This sign leads to free mini-concerts!
Disclaimer: This is only one of many possible ways to go to an Inkigayo taping. Depending on the time of your artists’ pre-taping, the size of their fan club, and when you arrive, your situation may be different.
Concerts are not something that happen often with Korean artists. Many artists will debut with their CDs and singles long before they get their first concert. Groups like SHINee, who have been around 2008, only had their first solo concert at the end of 2010. When concerts do happen, they are expensive and the ticket sales can be very competitive.
So how is a fan, a foreign fan especially, suppose to see their favourite artists? Easy – by watching music shows in Korea. Getting in to see a taping of a music show isn’t nearly as impossible as it may feel, as long as you’re willing to put the time, patience, and research into it.
What you’ll need:
~A physical copy of your artist’s latest CD or single, as proof of being a fan (which, as a true fan, shouldn’t be an added expense, right? 
) or your fan club card.
~Some skill in Korean
~Your entire Sunday (the process takes most of the day)
~A cellphone (sometimes)
Before Sunday, look into the artists performing that week on this page . If you have access to the fan club for your artists, check on their website. Sometimes, there will be a taping list that you can get yourself on. If you are not a card carrying member of the fan club, be prepared to spend your entire day towards this, and getting in still won’t be a sure thing.
On Sunday, show up as early as humanly possible. The SBS station is at Gayang station, on line 9. Take exit 10 and turn left after leaving the exit. The SBS building is about a block from the exit.
There are two reasons you want to show up as early as possible:
1. Pre-tapings can start very early, depending on the events happening during them (fan signs, handshake events, etc etc)
2. Korean fans are very hard core when it comes to supporting their musicians. They will have been there much earlier than you. And will scream louder than you and seem crazier than you.
“Pre-tapings?” You may ask. “But I thought Inkigayo was a live show!” And it is. But, the way these show manage to work flawlessly as a live show is by pre-recording any performances that will be back to back with another song, or with major sets or effects. This way, the artists will still be on stage during the live taping, but the song has been recorded before with all the effects and sets needed, without worrying about something happening in the mad rush of changing the set. The big groups, like 2ne1, DBXQ, Girls Generation, etc etc will all have some kind of pre-taping to allow for perfection on stage and fan events.
This was about half the group of people showing up for SNSD/Girls Generation. At 9 am.
So it’s Sunday morning, and you’ve arrived at the SBS station, your CD in hand, and one of two things may happen.
1. You’ll see a crowd of people holding the same CD. Join them, try and be adopted as one of their own. Someone in the group will speak just enough English to tell you what you need to do next.
2. There is no crowd holding your CD, just a sign on the steps or taped to a tree that says your group’s name, and a phone number, along with lots of other Korean words.
Now, my Korean is beyond pathetic, so this is where I turn to my friends who are better than me at Korean and get them to call for us. Or, some kind soul will be there who speaks English and helps. What that sign is saying is that the person in charge of the fan club line up is not there. Calling the number on the sign is very important, because it will get you to the person with The List.
With both options, you need to find the person with The List. This list keeps you in queue for tickets into the show. The person in charge of The List will sometimes do roll call to see if you’re still there. And if you’re not? You’re off The List.
I never said getting into Inkigayo was easy. Just free.
I was #2 in line to see 2AM back in November
If you’re not a member of the fan club, all of this waiting may be in vain. Even if you were there at 7am, if card carrying fan club members show up later, they get priority. Depending on what group you’re going to see, this could be enough to bump you far enough down the line to not get into the main taping. In the two times I’ve been though, they’ve often found a way to make sure the two foreign girls get to go in. Which is nice. 
Some time in the afternoon, you’ll be given a number with your group. This is your spot in line, generally no exceptions after that. Once you have this number, this is when you’ll get a good idea of if you’ll get in or not. As long as you have a decent number, you’ll probably get in. I’ve gotten in with the #17 on my wrist as well, so even when they say there might only be 10 seats, I’ve found they’re good at squishing people into the building. But don’t take any chances! Now that you have your number, do your best to stay very close to the station, in case they start handing out tickets.
Victory! Ticket = Got!
Getting the ticket is the ultimate goal. The ticket means there is a seat in the audience for you, fan clubs be damned. You can relax and breathe easy once that ticket is in your hand. Now all you’re required to do is stick around and wait for them to start lining up according to group. You do not get to keep the ticket, so take a photo of it to prove you’ve been there! You do get a really cool magazine though with the artists being featured that month, which is fun to read.
Going to Inkigayo is a long day. Depending on the weather, it can be a tough afternoon on your feet most of the time. To make things better, here are some final tips:
♥ Wear practical shoes. You’ll be standing most of the day.
♥ Keep some snacks on you, in case you’re too lazy / paranoid of losing your spot in line to go over to the Home Plus or the Seven-11 down the road.
♥ Dress for the weather! You will be outside most of the day on an open sidewalk. There is not much shelter from wind or sun. There are some heaters put out in the winter, but they’re close to useless.
✽ Avoid voicing your love for all the bands performing while in line. You may be excited to see many of your favourite artists at once, but remember that the Korean fans can sometimes be very focused. If you start voicing love for groups other than the one you’re lining up for the fans look at you strangely. I don’t know if anything would come of it, but I choose to just keep quiet about the other bands until I get inside.
That’s about it! I hope that this helps you in getting to see Inkigayo live. If you do go, or this has helped you at all, leave a comment to let me know how your show went!
Are there also a lot of KissMe fans lining up?
