G-Dragon's 2017 World Tour Act III: MOTTE in Seattle Concert Experience

G-Dragon is currently in the middle of his grand scale 2017 world tour entitled "Act III: MOTTE", and I'm ecstatic to provide my experience of his Seattle stop! As you probably know, the tour began on June 10th in Seoul and a month into the tour, GD is starting his 8-stop North American leg in Seattle on Tuesday, July 11th.

I admit that I only know a couple of GD and Big Bang songs, however it truly is an honor to be able to see G-Dragon live in my own city. It is still not common for Korean artists to perform in Seattle, with only a few (Kanto / Beenzino / Verbal Jint and CL) performing at the very intimate venue The Show Box in recent years. GD is really stepping it up by performing at Seattle's basketball stadium Key Arena that houses 17,000+ seats (at maximum configuration). I'm so excited to experience a Kpop concert in my city and to support Korean artists to continue coming to Seattle!

A week before the concert, I started noticing GD's concert posters plastered around the city, even in residential neighborhoods. I love how the city is getting spirited for the event!

I'll break down this post into various sections to fully outline my experience of attending a Kpop concert at Seattle's Key Arena. I hope my details can be used as a reference for future performances here.

Ticketing

General ticket sales began on Friday, May 5th at noon PDT via www.ticketmaster.com. There are 2 types of tickets: VIP Soundcheck Package and standard seating. For VIP, there are Gold, Silver, and Bronze packages (for Seattle, only Gold ($600USD) and Silver ($400USD). VIP sounded very enticing with access to the pre-show soundcheck rehearsal, commemorative laminate and gift pack, and more. Gold also includes a post-show send off for G-Dragon. It would have been so cool to experience all of this, however that's a lot of money to fork out. All VIP tickets are general admission standing. 

Ticketing was rather chaotic as expected. The website chooses the "best available seat" based on your search criteria and holds that seat for you for several minutes. It was hard deciding whether to buy the ticket chosen for you or opt for another seat. I sadly did that several times, and after about 15 minutes, ended up with Section 115 Row 14 Seat 4.

At The Venue

I arrived at Seattle Center (the area surrounding Key Arena) at around 4:30PM. The doors had already opened for VIP (this is referring to those with the VIP Soundcheck Package, not the fandom) at 4PM for those lined up at the East Entry. There were separate lines with large banners to distinguish VIP type. Across the entrance a few yards away was a separate line for general admission standing. For those with seated tickets, they could wait anywhere, however I chose West Entry as that didn't conflict with any pit tickets where waiting in line was important.

My friend had Silver VIP and was standing at the East Entry along with the other VIP ticket holders. The security guards let me join my friend despite me having a seated ticket (especially since you need a VIP ticket to enter anyways). She told me that after they let VIP in (gold first, then silver), they collected their VIP goodies and were able to buy merchandise, then went back outside the East Entry to wait again for Soundcheck. It wasn't so organized because once my friend went back outside, there was no distinct line for Soundcheck.

My friend showed me the special VIP goodies she got. It included a red book bag that specifically stated Act III: MOTTE in US/CANADA, along with a black velvet pouch containing 2 red metal clips with Act III: MOTTE, and other goods. I plan to get pictures of these eventually. She also received a VIP Soundcheck badge and lanyard. Pictured above is the backside.

The front side of the badge is holographic!

Looking at the badge one way shows a blackened image.

Looking at the badge another way shows VIP on the red poster background with inverse colors for the text.

Waiting to Enter the Stadium

Officially the doors were supposed to open at 6PM for all ticket holders, so I walked around to the West Entry by 6:05PM. Pictured above is my place in line, and within minutes the line doubled. The security guards gave a debrief (have your ticket available, have your bag opened, be prepared to be wanded, don't have drinks) and the line started moving at 6:15PM. The guards told us to fill the area in front of the doors rather than keeping a single-file line, so I ended up on the last few steps of the entrance. One guard later on informed us that the doors will open at 7PM instead, due to the soundcheck being longer than intended, however I'm not sure how accurate this statement is. At 6:52PM, there was a loud and heavy bass. It occurred again at 7:01PM.

