Kicking off 2020 right.

At the end of January, only a week before our trip to Vancouver, my friend Melanie and I headed to Atlanta, Georgia. Why Atlanta, you ask? For a K-pop concert, of course. Even though Atlanta wasn’t on my bucket list, I think going to a K-pop concert is a pretty darned good reason to take a trip, even when there’s another one right around the corner.

Stray Kids

This trip was to see Stray Kids, a relatively new group to the K-pop scene. They debuted in March of 2018, and I became a member of Stay since around March of 2019.

Now if you aren’t aware of K-pop, let me give you a small lesson. Korean groups are a part of an entertainment company, and they are trainees before they debut officially. Once a group debuts, the artists come up with a name for their fan base. So in this case, the name for the fan base of Stray Kids is Stay. Something they always say to their fans is “You make Stray Kids Stay.”

Unfortunately, one of their main vocalists left the group unexpectedly in November, and I was unable to see them in concert with all 9 of their original members. So that just created another reason for me to snatch the tickets while I could. Or, for my friend Melanie to get the tickets and have me pay her back later.

This concert was particularly exciting because of the tickets we got. We paid a little extra in order to sit in the second row and for Hi-Touch. Hi-Touch is when we get to meet the group members, say hi, or thank you, and touch their hand. First of all, I’ve never had seats this close to anyone as famous or as good looking as them, let alone have the opportunity to actually meet them.

Putting all that aside, the concert was absolutely AMAZING. There are literally no words to describe the feeling of being surrounded by people who love the same music and the same group as you and being able to hear one of your favorite groups live. I spent most of the concert cheering, yelling out lyrics at the top of my lungs, clapping and waving my arms, and standing on my tip-toes to get a closer look, all with a giant smile on my face.

Even though one of their members left the group, Stray Kids was not hindered in any way. They sounded amazing, danced even better, and were just all around adorable. My favorite part of K-pop artists is that they always make sure to thank and do extra things for their fan bases because they know that they wouldn’t be successful without them. Stray Kids even wrote songs for their fans, titled “You can STAY” and “I am You.”

All I can say is that the extra money was definitely worth it and I couldn’t have made a better choice for my first actual K-pop group concert. I did previously see Jay Park, but it’s different because while he is Korean, he is a solo artist from an American entertainment company. The two concerts had totally different vibes, so I choose not to compare them.

Atlanta

We landed in Atlanta on Friday, explored a bit before the concert and had all day Saturday to explore before heading home Sunday in the early evening.

What we did:

We went to Centennial Olympic Park, visited Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife’s memorial site, had Pho for lunch at Krog street market, went to the Oakland cemetery, had Venezuelan food, walked to the botanical garden before we realized it wasn’t free and cost more than we wanted, went to a cat cafe and had pizza for dinner before relaxing at our Airbnb.

Overview:

Atlanta is not a very walkable city. Yes, there is public transportation, but the buses don’t seem to be very reliable (we waited over 30 minutes for a bus that never came). And when you get off a stop near where you want to do something, it still takes half an hour at least to walk there. Also, the areas of Atlanta where there were things to do were far apart from each other, so a lot of our time was spent traveling to and from those places.

One thing we both noticed though was that people in Atlanta were typically friendlier than Michigan. There were quite a few people we passed who greeted us and asked us how we were, which was an enjoyable change. It was nice to explore a new place, and I enjoyed what we ended up doing, but unless there is another concert there, I don’t think I would return.

All in all, our trip started out on an extremely high note and ended on a relaxing one, which isn’t a bad way to go. Stay tuned for the next trip I take, coming sooner than I realize! Thanks again for reading. Stay safe and stay happy. 읽어줘서 고마워요. 안전  하고 행복하게 지내세요.

If you want more photos or videos of the concert and my trip, make sure to check out my social media!

#StrayKidsEverywhereAllAroundtheWorld