[KCON18LA] Day-0: Thursday Early Check-In

KCON LA 2018 officially took place from Friday, August 10th to Sunday, August 12th. On Thursday, August 9th from 1PM to 5PM at Petree Hall at the LA Convention Center, there is also early check-in where you can pick up your wristbands and engagement packs if you had pre-registered. I'm so happy that this time I wasn't alone - I had my Goldenness friend that I had met prior to KCON NY. Before I really begin, here's my outfit for the day. I decided to bring back the "DamDaDi" jersey I wore in NY, complete with my Golden Day tote and pins, and this time with my Golden Child pin from KCON NY. Throughout the weekend several recognized me as the girl who went up on stage with Golden Child in NY!

We got in line at about 12PM to a crowd of over 100 people before us. The line was outside without shade, and the sun was brutally shining down on us. After a few minutes, the staff told those with Diamond/Platinum or who only wanted to buy merchandise to create a separate line, and those "reserved" (meaning pre-registered, non-VIP) to stay in the current line. As always, it was fun talking to everyone around us, especially those holding Golden Child signs! I'm so happy to have seen so many Goldenness already.

Eventually the line began to move and continued inside the refreshing AC-filled convention hall. To the left was the merchandise booth. There was an event banner to the right - basically if you buy at least $x amount of merchandise, you get the chance to win certain prizes (I think the minimum was around $20 and $50). And if you are one of the first to buy at least $60 including the $8 fan letter kit, you will get a photo opportunity with one of the designated artists for that day at Star Square. This can only be done on the day of that artist's scheduled appearance at Star Square.

Once I was at the check-in counter, I showed the staff the QR code from my email on my phone and confirmed my first and last name. The staff handed me the KCON tote bag (which is the same as in NY), the booklet, a KCON wristband, a Klub KCON wristband, and an A1 engagement pack. I also checked in for my friend using the same method; she had just the KCON and Klub wristbands, but she was still given the tote and booklet. This time the Klub wristband is separate from the KCON wristband because you can buy entry to Klub without a convention ticket.

This is what I pulled in my A1 pack. I got Ailee hi-touch, Wanna One audience, Twice audience, and Saturday red carpet. My heart dropped knowing that I'd have another difficult trial in obtaining the Golden Child hi-touch. Staff hoarded everyone who had received their packs back outside in the heat where all the trading was happening.

Once outside, everyone had signs listing what they wanted to trade. I had a notepad and Sharpie and did the same. It seemed like majority had Ailee hi-touch and wanted to trade it, while the most valuable hi-touch vouchers were for Twice and Wanna One (and probably Seventeen, Nu'est W, and Pentagon, however I can't recall now), and to my surprise, Chungha. My Goldenness friend had pulled a Chungha hi-touch, Pentagon audience, Nu'est W audience, and Saturday red carpet and right away traded her Chungha for Golden Child (literally right when she stepped outside).

Many people who checked in for multiple packs at one time received the same exact packs; clearly this time the packs were not randomized as they were in NY.

I was struggling much more this time trying to trade my hi-touch, and eventually at 2:45PM gave in and bought a Golden Child hi-touch for $100 out of desperation. I realize now that I didn't play my cards right and could've gotten it for a lower price; I know one Goldenness who bought hers for $40. I bought mine from someone who had Platinum, so their pack is labelled differently. Now I had my Golden Child hi-touch, planned on keeping my Saturday red carpet, and needed to sell off the rest.

I walked around the trading grounds with my notepad and Twice audience voucher on display. I had my Ailee hi-touch and Wanna One audience on hold, which later fell through, so I dealt with those in the evening and the following days. I ended up trading my Twice audience voucher for $25 and a Seventeen audience voucher, then traded that Seventeen audience for a Wanna One audience. I then settled for selling the Wanna One audience for $50. So in the end, selling my Twice audience got me $75.

My friend and I spent a good chunk of our afternoon on the trading grounds. In the early evening we headed to Koreatown to my go-to restaurant, Han Bat Shul Lung Tang. Afterwards we stopped at Gongcha (it brings me back to my Sinchon days 4 years ago, the last time I stepped into Gongcha!) and I ordered wintermelon tea, which is now my new obsession. We ended the evening by heading to the financial district and shopping for Golden Child-inspired clothes. As we headed back after a long day, I couldn't stop thinking how I'd already be seeing Golden Child again tomorrow!