Finally at 7:13PM the doors opened. Though we were in a massive blob to get in, it split into several lines for security check. Guards used metal detector wands and checked bags. I made it inside the building at 7:21PM.

Venue Observations

The entire time I was around the venue, from 4:30PM until after 7PM, there were no fansites in sight. I was sad to see this part of the Kpop concert experience lacking. There was one group who had planned a special project of passing out small red plastic bags to every fan, which we would put over our lightsticks and create a red ocean after GD performed "Crayon". My VIP friend said that this group had passed out these bags earlier, but I hadn't seen them since. It wasn't until I was lining up for merchandise that they came around again to pass out more bags.

While waiting in line at West Entry, I did notice across the street a sketchy minivan with unofficial posters plastered over its windows. They were selling unofficial Big Bang goods, but clearly they weren't a fansite.

The doors also had signs saying no re-entry.

Last observation, the audience was very mixed, containing mostly teens and young adults, about half Asian, and maybe 10% male. It looked like older married couples attended too, as well as young friend groups.

Buying Merchandise

There were two merchandise stalls inside the stadium, located right after entering from the West Entry and East Entry. I went to the stall near West Entry, and it was split into two lines. I got in line at 7:21PM and finished buying at 7:52PM, lasting about 30 minutes. As imagined, it was very chaotic and the cashiers were constantly going to the backroom to bring out more boxes of goods, especially boxes full of lightsticks as practically everyone in line bought at least one. They accepted both cash and card, however I recommend using card so that the line can move faster and hopefully the goods you want won't run out.

Each lightstick purchase is supposed to come with a pair of batteries. However the lady paying in the line next to me had gotten the last pair of batteries, and somehow this stall didn't receive the same number of pairs of batteries as they had lightsticks. At the same time, there were two ladies in front of me that were paying in cash, greatly slowing down our line. When it came to my turn, I purchased the lightstick without batteries. I will show an unboxing of this lightstick in a future post.

I was pleasantly surprised at the great selection of merchandise that the tour brought to their North American leg. While this isn't the entire collection that was sold in Seoul or at other Asian stops, this is still quite impressive.

They displayed all the merchandise on the back wall, with smaller items also displayed in the glass cases. This is what the Seattle stop had to offer in USD:

• Long sleeve tee - $55
• T-shirt (4 types) - $45
• Towel - $35
• Baseball cap - $45
• Bandana - $25
• Tote - $15 (?)
• Bear - $20 (? it was already sold out)
• Pins - $7 or $10
• Necklace - $10
• Luggage tag - $7 or $10
• Lightstick V4 white - $35
• Water bottle - (?)

Ear plugs were also sold for $2.

In the display case, you can see the luggage tag, necklace, cap, bandana, towel, and water bottle.

The Concert

I was worried that my seat would be quite far away and quite angled from the stage, however it was a really great view! The best part is that because this is stadium seating, each row is significantly higher than the previous so no one can block your view. Above is my seat along with my non-lit lightstick.

There was one screen on each side of the stage showing GD's music video reel until just before 9PM when the concert began.

Everything has become a happy blur, so I'll just list the things I remember (I video recorded the entire concert, but it's a lot to rewatch and take screencaps...):

• GD performed song after song after song, with only 3 talking segments. I was so surprised that he spoke English so well! He was very fluent and all of his speeches were very natural.
• He spoke a lot about his latest album, his new stage in life, and how worried he was on how fans would perceive all of this.
• The concert was broken into 3 acts, transitioning from G-Dragon to Kwon Ji Yong. The VCRs even showed this, displaying a medical transition. There was also one VCR documentary asking CL, Taeyang, Jung Hyung Don, Psy, and more, the following: 1) Who is GD to you, and 2) Who is Kwon Ji Yong to you.
• Though I was in the seated area, during the last half hour everyone was standing. In the latter half of the concert, the audience kept chanting Kwon Ji Yong.
• During GD's performance which is usually performed as a duet with CL, it was cool that they incorporated a VCR of CL.
• Sitting at the side of the stage, it was hard to see GD during many stages. There were many props where he was in a box, or on a royal thrown on top of stairs, and only those in the center could see him. There were also huge curtains covering majority of the stage at times. For one stage, people were even hanging from the ceiling.
• I was disappointed that for many songs, GD took many pauses and let his pre-recorded tracks play instead. However I do understand that it's tough to rap a straight 2 hours.
• After he performed Crayon and they played a VCR, about half of the audience with lightsticks created the Red Ocean.
• The concert ended before 11PM. While usually I would try and see the artist leave the venue, I didn't this time as only Gold VIP were able to attend the sendoff party.

