“For K-Pop fans, the 'singer's experience' is moving”
KING STUDIO in Seoul offers international K-Pop fans a professional recording experience in a studio used by top artists. Certified by Korea Tourism Organization and Seoul Metropolitan Government, record one song with expert vocal directors, producers, and engineers for an authentic K-Pop journey.
Is a cable car ride up Seoul's Namsan Mountain and a bag of face masks in Myeongdong really what traveling to Korea is all about? This is not the case for travel savvy travelers who want to experience firsthand what life is really like for the people and the culture of the place they're visiting. According to statistics from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 73.8% of tourists who visited Korea in 2015 were individuals, not groups, who prefer experiential travel. Nevertheless, there are many people who feel that foreign travelers who come to Korea do not experience the country properly because they follow the “beaten path”.
One such service aimed at those who are curious and want to see the “underbelly of life” is One More Trip (www.onemoretrip.net). Launched last November by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Organization, the service connects participants with experiential travel providers through a nuri house. Anyone can organize a trip, such as “walking through Jungnim-dong, an old neighborhood in Seoul,” or “making Korean home cooking,” and register as a tourism product seller on NuriHub. Foreign travelers can browse the listings and choose a tour according to their preferences.
I'm a K-Pop singer too - KING STUDIO
MUSICKING in Sinsa-dong, Seoul, offers a service where travelers can sing a song and have it recorded and edited by a professional. MUSICKING is a music-related travel startup run by ROH Kwang-gyun (39), a recording engineer with 16 years of experience. Before that, he worked in music crowdfunding and record production. Mr. Roh has produced more than 330 K-Pop albums. He's worked with artists such as Bang Bang Shin Ki, Girls' Generation, Zhang Nara, and Koo Hye Sun. MUSICKING also has a 105.7-square-meter (32-pyeong) “KING STUDIO with three recording rooms and one vocal booth. Famous singers such as Sung Si-kyung, Seo In-gook, Park Hyo-shin, and Park Jung-hyun have recorded in this studio.
While Noh was busy making albums for singers, he suddenly thought, “Wouldn't it be more impressive to create a space where tourists who are passionate about K-Pop can experience the songs themselves?” In August 2015, the service that creates music for travelers began. In November of last year, he registered the product with One More Trip.
Seoul's 'One More Trip' connects travel providers and participants to make music, and Hallyu fans are 'proud' of the footbaths and herbal teas they enjoyed
Travelers come here to grab the microphone once held by their favorite singer and take lessons from a vocal trainer who has coached the likes of Bang Bang Shin Ki. As you sway and sing K-Pop, the engineers will fine-tune the machine to make sure you get the pitch and beat just right. As the vocal trainers, including Lee Joo-seok, Tori, and Kim Do-woon, who have 10 years of experience, point out each note, the traveler feels like a Hallyu singer. The whole body shivers with the illusion of being on a colorful stage. This memory stays in your brain's memory chip long after you leave Korea.
Ong Boon Heng, a Malaysian teenager who visited MUSICKING late last month, had a similar experience. “This is a new experience for me. It's interesting to actually hear and see how my voice changes, and I feel like I've become my favorite Taeyeon,” he said. He sang Taeyeon's song “I” and was so proud when he received the music file that he felt like he had become one of the world's favorite Hallyu singers.
The itinerary is especially popular with travelers in Asia, where the K-Pop craze is still going strong. Last October, more than half of the 13 “wanghongs” (Chinese power bloggers) invited by the Korea Tourism Organization for China's National Day celebration chose the Music King tour. The attraction is that it is a special trip that can only be experienced in Korea. Prices range from 100,000 to 3,000,000 won per hour.
The studio is open to anyone who wants to make music, even if they're not a “foreign traveler. “Nowadays, people in their 20s record love songs for their girlfriends in specialized studios, and it's also popular at weddings for grooms to lip-sync the songs they recorded for their brides,” Roh says.
By Mihyang Park mh@hani.co.kr
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