Friday, March 21, 2014

3rd KTO supporters welcome dinner & Kaboom show

The third season of the Korean Tourism Organization Performance Supporters kicked off last night with it's welcome dinner and a viewing of the variety show, Kaboom. This is my second season as a supporter, and I was once again blown away by the quality of food that we were treated to. The dinner this time was held at VIPS buffet in the Jongno area of Seoul. The variety and quality of food was more than what I tend to expect from mid prized buffets. During the dinner I saw some familiar faces from the events I attended last season, and I also had the opportunity to meet new supporters and talk about some of the events we are looking forward to this year.

After dinner we were asked to exit the dining area, and move to the fourth floor for the opening ceremony and start of the show. The lobby of the theater got a little bit packed with so many people arriving at the same exact time, but I guess this wouldn't be much of an issue during a regular night. Upon entering the theater we were given a gift bag from the KTO and shown to our seats. The opening ceremony consisted of an awards ceremony for the top supporters from the last season. I believe there were ten of them, and they each got to take a picture on the stage and where given a prize. I'm not sure as to what else the opening ceremony consisted of because it was conducted in Korean. I understand that Korean is the official language of the organization, but considering the majority of the attendees were foreigners I did feel like perhaps translating some of it would have made us feel more involved instead of just clapping and cheering whenever others did.

After the opening ceremony the show got started. I don't think this show is meant to have any type of specific story line or flow as the segments where all completely different from each other, and I wasn't able to figure out how they connected with each other. The variety show included a magician solo act, a magician act with two people that told the story of two lovers gone awry, a b-boy act consisting of members from the Morning of Owl crew, an act with three girls playing traditional Korean instruments, and my favorite, the closing act was I think five people wearing body suits that lit up and combined a pretty impressive choreography with a captivating light show. The show wrapped up with all performers coming on stage and taking a final vow.
Overall, I was confused by the direction this show was taking, but I was definitely blown away by the last performance and would go back for them alone.

The show theater and VIPS restaurant are in the same building, and can be easily reached from Exit 15 of Jongno 3ga subway station. Upon exiting continue straight and make the fourth left (at the busiest intersection). The theater is on the left hand side.


table setting at VIPS buffet

fried chicken, noodles, ribs.. yum yum

salad bar area


before the start of the show

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