GD looked like he had a lot of fun on stage. Here he's sitting on a box in front of the stage, watching his background dancers.

At other times GD had a very simple stage.

Ending Thoughts
Leaving the concert, I had these thoughts:

• I thought that I'd never be able to use my Big Bang lightstick, but then during GD's concert there was the announcement that Taeyang will be having a world tour this year with a stop in Vancouver...
• This concert was so different from any of the Infinite concerts I experienced. The VCRs, themes, and ments all felt like a live documentary, all very raw and real.
• I didn't really know any of GD's songs, but now I'm obsessed with "Crooked" and especially "Untitled". It's amazing the variety of genres GD has covered, and I hope he continues with songs like "Untitled" to showcase his talented voice.
  

"아가씨 (The Handmaiden)" Movie Screening

Amazon Prime Videos occasionally hosts premier movie screenings of upcoming films that Amazon Studios has purchased the U.S. rights to display. I was lucky to be invited by a friend this past Thursday, October 13th, to see the screening of the 2016 Korean movie "아가씨 (The Handmaiden)" (the literal translation is "Lady"), set to release on Friday, October 14th. Pictured above is one of the posters in the theater.

This was the voucher I received as I entered the theater.

And here is one of the official posters of the movie. "The Handmaiden" is one of the most suspenseful thriller movies I've ever seen. It's very complex and very well done,but is definitely not for the faint of heart and not for a younger audience. The story is set in Japanese-controlling Korea where a Korean conman and thief plot to deceive a wealthy Japanese maiden of her money. I won't say any more about the plot! Overall, it's definitely a very complex movie that is full of twists and turns. But it's too tough of a movie to watch over and over again; once was enough^^

Bellevue: Tous Les Jours

Just a couple of weeks ago, I found out that there's actually a Korean bakery franchise in Washington state! And it's none other than Tous Les Jours. I've had fond memories of this bakery while studying abroad in Seoul, and it's probably my most favorite of the many Korean bakery and cafe franchises.

This branch is located inside of the Korean grocery store H Mart at 100 108th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004. Inside is quite small, but is packed with lots of goodies.

The outside display case is filled with very gorgeous cakes. I'm really obsessed with honey, so I was happy to see they had several items incorporating the ingredient.

Inside, you can grab a wooden tray lined with wax paper and a pair of tongs to grab pastries. There are also pre-packaged loaves of bread and other items throughout the store.

My family ended up buying a mocha cake. It came in a really nice box (the way it was designed was very ingenious in the way it folds and collapses, and it's so easy to slide the cake in and out of the box without ruining anything). The workers were so nice to also include a very sturdy, disposable cake knife and candles.

Here is the cake. It is light and reasonably sweet, which is perfect for Asian taste. This was a medium-sized cake and cost about $38.

These are a few of the items I got. If items aren't pre-packaged, the worker would tie them up in individual plastic bags. These items ranged from around $1.50 to $4.50. The bag of cheese muffins was definitely my favorite; there are 10 bite-size cheese muffins that are way too addicting. I also got a loaf of chestnut bread, which was so delicious.

I'm so thrilled to have found this location, because most Korean food franchises located in the US are either in LA or NY. Every time I'm in the Eastside, I'll definitely be stopping into Tous Les Jours to pick up those cheese muffins, a loaf of bread, and other pastries!

"Somewhere Only We Know" Movie Review

Leaving Exo behind, Kris has gone on and done great things, one of them being the main actor of the Chinese movie, "Somewhere Only We Know." This movie was released a week or so early in China, but luckily has also been released in main cities around the US on February 13th, 2015. I'm so happy that this movie is being shown in downtown Seattle as well! Nothing is more amazing than seeing an Asian movie starring an idol in your own, non-Asian country.

