Soompi on the Scene: Happy Liberation Day!

Hi Soompiers,

Many thanks to those of you who told us what you’d like to do in Seoul! As promised, we’re selecting a respondent to receive an official K-Pop postcard set… and the winner is Michelle Tan, who told us that her trip would be centered around EXO! We actually have some extra fun news for Michelle and anyone else who indicated that they’d love to see some EXO action:

EXO‘s Baek Hyun says you got it! Soompi had the occasion to attend the Show Champion screening last week, hosted by f(x)’s Amber and T-ara’s Eunjung, and featuring musical guests EXO, VIXX, Brown Eyed Girls, Ailee, TAHITI, WASSUP,  AJAX, MIB, AOA, 24K, and BESTIE. We got some great photos, so look out for those very soon!

This week, Soompi hit up Myeong-dong, which is one of the shopping meccas of Seoul. Myeong-dong features all the most popular Korean mass-market cosmetic and clothing brands, most of which are publicized by celebrity spokesmodels — the handsomer, the better. All K-Pop fans must head here, because this is where you can see all your favorite idols…

… okay, maybe not in the flesh (*cries*). But we still enjoy the cutouts and larger-than-life posters of the hottest celebrities, as well as the most current K-Pop tunes blaring from every store on the street. Which will you choose: Yoochun, Taemin, Changmin, or Nichkhun? If none of these fits the bill, don’t worry, there’s also G-Dragon, BEAST, Jang Geun Suk, and the rest of JYJ and DBSK!

This past week, Koreans celebrated a holiday called Gwangbokjeol, also known as Liberation Day. This day commemorates the end of colonial rule in Korea in 1945, and as such, the Korean flag is raised around the country. We rang in the holiday at a club called Ellui, and yes, the flag went up in style!

But back to work. This week, Soompi Shop received shipments of our latest autographed specials, Brown Eyed Girls and miss A. Were you lucky enough to buy one? We’ll get those out to you soon! We’re also always expanding our inventory with all the latest CDs, DVDs, and cosmetics, so keep checking us out!

We’ll close off with some recent photos of one of our favorite summer spots in Seoul — Cheonggyecheon, the underground stream that makes a nice cooling place to hang out and relax.

Our goal is to bring you all the K-Pop and K-Drama stuff you need, straight from the source! Tell us what part of Seoul you want to check out — maybe a concert, a store, a delicious Korean dish, one of the entertainment agency headquarters, or something else — we’ll try to make it happen. Have a wonderful summer!