2017 Sweet Sorrow Small Theatre Concert (Harmony) / 2017 스윗소로우 소극장 콘서트 (화음) (Part I)

I refrained from writing this post for almost a month so that I would not sound like an excited and delusional fangirl but pretty sure I failed miserably. Whatever. hehe! I just need to get this out of my system (again!). Hopefully, this post will be more organized than my hundreds of tweets. :)

Just to give you a heads-up; it is going to be a very long post! Like, super, duper long! 

PS: Initially, I wanted to write the whole experience in one post but I have to split it up into three parts cause it is super duper long. Even after I split it up. lol!

Credit: Here

2017 Sweet Sorrow Small Theatre Concert <Harmony>

There are so many things I want to write but where do I even start?

First of all, I need to emphasize that I was super lucky that I got to attend 3 out of 10 shows of the 2017 Sweet Sorrow Small Theatre Concert <Harmony>. Obviously, I wanted to attend all 10 shows, especially Sung Jin Hwan's day but with my situation and financial state at that time, I am just thankful that I managed to attend 3 shows.

Attending the 2017 Sweet Sorrow Small Theatre Concert <Harmony> was a big thing for me cause I have been a fan of Sweet Sorrow for 7 years! I love them as much as I love Super Junior, maybe even more! It still feels unreal that I got to attend their concert cause honestly, it is near to impossible for international fans like me to go to their concerts. They do not have international tours and all of their concerts are held in South Korea.

It also did not help when the ticketing sites that they used were fully written in Hangeul. I for one, do not read Hangeul at all and get lil bit frustrated as I really want to go to their concerts! Cause let's be honest. Who knows when will I get this kind of chance again. I am getting older so are they. *For your information, they are 41, 40, 39, and 36 years old respectively.* Plus, I do not think I will have the same passion after a few years. lol! 

(The next few paragraphs are the MSG-added version of the actual Q&A)

So, what I did was try my luck by asking questions regarding the ticket on Sweet Sorrow's Facebook Page in English. Honestly, I did not have high hopes for anyone to reply to my message but to my surprise, I got a reply! And it was from Kim Young Woo of Sweet Sorrow! *rasa nak pengsan*

I started to ask other questions that I had regarding the tickets and I was delighted cause he said he would help me. Mind you, he is one of Sweet Sorrow's members. He was supposed to be busy with concert preparations and stuff. Yet, he took his time to answer all my questions. After confirming the deets, he said let's keep in touch so that we will not miss or forget anything.

And I thought that was lip service. lol! Oh boy, was I wrong. Fast forward 3 weeks later, I arrived in South Korea for my long layover and was about to unpack my luggage when I received a message from Kim Young Woo. HE. MESSAGED. ME. FIRST. Talk about another level of fanservice! Sweet Sorrow has the best fanservice ever! :D My excitement for the concert doubled after that!

As you can see (or not!), he took his time to explain to me on how to get my tickets and answered some other questions that I had. He even advised me not to come too early and to grab some food before the show cause it will be a 3-hour show. I have to say, for the amount of money that I paid, a 3-hour show is totally worth it. Most of the time, a show will be about 1-hour ish with that kind of amount of money. Or, you cannot even attend a show with that amount of money. #satisfiedfan #happyfan

I arrived a tad early at the venue so I decided to check out their merchandise booth. I bought a set of postcards for my keepsake cause I love postcards! The staff were surprised to see me. Cannot blame them cause I was the only international fan there.

I had to wait for quite some time for the ticket booths to be opened. When they opened, I got really confused because they had 2 different lines. But fret not, the lady at the merchandise booth helped me to buy my tickets cause she had to be expecting me as she asked me, "Facebook Message?". "Yup, that is totally me!"

Okay, I sounded so perasan but that can be a true story. She must be expecting me. haha! Kim Young Woo must have told her about my presence. He even told me that I should message him if I had any problems when purchasing the tickets. One hour before the concert, Kim Young Woo messaged me again to ask if I got my ticket or not. BEST. FANSERVICE. EVER. I. REPEAT.

I will summarize the actual shows and my observations of the shows in the next two posts (sorry guys, it is still far from over) but here are some of my personal highlights.

On the 1st show I attended, during one of the songs, I believe it was Let's Go to Sokcho, Sweet Sorrow's members went to audience seats and shook their fans' hands. At that time, Kim Young Woo noticed me and said "Farah-shi? Thank you!" and bowed at me. Truly felt like crying at that time. #oppanoticedme 

After that, In Ho Jin approached my seat (since my seat ke dalam sikit), and said "Komawoyo! Thank you so much" with a touching expression. I felt like laughing at that time but I was awestruck by him. #oppanoticedme

Okay, I totally sounded like a delusional fangirl but that really happened! :D

I told you #oppanoticedme

Another personal highlight is I got to meet them at backstage after the 3rd show that I attended! #neverforgetjuly2

It all started when my youngest sister and my roommate at my AirBnB cucuk-cucuk me and said, if they were me, they would make a request to Sweet Sorrow for a brief photo session. I honestly wanted to do so but I thought it was going to be too much. After all, Kim Young Woo has helped me a lot! #forevergrateful

But after the 2nd show ended, I thought to myself, "This might be the only chance I got to attend their concerts, so why not just try asking. It will not hurt to ask, right? They can say no and I will not be butthurt about it."