"Somewhere Only We Know" is currently playing at Regal Meridian 16 in downtown Seattle from (technically) Thursday night, February 12th to Thursday, February 19th, with four showings a day and is an hour and 49 minutes long, Here is the poster for it! Though Kris is the main image on the poster, his character really wasn't overly dominating and all the main characters had lots of screen time.

This movie is a mix of romance and drama that pulls at your heartstrings (or at least for those easily emotional and sensitive like me, you'll get teary-eyed) and is like every school girl's fantasy while studying abroad. Let me clear things up by giving the summary: There are two to three stories intertwined together, but the main story is about a woman in her late 20s who studies abroad in Prague for the summer. She meets a man, Kris, who lives in Prague and they develop a relationship (this is the fantasy part I was talking about^^) though of course there are complications with them being together (like a typical Korean drama). The parallel story is the woman's only family she's known is her grandmother, who recently passed away and was always single, until the woman (I'm sorry I forgot her name) learns of her grandmother's love in Prague. The woman then decides to search about her grandmother's past in Prague. All that isn't as important as this third story, which includes long flashbacks of the grandmother's time in Prague with the man she fell in love with there.

The first part of the movie is more about the woman's new life abroad and developing the love story between her and Kris. This part really felt like a typical but well-done Korean romantic drama that tugs at your heartstrings. Then it focuses more on her finding more about her grandmother's past and even more on the flashbacks to her grandmother's story. All of this is the deep part that sets this movie apart from typical romantic comedies. It goes back and forth between the two time periods, but it transitions well and all the stories flow well together. Overall, I absolutely love this movie because it really gave me a rush of emotions and it's just one of those movies I can't shut up about because it's the only thing on my mind. The movie was really well done, and I always thought Asian productions have a hard time filming in a western country and then everyone's speaking a certain Asian language like that's everyone's native language, but this movie does it well where they do have Mandarin, English, and Czech where it needs to be. One last note that no one cares about, they also had the "Gwiyomi Song" and Kris sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Franki Valli, my most favorite American singer; this movie basically brought together everything I love in one. Now, I cannot get over Kris and I can't wait to see his upcoming productions, and I hope they'll be just as big and will be released in the US!

[Update 2] Kinokuniya Bookstore in Seattle

After returning to Seattle from studying in Seoul over the summer, I noticed that Kinokuniya has added a Kpop section! I first blogged about the little selection of Korean Jpop here and here. This is really exciting because I haven't found a store that sells Kpop albums anywhere on the West Coast, besides Burnaby and LA. Upstairs on the second floor of this bookstore, there are three mini bookshelves of both really recent and older Kpop albums, and of popular and not-so-popular artists.

Artists include Block B, BAP, IU, Lee Hi, Boyfriend, 2NE1, Got7, Speed, BESTie, TTS, Boys Republic, MIB...the list goes on! They had several copies of Infinite's Be Back album then, but when I visited again in early November, they were all gone.

The prices are a little high, considering the shipping fee and that Kinokuniya is just generally more expensive. I'd say they're reasonable though, like all the Infinite albums are maybe $5 or so more than what I paid for online, and I think Be Back was roughly $10 more, at $29.99.

There are also two display areas of unofficial goods, including light sticks, rubber coin purses, wallets, pencil cases, book bags, folders, and more of the really developed boy bands, like Big Bang, SHINee and Super Junior.

The Korean Jpop section has also expanded, with albums from artists like SNSD, Big Bang, Super Junior, Donghae and Eunhyuk, SHINee, 2AM, 2NE1, U-Kiss, Rainbow, DBSK and After School.

Also as I was leaving the bookstore and passing through Uwajimaya, I was so thrilled to find the drink I fell in love with in Seoul, Milkis! And I didn't even know there were other flavors besides original!

