Rookie group BAIKAL recently held a fan meeting in Atlanta, charming all those who attended!
On November 8th, the group was brought by ATLocal to hold the special event at Eddie Owens Presents, an adorable venue in downtown Duluth, just north of Atlanta. The cozy venue added a special feeling to the fan meeting since all of the seats provided an excellent view of the stage. It seemed the intimate venue also provided a fun experience for the members of BAIKAL as well since they interacted with the audience a lot and even responded to questions and comments that were shouted to them throughout the night.
BAIKAL is a seven-member group that promotes mostly in Korea and Russia. They made their official debut under Baikal Entertainment on September 9th, 2017. Before their debut, they begin doing activities in Russia to establish their fan base and make their name known. In addition, several of the members came to the attention of the public when they participated in the second season of “Produce 101.” The group lineup consists of Dokka, Hochan, K-Bean, Day, Daewoong, Yeonwoo, and Noah.
As a newer group that hasn’t released much material to date, the group showed their charms through a variety of different ways at the fan meeting, all of which made the audience completely fall for their talent and hilarious personalities. They performed covers of songs like PENTAGON’s hit track “Shine,” as well as their own debut single “Hiccup.”
In addition to performances, they had a lengthy Q&A session which proved to both be entertaining and informative. Fans learned that K-Bean is named such for his uncanny resemblance to the famous character Mr. Bean,making him refer to himself as the Korean Mr. Bean. The members also had to show off their personal talents, including flips and dance moves. Fans also learned that several of the members had been inspired to become idols after seeing people like TVXQ and BTS. Throughout the Q&A session, the audience was really given the time to connect with the group, learning both about them and their dreams for the future.
A highlight of the evening was when fans were given the chance to go onstage for game time with BAIKAL. After each game, the losing team had a punishment, but even those proved hilarious and entertaining. Seeing fans given the chance to dance to “Baby Shark” or do group aegyo with some of their favorite K-pop idols was something no one in the audience will be able to forget.
Another amazing part of the evening was when fans were allowed to come onstage to participate in a random dance challenge. With some super fierce and talented dancers among the fans, many of the members grew amazed and soon just sat on the front of the stage so they could watch the fans compete. It was really refreshing to see a group allow others a fun chance to shine in that one-in-a-lifetime chance. Their attitudes towards fans, along with their humility and funny personalities, made the night an unforgettable one for the audience.
The only downside of the evening came in the absence of leader Dokka for most of the evening. Unfortunately, the idol had encountered problems during his travel experience from Korea and was stuck at the airport for hours. Due to that, the other members had to start the show without him. Despite the challenge, however, they managed to do a great job! When he finally arrived, tired and stiff from the long, hard day, he didn’t hesitate to get busy and jump right into the fan meeting, despite it being almost over. You could tell he was very tired, but he showed a very professional attitude and never let it affect his own Q&A (which was held so as not to disappoint fans), personal talents, and more. He made up for the lost time by really working hard to connect with fans in the short amount of time that he was given.
To close the night, a special photo time was held for the VIP ticket holders. However, all the fans in attendance were also given the chance to participate through a special drawing for amazing prizes like snapshots with the members, autographed hats, and much more.
As someone who has seen over 100 K-pop artists at concerts, fan-meetings, press conferences, and more, I was personally really impressed with BAIKAL. While they might not be the most famous group I’ve ever seen, they were definitely one of the most personable ones. While it wasn’t the biggest event I’ve ever attended, it was actually one of the most fun. BAIKAL was very professional, yet maintained such a casual, laid-back, and friendly vibe that it really made the audience connect with them. And although a translator was on hand, they all made an immense effort to speak to the fans and each other in English whenever possible.
In fact, during the closing speech, one of the members thanked everyone for coming despite the fact that they weren’t “big stars” yet. As soon as that statement was uttered, however, a few people started shouting “You’re big stars to us!” and everyone else began to cheer. The overall atmosphere was really sweet, and it was all thanks to the group themselves. After seeing them as such friendly, hard-working guys throughout the night, each person in the audience seemed to feel like they had grown to really know BAIKAL. And due to that, I left motivated to root for their success in the future.
Thank you to ATLocal for allowing WTK to attend the event as press! Also, many thanks to BAIKAL for providing such a fun event for Atlanta fans. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors. In fact, you can check out BAIKAL’s newest music video by clicking here.
In the meantime, check out the photo gallery below to see pictures from the evening. All pictures are courtesy of ATLocal, whom you can follow on Facebook by clicking here.
Did you attend BAIKAL’s fan meeting? What did you think? What was your favorite part of the evening?
Media: ATLocal