So, I tried my luck again and sent another message on their Facebook page. A few minutes after that, Kim Young Woo replied to my message and said yes! *Excited like asdfghjkl!* He also gave me cute instructions on where should I go after the show. So, the next day, after the 3rd show ended, I went to the place as instructed. Kim Young Woo said he would send a crew to pick me up but lo and behold, he picked me up himself! BEST. FANSERVICE. EVER. I. REPEAT. ONCE. AGAIN.

When he went outside to pick me up, all the fans waiting for Sweet Sorrow's members were excited. Aren't we all like that? Hehe! He explained to other fans that he is bringing me inside cause we (I, actually) do not know when will I get another chance to attend their concerts again. I totally felt like crying at that time. Let me repeat this once again. I have waited for 7 years for all of this to happen!

I for one, really like the fact that he explained the entire situation to the Korean fans. For me, it showed how much they value their Korean fans. After all, the Korean fans are the ones who have always been with them in every single event and concert. Yet, it showed that they also appreciated their international fans as they were accommodating to my requests.

Very thankful to Sweet Sorrow's fans cause they were very nice and understanding that I did not get any death stares or glares from them. #sweetsorrowfansarethebest In fact, I heard some of them said that I was very lucky and they were happy for me. #luckyfan

Selfies with each of Sweet Sorrow's members.
From left: In Ho Jin (인호진), Song Woo Jin (송우진), Kim Young Woo (김영우), Sung Jin Hwan (성진환)
#sungjinhwanismyfavourite #sungjinhwanismyforeverfavouritenerd #sungjinhwanismyfavouritemaknae

So, I chatted a bit with Kim Young Woo and kept saying thank you cause I will be #forevergrateful to him while we were on the way to the waiting room. I was puzzled when he suddenly stopped when we were walking.

Guess what?!

Sung Jin Hwan was standing beside me! But, I did not recognize him and almost passed by him until Kim Young Woo introduced us. Can you imagine that? I did not recognize my own bias! But to my defence, he did not wear his spectacles. He looked way too different :/ He giggled cause I did not recognize him. You have to see his reaction yourself. He was so cute! #sorryoppa #youarestillmyfavourite

Then, Song Woo Jin came with his megawatt smile! Kim Young Woo and Sung Jin Hwan introduced me to him. Thank god he did not converse in his bass voice cause I surely will melt. Hahahaha. But seriously, have you heard his bass voice? His bass voice always gives me good goosebumps.

Soon after, In Ho Jin came with his ahjussi vibe. #sorryoppa Oh god, I seriously love this man. I can not stress enough how lovely this old man is. lol! He was very gleeful and giggly. Totally approachable. In fact, all of them were so approachable. In Ho Jin kept saying thank you to me while I kept saying thank you to him. The whole situation was so funny. He also mentioned she saw all my Instagram posts and he read my messages on Facebook.

Sweet Sorrow & I

All of them said they saw and read my Instagram posts and messages on Facebook but could not respond to any of them cause they are not fluent in English (except Kim Young Woo) and I do not know how to read Hangeul. #languagebarrier

The entire time, I was completely overwhelmed with my emotions and surroundings that my hands were literally shaking all the time cause I could not believe I was close to them. I can literally touch them if I want. It also did not help as so many things were happening at the backstage. It was hectic and busy as they were preparing to conclude the night.

And honestly, I did not get to spend too much time with them as they needed to entertain other guests too. I also met some family members of Sweet Sorrow. I think they are In Ho Jin's family cause it was his day. They were surprised to see me as they were not expecting an international fan to attend the concert.

Personalized autographed postcards from Sweet Sorrow :)

After things settled down a bit, we took dozens of group photos and selfies and I asked them for their autographs. While waiting for their autographs, I had a small talk with Kim Young Woo again.  We actually talked for quite some time and shared personal updates. I also managed to suggest a few things that I think other international fans will appreciate. lol! Hopefully, he will take my suggestions into consideration :)

And then, it was time to say goodbye. Kinda sad to say goodbye to them cause I may never get a chance to see them again. We said goodbye by saying thank you to each other endlessly.

After that, I decided to wait for them outside along with other Korean fans. Just to see them for the last time, you know. While waiting for them, I was approached by a fansite master where she handed me a fan for Sung Jin Hwan's day. I was so ecstatic at that time! May I remind you that Sung Jin Hwan is my favourite? Hehe!

Fan project by a few Sweet Sorrow fansites :)

A few Sweet Sorrow's fansites collaborated and had this fan project where they handed out fans on members' day. You will get a fan if you attend the said member's day. For me, I only attended Song Woo Jin's and In Ho Jin's days. So, I am only eligible to get fans for their days. But the fansite master happily handed me Sung Jin Hwan's day's fan. I think she must felt kesian towards me cause I sent her messages before the concerts asking about the fan project and unintentionally mentioned that Sung Jin Hwan is my favourite but I am not going to Sung Jin Hwan's day. Truly appreciate her kind heart :)

Anyway, after waiting for them for almost 15 minutes, they came out and were ready to leave the venue. But they still took their time to chat with their Korean fans and posed for photos. I stood a lil bit far from the crowd as I did not want to disturb other fans. Still, Sweet Sorrow's members acknowledged me from afar and mouthed a goodbye to me. Their manager also mouthed a thank you and goodbye to me.

&

Soon after that, I left the venue with a full heart and loads of sweet memories.