I went back again on November 22nd, and the Kpop area has changed, yet again! Upstairs, there is now a magazine rack display for Kpop albums, so it's much easier to see (before they were just like books on a shelf, but at ground level). There are also albums on top of the mini bookshelves, all of which line the borders of the second floor. Then the center now displays Jpop, with half of the table dedicated to AKB48 and the other half for Arashi. I am so sorry for the blurry photo...I was in such a rush because shoppers were judging me for taking photos. The labels I made are general...as you can vaguely see, Block B's Jackpot is in the 'Unofficial Goods' section and a Super Junior bag is the the 'Kpop CD Display.' There was also a SHINee photobook for around $46 (I know nothing about SHINee goods, but just throwing it out there that they also carry nice photobooks).

Here is a closer look at the row of Kpop CD displays. I am so impressed with their collection!

Since Infinite F released their debut Japanese single on November 19th, I asked if the store will be getting any version of the album. The worker told me that new albums usually take one month to arrive, and that the supplier just gives them whatever, so which version(s) the store will receive is unknown, and they don't have any indication of the price range. But you can leave your email or phone number with them and they can contact you when the album arrives! Though it's obviously faster (and cheaper) to order online, and purchasing from many online shops counts towards music charts, I'm still so thrilled that new album releases are coming to Seattle!

Also on the wall by the cash register is a sign saying posters are $10.99...I've never seen Kpop posters here before! But they had an official (at least I think it's official) F(x) Red Light poster, and a small, unofficial Beast poster.

I can't wait to see how else Kinokuniya will expand and spread the joy of Kpop to Seattleites!

Asian Music Festival in Seattle Experience

The Asian Music Festival Korean Hip Hop Series Vol 1 is currently in tour in New York, Seattle and L.A. I was so shocked to see Korean artists coming to Seattle, that I had to jump on this rare opportunity no matter the artist! While I was a bit hesitant to go because I'd feel out of place, I had two reasons for going:

1. To support the fact that there are fans in Seattle waiting for Korean artists to perform, and
2. The artists have ties to Infinite, so I must go!

The artists are Bumkey (who was featured in Infinite H's "Special Girl"), Verbal Jint (Infinite H covered his song "You Look Good" in Infinite's first concert), Beenzino (who I don't know), with special guest Kanto (who featured Sunggyu in "What You Want").

The Seattle concert was on Friday, May 23 at 7PM. I got a general admission ticket for $61.50; my ticket was 438 out of 1130 total tickets. There was also an early entry ticket that cost about an extra $25. The venue is located directly across from Pike Place and can be a bit sketchy outside; once inside the venue, it does seem a bit small and rundown, but it goes unnoticed once the concert starts. Also there is a bar to the side of the stage, which is the only section with seating. As for the rest of the layout, there's the floor, and then a slightly elevated platform in the back half of the pit area.

While the ticket says that doors open at 6PM, it wasn't until 6:50 when the general admission line started to pile into the venue. I got in line at around 5:50 and it had already snaked around the corner, yet by the time I got inside, I was a decent 15 feet away from the stage. DANakaDAN was the opening act and had already started; he performed meaningful raps in English for a good 30 minutes. I really liked his personality and the way he controlled the stage and connected with the audience. He really knew how to get everyone in the mood, even the most socially awkward concert goers like myself!

The next half hour was Beenzino, who spoke and performed in only Korean but knew how to get everyone bouncing on their feet and shaking the floor! At one point he even sprayed water on us with his water bottle. He was the most hardcore rapper of the night.

Next was Bumkey, who communicated in both Korean and English. He was very versatile, performing songs in Korean and some old school English songs. To my surprise, he even asked for someone's hand (which led to a major pit shift) while he sang purely without instruments or a backtrack! To top it off, Bumkey also performed a medley of the songs he was featured in, including none other than "Special Girl"! Everyone started screaming and singing along. Here's my fancam of it^^ I was surprised that he sang songs he was merely featured in, but I'm so thankful he did, as it was one of the three songs of the night that I knew -.-

Afterwards, Kanto joined Bumkey's act and together, they performed "What You Want," with Bumkey singing Sunggyu's part! Many people started singing along to this number too, including myself! Here's my fancam. May 23, the day of this venue, was also Kanto's 20th birthday, so Bumkey asked us to sing "Happy Birthday" to him in English. It's crazy that he's just a few weeks older than I am! The two performed a few more songs, spraying water on us along the way, and threw out Troy hoodies to the crowd. Bumkey was on stage for about 45 minutes when he and Kanto finished.

