SM TOWN BUILDING, SOUTH KOREA
엔터테인먼트
Me and my friend want to share our knowledge about this place, What’s the good thing and why you should visit this place.
LETS GET STARTED!
Located in downtown Seoul, precisely in the famous Gangnam area (a popular tourist site for plastic surgery). Standing side by side with COEX Mall, one of Seoul's underground malls, the SMTOWN COEX Artium building looks striking from the outside.
The building's black-and-white ornaments as high as six floors will also welcome us. If you pay attention more to those ornaments, we can see the names of SM Entertainment's artists tucked in there.
Starting from the most senior: BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee, f(x), EXO, to Red Velvet plastered its name on the wall SMTOWN COEX Artium. Plus a promotional poster for the newest released album became a decoration at the top of the building. This poster will alternate depending on which artist is undergoing the promotion period.
Here's the guide to get you there: from the Samseong subway station, just walk straight to find the entrance to SMTOWN COEX Artium. Located on the other side of the arrival location, its entrance is framed also by the same black-and-white ornaments. Coupled with a large SMTOWN luminous on the top.
Enter the door on the first floor, EXO's 'Love Me Right' teaser video is playing on six flat screen televisions arranged vertically on the wall. Right on the right side, there's an escalator that will take us to the second floor. Along the escalator, familiar faces instantly smiled on a large screen mounted on the wall to the second floor.
There is no wall left empty on this floor. Every corner there must be BoA face, TVXQ, Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee, f(x), EXO, or Red Velvet. So when we visit there and we didn't have time to meet one of them, we can still take pictures with the pictures on the wall. People nowadays call this place as "Instagrammable" spot. The wall on the second floor which lead us to the SUM Store is full of SM artists' faces in black and white.
SUM Store is a store for various official merchandise from SMTOWN. Not just CDs, DVDs, or lightsticks, but Yoona, Onew, Siwon, Baekhyun, Krystal, Yunho, and Irene souvenirs are also here. Starts from stickers which cost KRW 1000, small rectangular pillow as seat cushion which costs KRW 10.000, also replica clothes used by EXO during the promotion of 'Love Me Right' are also there. Be sure to bring lots of money while visiting here because they're quite expensive! But just doing window shopping is also okay.
The front of the SUM Store contains EXO's best seller items: paper toy. One rack on the right contains a variety of sizes from the paper toy. Not far from there, neatly arranged CD artist, ranging from the latest to the oldest. Even album 'No. 1 'owned by BoA can still be bought there although this album was launched since 2002 then. A line of exclusive totebag can be an option. But, don't take the existing artist's signature, it's just a display and not sold.
SUM Store is like a souvenir shop in Universal Studios or even Dunia Fantasi in Ancol. Items marked with official SM artist brands are almost completely sold here. Like the hats up to the bracelet that Red Velvet used when promoting 'Dumb Dumb' to the various piercing attached to Taemin's ear and nose in 'Danger'.
The fun thing in SMTOWN COEX Artium doesn't only stuck on the 2nd floor only. Get on the escalator to the 3rd floor and it will turn out to be more interesting: SMTOWN Studio! What is going on over there?
For those who want to debut as a real KPOP artists under SM Entertainment management, Lee Soo Man's agency is holding auditions every week in their building in Cheongdamdong and Gangnam area. There is also a program called SM Global Audition for participants from outside Korea. Of course to be a trainee in management is not easy. In addition, you should have a more than good talent (and also has a really pretty / handsome face!). You also must have a unique side that makes them interested. Long process still must pass through many years become trainee.
At SMTOWN Studio in SMTOWN COEX Artium, Gangnam, Seoul, the process can be shortened to just a few hours. At this location, we can feel the sensation of being a KPop star under the management of SM Entertainment without the need to audition and wait for the debut with a heavy training process.
SMTOWN Studio provides a variety of packages that can be booked for the sake of pretending to be an SM Entertainment artist. Starts from the studio tour package, recording package, dance training, until the shooting package. Inside SMTOWN Studio there are many special rooms open to fans with different fares ranging from Rp399 thousand to Rp7 million.
By paying Rp1.1 million to Rp2.7 million, we can feel the experience of practicing process in KPop management standard room in South Korea. Plus trained by professional choreographers from SM Entertainment management. The training duration of many trainees is shortened to one hour in this room.
After a good dancing, time to take vocals. SMTOWN Studio also provides some recording space for fans or visitors who want to experience singing in the studio that is same with studio used by EXO when recording 'Miracles In December' or 'Sing For You'. Just pay Rp2 million, we can record and bring home the recording. The output form was not just a piece of CD, but like a real album KPop.
Well, if you want the album to be more real, you can also all do make over and shooting session here. A make up room is located just off the SMTOWN Studio receptionist. We can choose what style we want, SNSD? Super Junior? TVXQ? You can try it!
SM Entertainment fans certainly won't be bored if coming to SMTOWN COEX Artium, Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea. Every corner of this six-story building is really a happy maker!
After satisfied window shopping at SUM Store on the second floor, then look at SMTOWN Studio and SM Entertainment's artist awards trophies. On the 4th floor of SMTOWN COEX Artium, there is a cafe named LIVErary.
LIVErary is a combination of the word 'Live' and 'Library'. The concept of this cafe, fans not only can hang out and relax, but also can enjoy the Kpop music from SMTOWN artist who can be selected in the library of jukebox machines that exist at some point on LIVErary.
There is an "aquarium" where a three-dimensional print of the Hans character (played by Suho) in 'School of Oz' stands firmly there. Body size, blond hair parts, clothing, until his shoes have the exact same size as Suho.
The tables and chairs at LIVErary from afar look as plain white. But when we approach, we can see graffiti on the table and also on the back of the chair's back. The graffiti is a signature of SM Entertainment artists.
On the left side of the cafe, there is a window to order foods and drinks which of course EXO, Red Velvet, f(x), SHINee, SNSD, Super Junior, and TVXQ's related. There's no heavy food here but just different types of coffee, tea, and chocolate drinks. There are also sweet snacks such as ice cream and macaroon.
Somewhere at the back, there's a rows rack of candy from artists that can also be enjoyed by us. There was a glass-lined black wall in front of the cafe which printed the history records of SMTOWN artists. Important information really to be known for new fans who like KPop in the era of EXO.
After you enjoy some snacks and get to know more about SM, at the 5th and 6th floo,r you can find hologram theatre.
SM TOWN THEATRE is Korea’s first hologram theatre with capability of showing both hologram content and conventional concerts as well. It was a huge success. Within 8 days since the opening, two out of three shows have been completely sold out and another two shows in a month after that were all sold out.
Sources : detik.com & wikipedia.
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