Have you ever wondered what it would be like to train as a Kpop star? To stand on the same ground as your favorite artists and learn from their choreographers? Well, our very own Jennie Bennett recently visited Korea and took a training class with SM!

As long as you’re a foreigner, you can sign up for this class direct with SM Town. Usually sign-ups are only open a couple weeks before the class, so you have to check often! Here’s the link if you want to go.

Hey y’all! Jennie here! I just got back from Korea a few days ago, and the experience was beyond anything I could’ve imagined! It completely changed the way I’ll watch Kdramas and listen to Kpop from now on. The people are amazing and it was so fun practicing what little Korean I know.

One of the many highlights of my trip was taking a Kpop dance class at SM Town. Yes, really. It wasn’t at the main training building because of construction, but it was still in a room EXO had been standing in just the night before. There was even rumors of Chanyeol eating in the cafe upstairs the previous day. (Of course I totally missed it, as is my Hallyu luck. But it was still fabulous!)

Let me get something straight from the beginning. I’m not a dancer. Yes, there was time *cough* fifteen years ago *cough* when I fancied myself somewhat skilled in jazz and hip-hop, but a bit of time has passed since then and my skills aren’t where they once were.

Upon arrival, I noted a group of girls–all thin, and all in their twenties–standing outside the building waiting for program to start. I’d gone with my sister, who’s eleven years my junior, which made me the only ahjumma there. But no worries, I had plans to stand in the back, and I succeeded!

The program started with a tour of the upstairs which included a display area, a flower cafe (complete with flower boys) and an overpriced restaurant. Everything was perfectly presented and all the accents were pink. I want them to come design my house.

Now, most of my pictures will include SHINee because they’re my favorite group. Honestly, I totally forgot to include picture of the other group’s stuff because all of that SHINee around me made me deliriously happy.

After some time poking around, we were taken downstairs to the area that held the SM store and dance studio. The window to the dance studio was fogged up in pink, but with a push of button we could see inside. The ladies giving the tour (one speaking in Korean, and one translating to English) told us the windows are fogged up when Kpop stars were training inside. We were also shown where the offices were, but we weren’t allowed inside.

No pictures could be taken in the dance studio, but we did get to take some pictures from the outside looking in. You can’t see from out there, but they have some really cool high-tech equipment for playing music and showing videos on a big screen.

Finally, it was time for the dance class. We were told beforehand that it would be EXO’s Ko-Ko Bop, arguably one of the hardest Kpop dances, ever. Bring on the embarrassment!

Our choreographer was super nice, however, and although he teased us, he was patient while he taught those who didn’t know how to do a body-roll (which was surprisingly not me, although I did turn the wrong direction a couple times *facepalm*)

No one in the class stood out to me as a stellar dancer, which made the class a bit more bearable.

The dance was so hard, I got an old lady cramp in my thigh, which wasn’t horrible at all. *Whistles, while walking away with a red face.*

We only learned less than a minute of the chorus, and no, I will not show you if you ask me because I’ve already forgotten (I spent another week and a half playing in Jeju and Seoul, OKAY?!?)

Despite that, our choreographer still chatted with my sister and I at the end…well, more like flirted with my sister an ignored me, but it’s all good. He still let me take a picture with him in front of the dance studio.

Overall, it was an amazing opportunity, and I’m glad I took it. It made all my fangirl dreams come true!

Keep watching this space for when Kdrama Jen and I talk about visiting a few favorite Kdrama spots! Until next time!

-Jennie