Last up was Verbal Jint, who was on stage for about 50 minutes, performing many old and new, unreleased songs. He spoke in English and Korean and touched many fans' hands. He also accompanied several of his songs by playing the keyboard. A highlight was when he did an almost acoustic version of "You Look Good" (which can be seen in my fancam), then he performed it normally.

After Verbal Jint left the stage, the crowd shouted for an encore, and soon enough, Verbal Jint and Bumkey came back on stage to perform one last song. They left the stage again, and people weren't sure if it was really over, then I think Bumkey came running back on stage, but then left again. Then the lights dimly went up and we all exited at 9:40.

Overall, I'm so happy to have been able to branch out in the music world and experience hip hop music! I cannot get over "Special Girl" and "What You Want" and will forever treasure seeing these two songs live. I love that I saw Infinite H perform "Special Girl" and now I've seen Bumkey perform the chorus, so it's almost like seeing the full song live. Now if only I can see Sunggyu perform "What You Want" live to see that song fully live...

Kinokuniya Bookstore Mini Haul!

On October 18th I stopped by Kinokuniya Bookstore in Seattle Chinatown again and boy was I in for a lovely surprise.  The magazine section was filled with a new selection of the latest Asian magazines!  There were several copies of High Cut covering Kim Hyun Joong in a pool, as well as the Korea Billboard November 2013 issue and the K-Star Grandprix October 2013 issue.  There were also other magazines that were a few issues old, as well as many other non-Asian celebrity magazines.  Seeing Infinite and L on the covers of K-Star and Korea Billboard, I HAD to have a copy.  Plus, K-Star came with this super gorgeous poster, which was a definite surprise because there was no indication of it on the cover!  Here's what I got:

At the register, I spoke to the cashier who said magazine shipments usually come once a month.  She also asked if I was an Inspirit, and she said she was a SHINee fan!   Because she's a fangirl, I thought she'd take good care of my magazines, but she creased one of my magazine's corners while putting them in a tight paper bag.  I'm so upset because I treasure these so much.

Korea Billboard was $19.80 while K-Star was $15.35.  Though for a magazine these prices may seem high, it's worth it because 1) Japanese things always cost more and 2) the import fees play a role.  Besides, Korea Billboard comes with a behind-the-scenes DVD and K-Star comes with a regular sized poster (like it's huge-as big as the L's Bravo Viewtiful posters)!

I'll be posting up my thoughts on these two magazines soon!  I was just too excited about finding these magazines in Seattle, especially Korea Billboard (which I saw scans online thinking I'd never get my hands on this magazine).

Update: I went to exchange my bent Billboard magazine a few days later, and it was an easy swap!  The cashier (a different one) had to ask her manager first, but other than that, I was able to easily get a new, bent-free magazine.

Update: Kinokuniya Bookstore in Seattle

Today I revisited Kinokuniya Bookstore in Seattle's Chinatown.  Last month I made a post about it here.  As usual, I checked the magazine section and the selection was typical.  Then I stepped upstairs to the CD section and there is now a more varied collection of Jpop albums by Korean artists!  Before Kinokuniya mainly had the SM powerhouses, like Super Junior, SHINee, Girls' Generation, and other Kpop groups and singers that have prominence in Japan, such as FTIsland, Kara and Kim Hyun Joong.

A printed sign saying 'K-POP' really caught my attention.  They have basically doubled their Korean Jpop collection with more groups, including Boyfriend, Big Bang, F.Cuz, Secret, and generally a larger selection of the previous artists they carried.

Here is a close up of the additional 'K-POP' section.  It's just these small shelves, but the selection is much greater.

And here is the original shelf that contained new Jpop releases, including the minimal Korean Jpop selection Kinokuniya had before.  Here, I only spotted SHINee and Super Junior.

Once I locked eyes on this album, I couldn't take my hands off of it.  I was looking at Infinite's Koi Ni Ochiru Toki normal edition album!

