There are some things I’m just too old to understand and I guess the love of K-Pop is one of them. But I did get a chuckle at how invested so many young people were in waiting and hoping for a K-Pop star to emerge at Seoul Gimpo Airport.
K-Pop Paparazzi Eagerly Waits At Seoul Gimpo Airport
As we were walking out of the baggage claim at Seoul Gimpo, I was surprised to see hundreds of people–mostly young women–waiting outside the sliding doors in the arrivals lobby. All had cameras or camera phones and some even had ladders.
My colleague explained they were waiting for K-Pop (Korean pop music) stars…and that this has become so bad that Kroean Air and Asiana, the two South Korean carriers, have specifically restricted refunds on tickets once passengers make their way to the secure area of the airport (past security and immigration).
It seems that many young people were booking refundable premium cabin tickets in order to go on the hunt for K-Pop stars in the airport lounges, gate area and even onboard. Yes, in many cases the fans would book first class tickets, board the flight, ask for pictures with the K-Pop star, then cancel their tickets before boarding was complete and request a refund.
The problem became so bad that Korean Air greatly increased the cost of a last-minute cancellation fee in 2018. These days, most fans are not engaging in those sorts of tricks, but many are still hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite star after arrival.
I stopped to take a picture of the photographers to which I received a fairly laughable response: many shielded their faces or turned away after they saw I was taking pictures.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander…?
Living in LA, I’m a bit surprised I do not see more of the same thing at Los Angeles International Airport. But with PS (Private Suite) at LAX, any major celebrity is going to bypass the public (heck, even some of my Award Expert clients, who are much lower on the celebrity food chain, use it too).
CONCLUSION
If you’re traveling into Seoul Gimpo or Incheon airports, keep an eye out for the paparazzi hoping for a glimpse of their favorite K-Pop star. It’s another interesting cultural quirk of traveling in South Korea.
Back in 2018, I flew in for work but it coincided with the Black Panther movie promotion where the actors and actresses were going around Asia to promote the movie. I walked out of ICN to catch a taxi for a meeting and I was swarmed with paparazzi as they thought I was one of the actors in the movie. To be fair, flights from LAX and JFK to ICN land at the same time at ICN and I had a KE employee escorting me out as I was flying F so I could see the confusion. Not gonna lie, it felt kinda good.
Lol “all y’all look alike”
Saw this at BKK only so far
Buying a refundable ticket then cancelling it just to have airside access? Singapore combats that by fining people who do that and lack an excuse, such as a heart attack.
I’m sorta glad that the west doesn’t have a complete stranglehold on global music success nowadays
To me, this is admirable, and indicative of a free society. It’s a public space, there’s no expectation of privacy, and law enforcement in Korea seems to not only respect that, but they view all people (K-pop star or not) as equal. Good on ya’, Korea!
I was with my family in Paris last summer and while walking through Place Vendome we saw a lot of people with cameras in front of the Ritz hotel. My kids asked someone in the crowd what was going on and they said they were waiting for K-Pop to leave the hotel. My kids came back and said “let’s keep walking, never heard of these people.” LOL!!!
Pretty normal scene in ICN, especially after getting through security checkpoint into airside. Small sample size but I have seen it several times in that airport and I’ve only flown through ICN 6-7x
I’ll never understand this phenomenon.