Seo Soojin was my bias in (G)I-DLE. When she left the 4th generation girl group, I was heartbroken and really concerned that we would never see her again. After a long excruciating wait, Soojin finally returned to the music industry and made her solo debut just in November last year. The wait was worth it though!
SOOJIN debuted with her original song and EP both titled ‘AGASSY’ that did really well internationally! While I was happy to see her make her return to K-Pop, I never thought that she would tour Australia as a soloist. But just a month after her solo debut, Australian event promoter Box Live made the surprise announcement that SOOJIN would be holding fan concerts in both Sydney and Melbourne this February 2024.
Fan concerts, although common internationally, don’t often occur in Australia. A fan concert is the perfect combination between a fanmeet and concert, essentially being the best of both worlds. The fanmeet portion is filled with fun activities and sections that help fans get to know an idol better, and the concert part allows for the idol to perform their songs in between. Needless to say, I was very excited.
Counting down the weeks, I, like many, were in disbelief of SOOJIN having Australia as her very first destination for her FLOWERING 2024 SOOJIN FAN CONCERT tour. After making her Australian debut in Sydney, Melbourne was next on the calendar with SOOJIN performing on the 15th of February at The Ciel.
Admittedly, The Ciel is a venue I wasn’t familiar with. So, when I arrived, I only recognised the venue from the line of dedicated K-Pop fans seated outside a white building in their designated tiers, patiently waiting to see SOOJIN in her Melbourne debut. Some fans even made the extra effort to create pretty SOOJIN fan banners for patrons to hold up during the show.
When the SVIP fans were permitted entry, they all calmly entered and lined up for their group photo with the K-Pop idol. After getting their photo taken, SVIP ticket holders were given their signed SOOJIN album and lined-up again to enter the concert area. VIP tiers had a different benefit of receiving a signed tour poster, entering after SVIP patrons before early entry and general admission were allowed in.
Once everyone was seated, our Master of Ceremonies, Mr. David Park entered to provide a brief introduction of himself to the respectful Melbourne audience. David was well spoken and politely engaging from the very beginning, hyping up the audience before SOOJIN stepped onto the stage and her appearance was met with supportive cheers. As this event was a fan concert, SOOJIN performed many fun activities from ‘AGASSY Bingo’ which had her guessing lyrics, choreography, and even had her dancing ‘AGASSY’ in double the speed, to a special game of ‘Q&A Jenga’ that had David asking SOOJIN questions about herself which were determined and dependent on the number of the block that she drew from the wooden puzzle tower.
Over the evening, fans got to know a little more about SOOJIN’s personality, from her favourite features like her eyes and lips, her love of flowers hence the event been called ‘FLOWERING’, sharing that she recently tried snowboarding for the first time, being a fan of rollercoasters, her desire of wanting to dye her hair again, to her favourite past-times like cooking her signature dish – Kimchi fried rice, and having her own art studio at home to be creative and draw until the early hours of the morning. I thoroughly loved learning about these passions and traits that made SOOJIN who she is.
We also got the chance to listen to SOOJIN sing acapella which only helped to showcase her lovely singing voice during these games. However, performances weren’t limited to little snippets during the activities. Performances of the night included an intimate rendition of ‘bloodredroses’, SOOJIN displaying her gorgeous falsetto during the song ‘SUNSET’, quick and catchy choreography during the song ‘TyTy’, a cute dance to the chill song ‘Sunflower’, and of course the iconic and captivating ‘AGASSY’. When Soojin was not singing, she was also displaying her immensely impressive dance ability with the full version of ‘Black Forest’ and the highlight of the fan concert, a Marilyn Munroe inspired dance to Christina Aguilera’s ‘But I Am a Good Girl’ from the film Burlesque.
I really enjoyed how the MC knew how to speak Korean and would happily and kindly bounce off a shy SOOJIN, never making the situation awkward when David would need to move onto the next topic or question. Whenever needed, he would also explain things in Korean to SOOJIN, like informing SOOJIN about Melbourne landmarks such as the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), or how to do the “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie – Oi! Oi! Oi!” staple chant. David was very personable and it was a very nice touch that only added to the enjoyment of the FLOWERING event.
Throughout the night, SOOJIN frequently exchanged love heart gestures with fans, sweetly waved to the audience and stated that these Australian shows were her first ever fan concerts, thanking the Melbourne attendees on multiple occasions for supporting her, even sharing in genuine gratitude that she loves them. The love in the room was mutual. After SVIP and VIP patrons received a special goodbye session that had fans shouting suggestions on where SOOJIN could visit and eat around Melbourne during her day off the next day, with Sydney-based MC David Park also hilariously learning that we too have our own Luna Park in Melbourne, fans affectionately bided Soojin farewell by thanking her for coming while reminding her to make sure she still eats and rests during her stay.
Not long after the goodbye session, the lucky fans that pre-purchased snapshots had the chance to line-up and get solo photos with the K-Pop star before they could finally head home. It’s not often that fans have the opportunity to have solo snapshots with their favourite K-Pop idol, regardless of ticketing tier, so this was definitely a win for fans. To add to the experience, SVIP, VIP and Early Entry ticket holders were also all given a complimentary holographic shiny photocard that came in two different designs, both with the Australian tour dates on them to keep. Patrons also had the opportunity to pre-order merchandise that you could pick up on day which all appeared to be very well organised.
Overall, SOOJIN’s FLOWERING 2024 FAN CONCERT in Melbourne was wholesome, fun and is an experience that Australian fans never even dreamed would ever happen here. When attendees gradually left the venue after getting their snapshot taken, every single patron stepped out wearing a satisfied beaming smile on their face. Some even took the opportunity to excitedly take selfies with MC David Park on the way out. It was such a wonderful sight to see.
Despite not having a fandom name yet, it didn’t matter whether you were a new SOOJIN fan or a long-time supporter, this lovely fan event only seemed to cement and fuel the love and support that Australian fans already passionately had for the super talented K-Pop star. After bearing witness to her charm and talents live, it is clear that SOOJIN has a long and promising solo career ahead of her.
SOOJIN’s FLOWERING 2024 FAN CONCERTS in both Sydney and Melbourne were proudly presented by Box Live and BRD. The Melbourne show was attended on Thursday the 15th of February at The Ciel for the purpose of this review.
For more information on BRD’s SOOJIN and Box Live, please visit:
https://www.instagram.com/brd_soojinofficial
https://www.instagram.com/_seosootang
https://www.instagram.com/boxliveau
https://the-boxlive.com.au
Photography by Grant Alexander.
Soojin was just as beautiful as I imagined, what stood out the most for me was how cute her voice was, everything was exactly like what she sounded like in all those YouTube videos. I was not disappointed at all seeing her in real life.