Guide to Entertainment Companies [completed]

In this post I’m gonna feature the entertainment companies I hope to visit when I’m there.

1. SM Entertainment

2. JYP

3. Cube

4. YG

Sometimes, you can just use the following website to get directions.

Just copy and paste the address in Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/

 Google Maps to be used in discretion. I got the wrong directions for Cube Ent. zZzZz.

SM Entertainment

Managing artistes: Super Junior, SHINee, Kangta, BoA, f(x), Trax, SNSD etc

Address: SM Entertainment Company Limited

Gangnam-gu Ahpgujung-2dong 521

Seoul, 413-830

Tel: +82-2-34389814

Nearest Metro: Ahpgujung, exit 1

Visited on 29th June 2011, Wednesday.
Directions, From Apgujeong station exit 1, follow the road and walk all the way for about 15~20mins and you will see..

Alright, if you don’t know what SM looks like, you will walk past it thinking that it is some ordinary buidling. When I first saw it, I was a little confused as to whether it was the correct one, but when I see a group of girls at the side of the building.. It was obviously SM.

Decided to move on after loitering for about 5 mins. I don’t know if I will have the patience to stand there the whole day but I really wonder how many hours they have stood. Anyway, judging from what we heard when they speak, they were foreigners. zomg.
And with that, we continued to our next destination.

UPDATE: SMTOWN building has a very obvious sign outside now which says “SM TOWN” It would be impossible to miss that building =p

JYP

Managing artistes: 2pm, 2am, miss A, wonder girls etc

Address: 서울시 강남구 청담동 123-50 JYP엔터테인먼트

Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Cheongdam-dong, 123-50, JYP Entertainment

Nearest Metro: Cheongdam, exit 13

[my experience] I went to JYP from SM, so what you have to do is to continue walking that stretch of road for about 10 to 15 mins until you see this super big cross junction. Before reaching the cross junction, turn into the road to your left and continue walking for about 10 mins. Along the way, you can see some wedding shops and once you see the dunkin donuts signboard, you are in the correct direction.

JYP is so obvious. it is something you cannot miss. and there will be fangirls sitting at dunkin donuts camping for i have no idea how long. hmm hmm hmm. i hope i won’t find myself there one day.

Cube Entertainment

Managing Artistes: Beast, 4 minute, GNA etc

Address: 서울시 강남구 청담동 125-6 3층

Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Cheongdam-dong 125-6 3Floor.

** JYP and Cube is quite near. Within walking distance.

[my experience]Alright, this is the MAJOR HEADACHE. The directions i got from google maps is WRONG. After walking around in circles for like more than an hour and messaging all my friends back in SG to help me, I was about to give up, in fact I gave up already. Well, we ended up at Baskin Robbins consoling myself over ice cream. How my map was not accurate and that I will miss the chance of visiting Cube when b2st was in Korea. (They have fanmeet on 1st&2nd July). Visiting Cube when they are not around is totally pointless. Not that I hope to see them or anything.
I was sobbing at my bad luck that day, and how I carried all my albums out..

It was really late, almost close to 12 and resigning myself to fate of taking a cab back to hostel, i decided to give it one last shot.

At the junction of JYP, there’s actually 4 ways you can walk.  Facing JYP, walk to the one 90 degrees to your right. You will see a restaurant called “Korea House” and some bbq meat place nearby.. and then you will wonder where is cube, where is cube, where is cube?
This is the only thing that tells you it is cube.

So when you see some graffiti, please stop and stare. It might just be the place you are looking for.

I took this photo hoping that it was somewhat similar to the starting of their practice video for Shock. but after rewatching it a lot of times, i don’t think it is the correct road. hmm.

Anyway, I was talking to someone and she was telling me that Cube has actually relocated or in fact they have 2 places now. One is for the studio and the other don’t know for what. So I have no idea the one that I found that night was what. But there were fan girls waiting at the lobby so I presume that that was it.

Anyway, the really cool thing about Cube is that you walk to the thing, it is actually a place where cars are parked. And that there is a small lift lobby with a flight of stairs where the fans are sitting down. So, if they actually appear and walk in and out of the building, you will kind of be just beside them? I’m really confused to the proximity when it happens but, OMG. they might be just beside you? I’m confused and puzzled. won’t everyone just camp there the whole day? hmm hmm hmm.

(and that marks the end of my hunt for the night, 29 June 2011)

UPDATE!!! (Oct 2012)

Cube has renovated its whole building and it looks totally DIFFERENT!!

Well~ I went at night so Cube Cafe was closed =( It’s amazing how things have changed so much just one year later!! But finally, it is like an “in your face” entertainment company building =p just like JYP.

YG Entertainment

Photo taken on 24 Jun 2011.

Managing artistes: Big Bang, 2ne1 etc.

Address: 서울시 마포구 합정동 397-5 YG엔터테인먼트

Seoul, Mapo-gu, Hapjeong-dong, 397-5, YG Entertainment

Nearest Metro station: Hapjeong

We saw a couple of staff here and there entering in and out and two figures playing pingpong. But they were blocked by curtain but no one familiar, or so we thought.
And after that my friend made me walk in to ask the security guard if Big Bang was inside.
Obviously he said no. Even if they were inside he would say no.
Then came the conclusion, i followed with 2-NE-1. He couldn’t get it so I repeated like girl group, Sandara. and he replied I do not speak english. I say it’s okay in korean and walked away.
It was really a random visit and i’m not sure if I will do it again. hmm.