May not be fully relating to this topic, but I’m so curious to the korean Kissme’s.
because, you know it’s kind of “rare” lol.
Such tiny fandom in korea
Compared to the other fan clubs, no, there aren’t a lot of Kiss Mes lining up. Most other big groups line up over night, but Kiss Mes only have to show a few hours before the show and we can get in. It’s a good and bad thing. I’m glad I don’t need to be there over night, but at the same time, it means we don’t have the numbers other groups do.
Hi Rebecca, I’m going to Korea from 17-27 Nov. I want to attend T-ara’s comeback stage on MusicBank on 18 nov as well as any other music show (M!Countdown? MusicCore?) that I can catch SNSD, MissA or T-ara(especially their comeback stage. Any ideas how I can get in? Thanks alot!
Hey Bryan! First off, I hope you have a great time here.
As for getting into tapings, getting in to see the female groups is something I’m not very familiar with, but from what I’ve seen, it’s similar to what I’ve written on here. Make sure you have the new CD, and show up AS. EARLY. AS. POSSIBLE. If it’s their comeback, they’ll be doing a pre-tape for sure. I don’t know if the girl groups have over night lines (lots of boy groups require them now) so I would get on the first train and be there as early as possible, because pretapes can start as early as 7:30.
I hope that helps!
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks alot! Just asking, so you don’t have exact details to get into MusicBank? Im arriving in Korea on 17, their comeback on 18. haha! Hopefully no need to queue overnight.
Because it’s taped on Fridays, I’ve never been able to make it to Music Bank. I work Monday-Friday. I can say that Music Core and Inkigayo are near identical in how to get tickets. I know that MNet have pretapes as well, and their line up process is about the same – just be there as early as possible.
Maybe in the fall the lines get smaller, but for groups like the ones you’re wanting to see, you’ll want to be on the first train to be safe.
If it’s not too much trouble, is it possible for you to email me the addresses and details(what time is the show, what is the recommended time to queue, how to get tix etc.) of the various shows so that I have a record and can print it out for reference when I’m there? :X
…I wrote up this entire page to give that information. I’ve never been to the other shows, so I would be getting the directions the same as you: google. I’ve provided the instructions here on how to get to Inkigayo, because I know that show the best. Everything I know is on this site. So no, there’s nothing I can email that I haven’t already posted.
oh, okay. Thanks Alot then!
Hi, do you have any information about how BEG queueing would work? I’m going to try my luck tomorrow alone but i have no idea what time is their pre recording time despite researching and asking around.
Hope you’re still awake. Anywho, I don’t know if BEG will be pre-recording, because they’re kinda late into their promotions now. They often perform live simply because they’re amazing and can do it flawlessly. I can’t know for certain without being a member of their cafe to know the best time to show, so just being as early as possible with the CD is your best bet. You’ll be aiming for live taping, I think.
Thanks for the fast reply!
I’m still awake hoping to find more information. The earliest i can reach is about 9am as I’m taking the earliest (but slow 2hrs) train from Daejeon. Hopefully it would be fine.
Thank you so much for your help.
PS: I’m so envy of you getting to see 2AM and Jo kwon live in Inki. They’re my love. ^^
I just tried checking Everlasting, it’s locked to members only. If you’re a big fan, I’d suggest trying to get leveled up on their cafe, because they’ll be posting weekly schedules and info on how to get in, including infomation on shows outside of Seoul (like ones closer to you – they do happen!)
For BEG, 9am might be safe. Their lines aren’t as big as Banas or anything, but they’re still pretty considerable. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
Did you get tickets to the 2AM Christmas show? It’s going to be legen–wait for it–dary. XDDD
Yup, i got ticket for the christmas concert! Can’t wait to go ^^~
Thanks for being so helpful. I will update you if I get in successfully or not. 감사합니다!!
Awesome! I’m going on Christmas day, I’m psyched.
Let me know how it goes! I kinda miss going to Inkigayo, but my boys are finished promoting so I’m having a fandom vacation.
Hello!
I couldn’t go to inkigayo for both Kwon and BEG. They need me to write something on their cafe daum. It was really sad and i thought i wasted a trip down to seoul… But i get to join Kwon’s fanmeeting. I’m glad i went.
Oh, that’s a shame about not being able to get in for the taping. I’m glad you were able to go to JoKwon’s fan meet though! I’m jealous!
Hi, I am going to Seoul in 2 weeks. I plan to catch Inkigayo on 11 December. However, I am an ELF and I know that SJ has stopped promotions already. Do you have any suggestions on which group I should watch and which fan club to enter with.
One more thing, I am going with my family and Do you think 1 copy of the album is enough for the whole family of 4??
That’s your decision. I’m very much against lining up with a fan club just to get in. If there’s nobody that you really passionately support, don’t go, because you’re just going to take the spot of someone who considers them their number one.
And no, it’s one CD per person.
Thanks for your prompt reply. I do understand that, but as a huge Kpop fan, I would like to experience and watch Kpop stars. I am a fan of other groups too and would love to catch them. Thanks for your advice anyway. ((:
What you’ll need to do then is look at the groups you like, and find out which ones will have a comeback soon. I don’t know every group, or who will be releasing. It really is better to know your own favourites, and find out when they’re performing.
Hey there Rebecca, when you talk about fan cafe, you are referring to Daum, is that right? or rocketboxx?
Yeah, fan cafe means on Daum Cafe. Every group should have one, and they’re updated right away by staff. I can count the number of times I’ve been on the rocketboxx site with one hand. Their schedule would never be up to date enough to keep up with promotion schedules.