There was only this one copy and I'm such a huge Inspirit...but because I'm planning on getting the limited version, I resisted my urge and didn't buy the normal edition (though I really want the photocard...).  Also, this album is $42 while the limited edition is also $42 online.  All in all, Kinokuniya has a larger selection of CDs but their prices are still ridiculously high. It's a great feeling to select albums in person rather than online, but pricing is also a factor in making a purchase. 

Seattle Chinatown: Uwajimaya Store

Uwajimaya is a large Japanese grocery store catering the Northwest.  While majority of the stores are for buying Asian food, there is a small section selling miscellaneous Asian gifts such as dishware, cards and beauty products.  In the Seattle Chinatown location, this gift area is past the rows of cash registers and just adjacent to Kinokuniya Bookstore, the Japanese bookstore with gorgeous magazines.

In a small glass counter display there are Korean and Japanese beauty products.  I found Dr. Jart+ Shining Base and Sun Block, as well as a variety of Skin79's BB creams.  The prices for these weren't listed.

On the other side of the counter is a selection of SkinFood masks.  The masks displayed from left to right are Black Sesame Seed Hot Mask, Cucumber Soothing Mask, Rice Mask, Black Sugar Mask, Kiwi Yogurt Mask and Fresh Aloe Pack.  The prices for these SkinFood products range from $14.80 to $19.  All the products in the photos were the only Korean products I found.

Usually there isn't a worker on duty (as you can see on the last picture how there is a "Checkstand Closed" sign).  The worker is needed to take the products out, offer testers and make transactions.  Also you can see the "No Returns" sign for beauty products.  It's been rather difficult finding Korean beauty products in the Seattle area, so I was surprised to see these products right in Seattle's Chinatown, at reasonable prices.  On a side note, I think I saw some toddler's colorful hanboks on the next display for purchase, which looked very adorable.

Kinokuniya Bookstore in Seattle

Kinokuniya Bookstore is a Japanese bookstore located throughout the world.  Each store carries Japanese books, as well as Japanese and Chinese magazines, Japanese CDs, travel guides, stationery and more. 

This Seattle location is the only Kinokuniya in Washington state, and it's located in Chinatown's Japanese grocery store Uwajimaya.  There are two entrances: one is from the corner of 6th and S Weller, and the other (pictured above) is from the inside of Uwajimaya.

And inside the store, there are signs of Kpop!  There are recent album promotion posters lining the stairway up to the second floor.  The only Kpop posters I found, and by Kpop I mean Jpop music by Kpop artists, include Girls' Generation's "Love & Girls," Jang Geun Suk's "Nature Boy" and SHINee's "Boys Meet U."

The second floor carries Jpop CDs.  Among this collection are some sparse Jpop CDs by Kpop artists.  The first section of CDs displays the new releases, which is where I found most of the Kpop artists.  Here I found Donghae & Eunhyuk of Super Junior, SHINee, Girls' Generation and Kim Hyun Joong (not shown in picture).  In alphabetical order I also found FTIsland's latest album, Rated FT, and more Girls' Generation.  To give a rough idea of just how expensive these CDs are, I'll list the prices.

This is majority of the Korean artists' Jpop CDs in the store.  As you can see, the prices are quite high and the store only carries well-established artists.  These are the listed prices and discounts seem to rarely happen.

Also upstairs is the travel section.  Here is a shelf with Korean travel guides in Japanese.  What drew me to this one book were Pig Rabbit and Jang Geun Suk on the cover, reminding me of my first drama, You're Beautiful.  Inside includes an abundance of pictures and locations, including this section filled with lots of Korean beauty stores like Nature Republic, Holika Holika, The Face Shop, Etude House, SkinFood, and more!

