Assigned Standing

The train was early. 9 in the morning early, but I got up and got on it. I spent the rest of the day working on the train or working in a coffee shop in Seoul. Around three I decided I’d head over to the area and see if I could find a place to stay for the night, finish work, and get some dinner.

I got around to the area for the concert hall by telling the taxi driver the subway stop. I won’t take the subway in Seoul. I’m spoiled, and frankly, I don’t mind paying a little bit more not to ride the subway with 10,000,000 Koreans. As we approached my destination I noticed a motel across the street and a large funny looking building that I was pretty sure was the location of the show.

Kismet.

I walked out, got a room at the hotel, finished working, and around six decided it was time to deal with the ticket issue and get food. The ticket issue came first. Bundled up in a scarf and coat I hit Ax-Hall. It was early enough, but there some Korean girls there at the ticket booth. A few signs for the band let me know that I was in the right place. I walked up and started my tale of woe. I woed.

“You see,” I showed them my KTX ticket, “I came from Daegu. I got here at 9 a.m., but the train was very crowded. I had my concert ticket with my train ticket. It must have fallen out on the train. But I have the receipt,” I showed the receipt, “and I am really sorry I just want to get it, and can you print me a new ticket that is all I need.” I stop.

My breath is frosting up the booth. I tell the tale in a mix of Korean and English. Finally one of the girls walks over and asks again. This time I tell the whole thing in Korean. She stops me and asks me in English what happened, so I tell the whole thing again in English.

“I don’t think we can do anything.” This was not the answer I was hoping for. I don’t want to have to buy the ticket again, although I know that is a real possibility. I whip out the phone and call Hyun who I have prepared on speed dial and he plays his role in the story.  She then goes over and talks to a manager. He comes up to me.

“So you lost your ticket?” I had looking like the idiot foreigner but I do it anyway. He finally agrees.

“We can give you a new ticket but the number will be much higher. Not so good. But maybe you can get closer to the stage.”

I’m confused.

“Is it seating or general audience?”

“It’s general audience.”

“But my number will be higher?”

“Yes.”

I’m thinking in the back of my brain that you have to be fucking kidding me. Only in Korea, or perhaps Asia, would you have assigned seating for a general audience show. I play along thinking this has got to be somehow wrong.

“Okay, that’s fine.” I get the ticket and some vague directions for dinner and I’m off. I end up in a Chinese place as it was the only place I was fairly sure I could get food without too much sugar. I forgot to ask for sauce on the side, and the restraint owners gave me sort of amused looks as I wiped sauce of my food, but it’s my life and I will do what I want.

I get back to the hall around 7:20 a few minutes before they will open the doors.  It is then that I realize that, yes, in fact, the general audience show does indeed have assigned seating. Outside of the show doors several flag areas have been set up. Each flag area represents a variety of the numbers of the tickets from 1 to 900 which is about the number they expect to sell. I’m in the 800’s now, where before I would have been in the 200’s. I watch the line for a few minutes, head to the bathroom, get a coffee, and go over to stand in the line for the 800’s. The Electrician is on my phone so I try to explain it to him.

“Assigned Seating.”

“Yes, I’m in line for it now.”

“What do they paint little boxes on the floor with your number on it?” His guess is as good as mine, I sign off as the lines start to move. There are security people calling out numbers. I realize that even in the line they are trying to get people to stand in the correct order. So those people who are at the top of the 800 line are actually 850, and I’m 817 so I get to cut in front of all of them as the guard tries to order us correctly by number. I’m giggling at the hilarity of it as I get pushed in front of the people who had been standing at the top of the line for 45 minutes and then enter into the concert hall.

Upon getting into my position I send the Electrician a cryptic “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH” and tell him I will explain later.

The laughter was warranted.

Inside the doors I had waited twenty minutes to enter was indeed a general audience floor show. On the floor there were eight sections that were set off by metal bars. Obviously I was expected, because of the assigned numbers, to stay back in the 800 area.

I took one look at the arrangement and said, “Fuck. That.” And walked blithely right up to the stage. I found a nice spot, practically on the rail off on the right side. There were a couple of short Korean girls in front of me, but it was perfect. And once the show actually started the crowd pressed moved them down just enough that I was on the rail with no one in front of me, perfect spot, perfect location, for a great show. I was very pleased with myself. And the band did not disappoint.

Train Tickets

Hyun calls me on Tuesday evening and asks me about the train ticket.

“You said you could get me a later ticket,” I explain.

“The trains are all sold out man.”

“I know that.”

“I’m going to the station now.”

“Okay.”

Fifteen minutes later my phone rings again.

“Oh Sara…..”

“Yes.”

“My darling.”

“Yes.”

“You will be very happy.”

“Did you get it?”

“I got it,” Hyun sing songs to me. I smile. “I’ll tell you about it at the Lonely Hearts.”

The arrangement is to see Hyun late evening and pick up my tickets.

It is the last day of New Year and many have already returned home, however there are still a number of travelers as many companies give an extra day off for the return trip because of the five day weekend, making it a solid six day weekend for some people. Lonely Hearts is much like I last left it, only with  a table of Korean college students drinking together.

As I sit there a few more walk in. Before Hyun arrives there are about twenty Koreans drinking at the bar. I sit by myself and enjoy my small corner of bar.

Hyun walks in and comes up to me “What the hell?”

“I need to get the tickets.”

“Why did you call me so late?”

“I didn’t your phone was turned off, I left a message.”

“Yeah, but it was so late.”

“Yeah, but if I had sent it sooner you might not have gotten the ticket.”

“Oh, come on man.” We laugh. He explains how he badgered a railway teller to keep pushing the button until a ticket magically came up and then he snatched it up for me. This is all good.

And for all good there must be some bad.

After the drama that was my last show, and I still don’t want to talk about that, I was looking forward to a drama free show in Seoul to see Beirut, who I deeply desire. I had missed the Beirut show in Chicago do to some unforeseen circumstances and was looking forward to a chance to see them at all.

“Okay, here is the thing,” Hyun  begins to explain. “My father, he’s old, you know. He has like, what do you call it, dementia, you know? So he got the mail with the ticket and he lost it.”

“What now?”

“But don’t worry cause I have the receipt. So you just need to be a really good actress and then it will all be no problem.”

“What?”

Hyun’s elderly and aging father had misplaced the concert ticket and since a new ticket could not be issued, Hyun had given me the receipt. With this I was to cajole my way into a show by pretending to have lost my ticket, silly foreigner, and then I would beg for a new ticket, and worse case I would just buy a new one.

I was getting less amused.

“No, man, it will be okay. Trust me. Just, you have to be a really good actress, okay?”

“Keep your phone on, I will be calling you,” I tell him. We agree and with that I take my  real train ticket and my fake concert ticket and head home to get some sleep for the busy day of work, travel, work, and music show.