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Entering Lotte World Adventure
The map of Lotte World Adventure... the larger part is the indoor section
Once we were inside, everybody kind of scattered into their own small groups rather than walking around as a gigantic group of 100 people. The first ride I went on was called the French Revolution, an indoor roller coaster that, at certain points, actually goes down low through the walkways of the park. At the lowest points, the roller coaster cars themselves are probably only 15 feet above the floor of the walkways. It was a pretty fun roller coaster, short but sweet and not overwhelming. It had one loop and a really steep bank, where the cars felt completely sideways as they circled above a water fountain. Also, while we were waiting in line for the French Revolution, there was tons of writing all over the walls, and we contributed to it by letting everyone know that Soshified rode on the roller coaster.
The big line for the French Revolution
We had a tall person write this
The French Revolution
After riding that, myself and some a couple other friends wandered around the indoor area, exploring the park. We got a ticket for another ride, where you can reserve a spot in line for a later time (it works similar to Disneyland, from what I was told). With the ticket in hand, we checked out as much as we could see inside, and we stopped at a big stage in the middle. On the stage, an all-female band performed a selection of K-pop songs, including "Hoot", which they labelled as "Whoot" for some reason on the screen (copyright issues?). They also played 4minute's "Mirror, Mirror" and Wonder Girls' "Nobody". After watching the band perform, the timing was perfect to go redeem our ticket and cut ahead of the line for another ride. Our second ride was a pirate ship that swung back and forth (I don't remember the name of it). It wasn't a very exciting ride, except for the fact that Soshi members rode on it during MTV SNSD.
The band playing.... Whoot
The pirate ship ride
After a little bit more wandering around, my group of friends decided it was finally time for us to see if the rain had stopped. It was completely dry on the ground when we walked out, so it had probably stopped raining for quite some time. Unfortunately, we waited so long that we didn't have much time left for too many rides. The first one we tried outside was the Gyro Drop, which is also another ride that the girls went on during MTV SNSD. It's one of those rides that brings you up REALLY high and then just drops you straight down. While we were waiting in line, we said to each other "You know, it's ok if we die on this ride, because we went to the concert yesterday". The ride itself spins around slowly as it goes up to the top, so we were given a full 360 degree view of Seoul as we went up. Once it gets to the top, there's a little 4-second or so pause before it drops... So it gives you time to wonder why in the heck you got up there in the first place.
Walking outside
The Gyro Drop
The Gyro Drop more or less ended my day at Lotte World Adventure, not because it was too intense for me, but because I started to feel hungry and lightheaded. With the short amount of time that we had left at the park, I wanted to make sure I ate something, since we'd had people feel ill during concert day because they had been out in the heat without food for long periods of time. So I went off on my own to look for food as others continued on to try and get on one more ride before leaving. As we gathered back at the exit of the park, we encountered a few Soshified field trip members who had bought Scream masks and replicated Soshi's pictures throughout Lotte World Adventure.
Aegyo in a Scream mask?
Recreating Soshi in Scream masks. In the pic: cedge, grayfm, mawelli, eatyouramen, jessiesboy (let me know if I messed up your username, and special thanks to jessiesboy for the picture!)
After we finished up at Lotte World Adventure, we were taken to some shops to learn about some Korean specialty products: ginseng and amethyst. Apparently the finest 6-year old ginseng in the world is grown in Korea, and while they export the younger and less-awesome ginseng, the best 6-year old ginseng can only be bought in Korea. Regarding the amethyst, all other types of gemstones have to be imported from other parts of the world, but amethyst is naturally mined in many parts of Korea.
Then, we were taken to the KBS studios for the recording of Immortal Song 2 (where cameras were not allowed, so I has no pictures of the show). I don't know if the show's format is normally like that, but for the recording we were at, all the performances were duets. The first performance was by Sistar's Hyorin and DJ DOC. They were matched up against two people who I did not know at all. The second round featured 4minute's Jiyoon as well as another DJ-rapper (I don't quite remember who). Their second round opponent was Super Junior's Kyuhyun and Son Hoyoung from g.o.d. Finally, the third round kicked off with MBLAQ's G.O and Kan Miyeon, formerly of Baby V.O.X. The second duet from that round was performed by Jay Park and former H.O.T. member Moon Heejoon.
If you know the format of the show, the audience votes on who they think put on the best performance in each round, and the winner of each round advances to the final vote, where the audience chooses the best overall out of the remaining three. I thought Hyorin and DJ DOC's performance was the best in round one, as it had a TON of high energy, but they lost. I was pretty conflicted by the second round voting, but I honestly was blown away by the great vocals by Kyuhyun and Son Hoyoung, but they ultimately lost to Jiyoon. I wasn't too upset about that vote, however, since I really like Jiyoon. I was pretty impressed by G.O's duet with Kan Miyeon, and I can't say I'm a big fan (though I'm FAR from being an anti) of Jay Park, but I ended up being 0-3 in picking winners. Jay Park's win over G.O was extremely obvious, though, since there were tons of fangirls screaming for Jay the entire way.
Dinner followed Immortal Song 2, and it was an incredibly tasty (but not quite filling enough) meal of bulgogi. As it was the last night in Korea for many of us, a lot of people were celebrating the wonderful friendships made during the trip by sharing bottles of makgeolli, soju, and beer. The party continued late into the night (and morning) in some peoples' rooms, though I didn't join in on the heavy drinking and partying. I was just too exhausted for all of that.
Mmmm.... bulgogi
Party time!
Final meeting with the whole group in the hotel lobby
The trip finally came to an end, but I wish it could have gone on forever. I met so many wonderful friends while on the trip, and everyone was so nice and so much fun to hang out with. I already know what it's like to hang out with a couple of SONEs, but to hang out with 100 is something else entirely. We all felt like family from the start, because we all had that common bond. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and something I definitely won't forget anytime soon.
I hope you've enjoyed all my fanaccount recaps from the trip! Be on the lookout for something a little more official from Soshified soon!
- fanaccount and photos by [email protected]... Scream mask group picture by [email protected]
