed in the vision and supported the project BUT MADE IT A REALITY. Mishi, Tintin, Ron, Hannah, Celine, Paoji, Berna, KitKat, Teejhaey, KR, Edward and Mish, you guys deserve your own awards or something. The late-night discussions and plannings and even arguments surely paid off. And you all did it out of love. AMAZING. Cass may have been low-profile during the event (errr… let’s admit, the booth wasn’t the nicest sight in the world and we didn’t even have an AVP) but its biggest achievement was the Kon itself. Congratulations and thank you! Please read Mishi’s thank you letter of win.

And thank you, too, if you participated in any way in the event. I’m positive things will be bigger for the Kpop fandom in the country next year so expect greater things from the Phil Kpop Committee. The Kpop Con will be an annual event from now on and yes, it will be grander and much more kick-ass.

‘Til our next event!!! ^_____^ Marami pong salamat!

Hugs and kisses,
Kring Elenzano

ps: Btw, here’s Talking Heads’ Kpop Phenomenon episode. We were live last Tuesday but if you missed it, well, here you go! THAT EPISODE WAS RECORD-BREAKING. ZOMG. THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO WATCHED.
pps: Credits to the peeps whom I stole borrowed these photos from: Joanne, Erika, Mariel, Justin, Sarah Jane, Jellicoe Lim. Super thanks!
ppps: I worte this entry for like… 5 hours. Excuse me while I have lunch. What time is it now? 2pm.