나는 선생님인데 바이러스 때문에 집에서 일을 해서 정신이 없습니다. 늦게 글을 올리고 또 영어라 미안합니다만 조금이라도 같이 이 즐거움을 공유하고 싶습니다.

Underground Frozen Fandom ~ Round 2 ~

After receiving a few requests for another article about last weekend’s 1+2 sing along, I am finally here to deliver!

Let’s begin with the elephant in the room – the Coronavirus. There is rightfully a lot of fear in public gatherings now because of this illness, especially in Korea. Despite all that, though, die hard fans came out in mass to enjoy the last large scale 1+2 sing along before the long hiatus (the next smaller gathering isn’t until April I believe).  After multiple back and forth conversations, the expected cancellation of the show and then finding out last minute it was NOT cancelled, it is clearly a miracle that this sing along happened, much less that Dom and I were able to get tickets and go. I was very impressed by how hard the staff worked checking temperatures on the way in and out of the theater and making sure everyone was sanitized. I think my jacket still smells like sanitizer actually… I was also impressed that nearly everyone had masks on for this occasion. It dulled that glorious “Aurora Aaaahhs” a little bit but I was happy to see everyone cooperating to make this event safe and enjoyable despite the imposing virus.

**Shout out to my dudes in “Section I” for making sure I could enjoy the “AaaaAAaaaAAAAaaaAAaaaaaahhhh!!” despite the masks. You guys were the best!**

On to the fun parts of my review! Like I mentioned, it was a miracle Dom and I were able to go. I was SUPER excited when he said he was able to get some tickets. We weren’t able to cosplay like we had originally planned, but we did try and dress up a little for the occasion. I don’t think anyone realized who we were for the first hour after we arrived. We stayed in the lower lobby while we waited for the ticket line to calm down. There was a smaller group enjoying the unique practice of “fan gear auctions” or “나눔.” Every fan has collectables from all the events they’ve been to and some give them away as gifts, others kind of auction them off (although I don’t think money is involved, there are some pretty intense rounds of rock, paper, scissors).

Dom seemed pretty shy to wander through the crowds with me in tow since I give us away as the “foreigner couple.” He made a few trips to the main ticket area without me, blending in like the fan ninja he tends to be. Eventually, we got enough confidence to go up together and wait for tickets. After my first adventure to a 1+2 showing, I thought I was prepared… Nope. This crowd was MUCH bigger and a little more diverse with odd cosplays (like the joker and a random pink chipmunk I’m still trying to figure out), more girls, and LOTS of outgoing people who recognized me from the previous show. While we waited to get into the theater, we had a small group of people drop by, some of Dom’s friends and some who were genuinely curious about the random foreigner in a sea of Korean fans! Again, I was the only foreigner….

**Spoiler Alert: Dom is Korean and has been a long-time fan since the first movie. He’s just super shy. …Sorry to give you away Dom…**

There was a bit of awkwardness with me being at this show at the very beginning, but during the intermission between the movies, people started to get brave. Fans from my first 1+2 singalong began to “show themselves” and talk to me. One sweet fan introduced himself by asking if I had written the article from before! A quick interjection about me: I may not speak Korean (I’m learning… I’m just slow…) but I applaud anyone who wants to try and talk with me! I’m a teacher and I don’t judge people on language skills, especially since mine aren’t very good. Dom helped a lot with people who needed a little translation help but I loved every second I got to talk with other people at the show! I especially enjoyed being introduced to the many traditions that go on during these events (like the auctions and the Frozen “덩-실덩-실” dance ~ I want to do this by the way). Having them explained in person by involved fans helped me understand them better and made me feel included versus just being a spectator.

Foreigners are often isolated with language and cultural barriers. That’s why I enjoy being involved in this fandom so much now. It feels familiar since I was a part of a few fandoms in the states. I’ve done cosplays and conventions, I miss them!! One brave girl sitting in front of my row became interested in the conversation I was having about my article. She mentioned how she was worried how people would view this fandom based on what I wrote.

I completely understand.

My simple response is I’m a new blogger so I don’t have many followers. I mostly share my stories with close family and friends. And don’t worry, any pictures or videos Dom and I take are all personal and not shared to bigger audiences. But the more complex response is this fandom is just like any other fandom in the US. I personally don’t know of sing along shows in the states, but that’s not to say they don’t exist. In California, I would go to “Fathom Event” movies where theaters would show for a super limited time, foreign movies or animes that weren’t popular enough with the general public but tended to have HUGE underground fan bases that would turn these events into mini conventions; also complete with cosplayers, fan gear give-aways, etc.

My point is, I understand the concern for being anonymous but being open to new people also has its benefits too. I’m always impressed with the amount of support fans give each other in the Frozen fan bases here and any of the conventions I’ve been to previously. It’s just like any fan base around the globe. I call it “Nerds Uniting.” You would be very surprised by the kind of people who would happily join in fandoms like this. My own aunt is dying to join me for a sing along and I hope to bring more of my foreign friends next time I go to a show here.

Overall, despite this crazy virus, I saw this 1+2 as a massive success! I was highly encouraged to write another review (I’m sorry it’s a little late…), I met LOADS of amazing people and enjoyed great discussions about everything from Frozen to Disney movies in general to future events and cosplays I could be involved in. I came home with some unexpected fan gear including a giant, beautiful poster I’m going to try and hang somewhere, these beautiful illustrated posters of some of my favorite Disney movies as well as Frozen, and two fan tickets from the sweet girl who sat in the row in front of me. Dom got the chance to show himself as a fan a bit and over all we both had a fantastic time!

Also! I was very impressed with the spirit of gift giving and sharing among fans! The auctions were pretty popular (the general chaos was fun to watch even though I didn’t join in), but everyone was very happy to share the things they had with people they thought were special! Dom brought a few things to give out as well! I have been working on some fan art myself but I wasn’t able to finish so I hope to have something done next time. I feel really bad I didn’t haven anything this round… ㅠㅠ

A tiny sneak peak of my work in progress. I don’t compare to the beautiful posters and the artwork I saw at the event but I still enjoy making fan art.

I genuinely hope everyone is staying safe from this virus and I hope I get to see everyone again at the next showings I’m able to go to! I’m debating on cosplaying Elsa, Anna, or Kristoff. Any suggestions?