About ENA KPOP UP Chart Show:
From up-close performances to intimate encore stages & in-depth interviews, Korea’s live music chart broadcasts are an iconic staple in K-pop culture. Although the weekly running shows are often more well-known (think SBS’s Inkigayo), a new monthly show has joined the roster: ENA’s KPOP UP Chart Show. What makes this new show unique is its focus on newer or rookie K-pop groups, as well as the extended live interview & fan segments of the show.
Not only is it great exposure for new artists, it’s a good opportunity for fans to connect with a larger fandom community & make new friends. Fans learn song-specific cheers to support their faves as a unified force and often get off-screen interaction time with the artist during lulls in production.
- Broadcast Date: Every 4th Friday of the month
- Recording Date: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month
- Time: Meet at 5pm, Pre-recording begins around 7pm
- Venue: Bitmaru Broadcasting Support Center (KakaoMap)
- Lineup: Announced 1 week prior to recording (find the lineup first on their YouTube channel), typically featuring the hottest new artists in K-pop
*Due to internal scheduling at the broadcasting team, exact recording times & lineup may be subject to change.
>> Get your tickets to the ENA KPOP UP Chart Show on Trazy!<<
ENA K POP UP Chart Show & Seoul City Tour Package Review
1. Booking:
Like most Trazy ticketed events, your entrance number for the pre-recording audience at ENA KPOP UP is based on purchase order, meaning the sooner you buy, the better your spot. With this in mind, I booked my ticket relatively far in advance, but this meant I wasn’t sure which artists I’d be seeing when I booked. However, looking at recent comebacks, I was pretty sure KARD & Purple Kiss would attend. (Spoiler: THEY DID!)
Along with the KPOP UP Show, Trazy includes a Seoul City Tour Bus ticket with each reservation. With multiple courses and a convenient hop-on/hop-off stop system, it’s the perfect way to see many of Seoul’s top sights in just one day. The open-top double-decker bus covers 15 iconic Seoul locations like Gyeongbokgung, N Seoul Tower, Dongdaemun & more.
2. Checking In & Collecting Tickets:
When the date for my filming finally arrived, unfortunately, it was right in the middle of a rainy week in Seoul. But with such an exciting evening ahead, a little rain was nothing 😉
I arrived around 4:45 for the 5 o’clock meeting time and had no trouble spotting the team and other attendees waiting to enter. After showing my booking number & ID to the English-speaking staff, I was pretty quickly assigned my number and we were organized in order before entering the Biitmaru building to get out of the rain.
Once inside the building, we still had some time before they were ready to bring us into the studio for the recording, so we waited in line in the lobby area of the building for around 20 minutes or so. I’m really grateful we didn’t have to wait outside very long, and this waiting time actually allowed a lot of fans to work on signs and such before going in.
While big signs or banners are prohibited, a lot of fans brought in small sketchbooks with short phrases or their bias’ name written on them. It was so clever! I saw multiple fans with ‘Send me a heart’ or ‘Do this pose’ signs that actually got their requests fulfilled by the group.
3. Pre-recording:
Once we got a bit closer to the recording time, the staff had all of us move together in line to the recording studio. Unfortunately, this meant up 5 flights of stairs in our number order. Thankfully, there wasn’t a big rush & the staff checked everyone’s wristband numbers as we entered to ensure the order was correct – but at flight 3 it definitely felt a bit unending haha.
The recording studio area consists of a large center stage, with a standing room area that comfortably holds about 5 rows of people, with a smaller platform on the left. The areas in the center and far left, as well as a majority of the back row, filled up first in that order.
I didn’t understand why so many fans wanted to stand on the far left of the stage and back rows at first, until our show’s MCs, n.SSign’s Ha Jun and AHOF’s Seo Jeongwoo, suddenly entered from the back right of the room and came to stand on the smaller platform on the left. It turns out that it is the platform for a majority of the MC segments and shorter interviews.
As the MC’s filmed intros, transitions, interviews & more, they interacted with nearby fan A LOT. If you are a fan of any of the MC’s or even just for the portion of the show that your favorite group is doing their interview, I highly recommend grabbing a spot on the left side if you can.
Additionally, since the artist waiting area seems to be on the right side of the venue, the back row offers a unique opportunity to interact with artists as they walk to and from this MC platform. From waves hello to short greetings (I even got a high-five from KARD’s J.seph!) it certainly seems like there’s no bad place to stand in this intimate audience!
As the ENA KPOP UP Chart Show is a pre-recorded, it also includes various fan interactive segments and one longer interview segment per show. To accommodate this, the recording is divided into two sections, where they swap fanclubs in the middle. For my show, the feature segment was for Purple Kiss, as the filming was held the same day as the release of their latest song. Not only did they answer questions about their latest track and album, but they also interacted with fans in the crowd and even drew encouraging messages for their fans.
Although I’ve also attended other live shows like Inkigayo, this was a first. Without the rush of a live broadcast, I feel like we really got a lot of time with the artists, especially Purple Kiss. It was really interesting to be able to hear more about their album & I feel like each individual member really got their chance to shine.
Additionally, some groups performed multiple times, either to capture different camera angles or to correct a specific mistake. This was great not only because I got to see the performance twice, but also because the time in between takes was filled with fan interactions.
At the end of the recording, the MC’s moved to the main stage to announce this month’s BEST ARTIST winner. This vote is calculated partially by fan votes, chart performance & the broadcast’s evaluation for each show. For July, the winner was AHOF.
After accepting their award and giving some thank yous, the group again performed their latest track live while celebrating with fans. Although only about 30 seconds of this performance made it to the final cut, we got to enjoy the full song live 🙂
4. Final Thoughts:
All-in-all the ENA KPOP UP Chart Show is an excellent addition to the K-pop broadcast circuit. While the wait times and early booking can be a bit annoying, the overall experience was well worth it. It easily has the most fan & artist interaction time than any other broadcast I’ve been to. And the unique interview segments add a great spotlight on smaller artists. While it’s a longer time commitment, I think we finished around 9:30pm – it’s totally worth it for any smaller group stans visiting Korea. It’s also a great way to maximize your K-pop experience in Seoul if your trip dates don’t line up with concerts or festivals.
Read Trazy blogs for even more K-pop!
- Ultimate Guide to Weekly K-pop Music Shows
- Attending SBS Inkigayo in Seoul l Review & Tips
- Top Things All K-Pop Fans Must Experience in Seoul
- A Complete Guide to Annual K-pop Festivals & Award Shows
Check out these other K-pop experiences on Trazy:
- SBS MTV The Show & Seoul Tour Package
- MBC Studio 1 Day Tour (+ Drama Rehearsal Visit option)
- Seoul Hallyu K-pop Full Day Tour
- ARMY Tour: Explore Seoul Through the Eyes of BTS
Find all the best K-pop experiences and trendiest things to do in Korea at Korea’s #1 Travel Shop, Trazy.com!
[Photo Credit]
- ENA Official Broadcast KPOP UP CHART SHOW