Downstairs is where all the magazines are.  The Kpop section is my most favorite area in the store!  This photo displays the entire Kpop boyband and actor magazine section, and as you can see there is a large variety.  These Japanese magazines showcase the hottest Kpop stars and Korean actors.  The magazines that caught my eye were one of Infinite (first magazine in the fourth row from the top) and of actor Song Joong Ki (second magazine on the top row).  These magazines do seem a bit pricy, with some being roughly $15.  While I prefer not to listen to Jpop (because if I can't understand Korean nor Japanese, I'd prefer to listen to music of the artists' native language), I have no preference with magazines because pictures are the same in any language and either way I can't understand the writing.  So I'm always inclined to buy a magazine while I'm here!  I did end up buying the Infinite magazine, which I'll review soon.

I come to Chinatown very often, but I only step into this bookstore maybe once a year.  What turns me off about Kinokuniya are the unreasonable prices (I understand that these our shipped from overseas, but finding these items online is much cheaper) and the very limited selection of Kpop.  But if I ever need a quick Kpop fix, I'd come here!

Bellevue: Seoul Garden Restaurant Review

Going to this restaurant was an impromptu visit, so I apologize for the lack of detail and photos. This restaurant is quite small and is located in the corner of a strip mall, on 304 105th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004. The decor is quite simple, with colorful walls, a TV displaying sports and American music playing in the background (sadly no signs of kpop anywhere). The waitresses are fluent in both Korean and English; in fact their English seems like their native tongue.

The place setting is really adorable.  I love the sanitary slip placed over the spoon!

 Here are the side dishes.  We received three sets of six dishes for 10 people.  From the top left going clockwise, there was seaweed, cucumber, kimchi, jelly-like strips, noodles and bean curd.  Each dish had its own taste to counterbalance each other.

The main dishes were very flavorful.  We ordered a variety of dishes, and each had its unique flavor.  We ordered two tofu soups, one originally spicy and another mild.  Usually when the customer alters the flavor of the dish (like choosing mild instead of the regular spicy) the dish doesn't taste as flavorful, but the mild flavor actually had a lot of flavor!  I was pleasantly surprised and would definitely order mild again.  My favorite was the dduk-bohk-yi, a spicy rice cake appetizer that had me wanting more!

The price was pretty reasonable, especially for the large portions served.  The bill ended up being about $108 for 10 people (six adults) for dinner, which is very decent, especially because everybody was stuffed and we had leftovers.  The service was also very good, despite only three waitresses working.  There were about 5-10 other parties, and the waitresses were prompt to serve everyone quickly.  Overall, I'd definitely come back to get my Korean food fix!

U District: Korean Tofu House Restaurant Review

I haven't found many Korean (authentic and fusion) restaurants in Seattle itself, though there is a significantly larger population of Koreans in Federal Way with many more Korean restaurants and shops.  I was ecstatic to find Korean Tofu House in Seattle, that I came here practically every week since I had found out about it!  Korean Tofu House, also known as just Tofu House, is adjacent to The Ave (University Way).  Just look for the painted green building, and walk down a short flight of stairs to get to the entrance.  It is one of the many ethnic mom-and-pop restaurants populating the University District, and definitely my most favorite of the bunch.  As my brother has said, you know a Korean restaurant is authentic when you smell of Korean BBQ when you leave!

Each entree comes with a bowl of rice and a variety of side dishes, including kimchi, bean sprouts,glazed potatoes, bean curd and seafood pancake.  Each of these side dishes were delicious and offered its own flavor and texture, creating diverse flavors.

I ordered #1, which is the Mixed Tofu Soup (clams, shrimp and beef), for $8.99.  This soup came out in a sizzling clay pot with a raw egg poured on top, which I skipped.  There were two clams, two shrimp, sliced beef and lots of very soft and smooth tofu. 

 

The Mixed Tofu Soup is my usual, but all of their selections are just as tasty!  I also love their Soy Bean Paste Soup and Bulgogi. 

This restaurant gets crowded during lunch and dinner, so prepare to wait and don't forget to sign your name by the cash register.  Though this is a full scale restaurant, a lot of it is self-serve.  Napkins, chopsticks and spoons are in a tray at each table and there is a tray near the cash register for takeout containers and plastic bags.  You pay up front at the cash register, and you must pay in cash if your bill is below $10.  I especially love coming here because it's affordable, tasty and I always end up boxing half of my soup and some side dishes because it's so filling.  I can't wait for my next meal at Korean Tofu House!