Campers unite

Our camping enthusiast Oppa Park Sihoo unite with fans in Jeju!

Caution: Long article and only in English as it was rather taxing to do the Chinese translation when my brain is exuberant with the fantastic news but dull from lack of sleep. Apologies for any typo or grammatical error. No photography was allowed during the event, so you will not get anything taken of the event except where allowed. 

It should have been campers unite this weekend. And the promise of camping under the stars in the beautiful outdoors of Jeju.

But the weather was not in our favour, raining heavily the night before and threatening to rain in the early evening. So we had to hold the “Park Sihoo Premium Event for Chinese in Jeju” indoors instead. Despite the recalcitrant weather, we “campers” had a great time with our Oppa Park Sihoo-ssi! Indoor camping! And we let our imagination run wild, imagining ourselves camping outdoor. Nothing could spoil the pleasure of being in his company!

We unite in Jeju to meet our favorite Oppa!

The event started early at around 1630h. For once, we had our Oppa Park Sihoo-ssi nice and early waiting for us instead of us waiting for him. He and his team were at the door to welcome us as soon as the doors were thrown open. I admit, I wasn’t paying attention as I was chatting with fellow fans as we walked in to the ballroom. So I was taken by surprise to see him there at the door! A most pleasant surprise it was too! A high five with our Oppa Park Sihoo-ssi at the very start! Oh yeah!

The room was simply decorated with three screens showing a pictorial of autumn with falling leaves. Smack in the middle of the room was a camping tent, a small simulated bonfire, a barbeque grill and a camping chair. Ah, they created the ambience of camping indoors!

The quintessential camping gear indoors! 

Our Oppa was dressed in his regular black ripped jeans, a white tee, a black and white paisley print jacket and black ankle-high boots.  He spotted the same hairstyle as that in his Channel A’s  “Amazing Journey with Pets 개밥주는남자 – 개묘한여행” reality TV program. Casually dashing as he always is!

The emcee made her introduction and our Oppa joined her. He said in his forgetfulness he had thought this Chinese event series was into its 5th year but he was mistaken, It was actually the 4th and he thanked fans for their past support and hope this would continue into the future. He was worried that it would be cold but the weather turned out good, actually rather hot. However because of inclement weather, unfortunately, the event had to be held indoors.

The weather was not in the favor of us campers this time

The event focused on interactivity between our Oppa and his fans with lots of table games. Park Sihoo-ssi went from table to table playing different games. It was his ladies pitted against him in guessing where the marbles were in their hands, visually identifying the differences in posters which we were shown for a couple of minutes, guessing what would be his next expression and whether he would raise an X or O counter at the count of three. Our Oppa, he lost to his ladies at almost all of the tables, so he had to give out prizes to the winners.  A beautiful photo of himself for each winner.

Then it was straight into the one-on-one question and answer session and one-on-one photo taking with Park Sihoo-ssi. I was first for once. Good and bad.

Here’s where we “campers” unite for that one-on-one conversation and photo taking with Park Sihoo-ssi

The bad was that I was the guinea pig as they were trying to get everything right and our Oppa was meticulously adjusting things to perfection, like bringing the companion semi reclining camping deck chair which the fan would sit closer to him, getting the right camera angle etc. I had no idea how that one-on-one photo would look, since it was taken by the cameraman and we will get this afterwards.  I do hope I don’t look like a mad woman or a huge elephant next to our extra slim Oppa…or worst, both! Aaargh!

The Q&A was a bit of a stretch. The restricted few seconds of conversation and the language barrier that required translation did not make it the most natural and comfortable experience. Instead of pulling us closer, it actually made that interaction rather awkward and drew us apart! Even though I have met him countless times, this encounter made me so nervous that my hands were freezing cold despite the warm room. While the idea was good, the practicality of this and the execution left much to be desired.

The good about being first? My nose got the whiff of our Oppa’s scent…untainted! So this hound could report back to Chai Hua who has been constantly asking any and everyone how our Oppa smelled.  He smelled really nice actually. Light, fresh and little a “talcumy”, powderly scent. What fragrance? I, unfortunately, am clueless, not being well versed with men, or even women, fragrances for that matter. Sorry, I really am not such a great hound. Bonggu would have fared way better, he is afterall a natural! Kekeke! 😂

The beef which our Oppa put the finishing touch

Then, our Oppa, he went from table to table serving us delectable beef, grilled off-site because of regulatory restriction on cooking indoors. I believe that he did not cook the beef but he put the finishing touches with such finesse and flourish right before our eyes!  He made show of adding the balsamic fond de veau sauce and sprinkling grated cheese with such gusto that made us all salivating and wanting to sink our teeth into that nice slab of grilled beef!

Bonggu-ya, aren’t you envious? Woof! Grannies and aunties, please enjoy my Hyeong’s beef. It was delicious, right? I can vouch or it as I have had experience! Woof! Absolutely, Bonggu-ya, absolutely!

Our Oppa then did a champagne toast at each table with his ladies. Cheers to idol, fans and friends! 

Weather permitting, our Oppa wants to do the grill for us in future too! Campers we unite again soon!

This time, Park Sihoo-ssi did not write any long letter to read out to us. He rounded up the event saying that he enjoyed very much the evening and the company. When he was adding the sizzle to the beef, he had such great fun and hoped that we all enjoyed his personal touch. He thought we should meet more frequently and he promised, weather permitting, to cook us a good grill in future. 

And our Oppa Park Sihoo-ssi, he saved the best for last! He shared what we have all been waiting for, for so long that our necks have grown to be as long as that of giraffes! His most fantastic news that got us breaking into loud applause, our most spontaneous reaction all evening, was that very soon, we will be hearing news of his next project!  Yeah!  Now that really called for a toast! Hip, hip, hooray!  This was such sweet music to our ears indeed!

Park Sihoo-ssi had good news to share!

So with this, our Oppa Park Sihoo-ssi bade us good night. And we all trooped out to the hallway of the ballroom, lining up along two sides to send off our favorite actor, our favorite man and our favorite Oppa! We have much to look forward to! Oh, yeah!

Campers, we united in Jeju…and soon, in Tokyo, as audiences on 5 January 2020 for Park Sihoo-ssi’s Tokyo fan meeting! Ready sisters? I am! Fan meeting tickets for both afternoon and evening performances, air ticket and accommodation all booked.  See you come beginning 2020, Park Sihoo-ssi! Meanwhile, we will be looking out for the news!

Campers, we unite…hopefully, again soon in the future!

Credits – Many thanks! Park Sihoo Instagram,朴施厚贴吧官博_parksihoobar, Mentor, sseo_video_photo, ParkSihooSsi.com, ParkSihooHongKong.com