A super-awesome time!

K-POPPED!'s 2ND SOGAETING @ THE STREET CAFE

Photo montage by Cyfull Ramli

I'll keep this entry short and sweet because...you really have to BE THERE to benefit from a Sogaeting event. Reading about it just isn't the same. ;-)

K-popped! held its second Sogaeting @ The Street Café gathering on the 29th May. At first, Orchid (yeah that's me) had a tough time trying to get guys to come for the event. Up till four days before the event, we only had one confirmed male participant and one iffy candidate. Oh dear, how to have a "blind date" event when we are so short of guys!!? Luckily (and with some prayer), we had more than enough guys come Saturday! Phew!

We had 6 couples at the gathering and played three Korean Sogaeting games! The games were a hit. Special thanks to Andrew K for teaching us those games. It definitely broke the ice and brought much laughter to everyone that day. Two couples who had the most amount of penalties, got a very special Korean-style punishment! But true to the Malaysian spirit of "muhibbah", it was awesome to witness everyone helping the couples out.

Here are quotes from a few of the participants that day...

Cyfull Ramli: Sgt Besh!!! Unforgettable experience ^_^

Teh Farhanna: Yup!we all had so much fun,..my korean-day,hahah!

Pang In (from Penang): Please organize one in Penang!

We had Pang In who comes all the way from Penang! Also, special mention to Syd and Samantha from our 1st Sogaeting session, who "reappeared" at our second meeting. They have become fast friends now.

Thanks to our sponsors: The Street Cafe, Universal Music and Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) for making the event a success! Also, special thanks to the awesome guys of Chrome L for coming!

If you are single and love to meet new people over a meal, chit-chat and maybe a couple of ice-breaking games, do come for our Sogaeting gatherings.

View more photos from the gathering on Facebook!

Join Sogaeting Malaysia on FB for updates, chit-chat and information of our next gathering!

Read about our previous sogaeting entries

Keep reading >>

Summary only...

K-popped!’s 1st Sogaeting @ The Street Café a success

Words by Liz
Photos by Hallyu Surf Instructor

Sure, there were a few glitches, but thanks to the fantastic participants, our inaugural Sogaeting @ The Street Café turned out to be a success! And because of the encouraging response, more Sogaeting @ The Street Café gatherings are in the works.

Ambience: A cozy atmosphere for our very first Sogaeting event

OK, let’s start with the not-so good news. Only 2 Korean boys (out of 5) made it for the event. The rest were…erm, unavailable at the last minute. Also, one of the girls pulled out because of a personal problem.

Nonetheless, the “show” must go on…and it did, albeit a little delayed. K-boys Jun and Min arrived an hour late for the event and to make up for the male-female ratio imbalance, two guys from The Street Café sportingly jumped in to balance things out. Thanks Eddie and Joon!

Early birds: Participants chatting while waiting for the rest to arrive

And the girls – my, oh my – they were the loveliest, friendliest and most positive bunch any host could hope for. There was so much to talk about between the new friends that they continued to hang out at Starbucks right after the event!

Here are some of the participants' thoughts on the event:

Samantha Tew: Awesome =). But it will be even better if more people attended. (I’ve made) new Kpop friends…me, Syd and Nina became really close after the event.

Kim Irsyad: I love it! It has a different kind of friendly vibe in the meeting…which is cool.

Cindy Xin: It’s a whole new chapter for me…meeting new friends and having so much fun! It was a great experience! Never thought that we Malaysians would blend with the Sogaeting culture so well.

Syd Mokhtar: We really had a good time and we are now friends and plan to meet up again…for the next sogaeting! I’m gonna come as the sunbae and give a speech or two (laughs).

Sogaeting themes

The first Sogaeting @ The Street Café unofficially carried the “Korean Boys” theme and the anticipation of meeting new Korean friends.

However, according to Orchid, there will be a different theme for the following Sogaeting gatherings, so you’ll have to stay tuned for what she has up her sleeve.

What's good here?: (l-r) Jun, Min and Joon can't decide on their drink

For this event, when the guys arrived, they were asked to place a personal item of theirs in a special container. After the participants have settled down, an ice breaking game was played to get everyone to mingle.

We saw the participants running around to get information from each other and the first person to complete the form correctly won a prize. Congrats, Samantha!

Autograph, please :-P: Min gets to know Samantha (left) a little better

After that, the participants’ seating was rearranged. The ladies were asked to pick an item from the container that contained the guys’ personal items. The guy is then required to sit opposite the lady who has his item and have lunch together :-).

It warmed the cockles of our hearts to hear the chatter and laughter from the group, which indicated that everyone was having a great time!

Friends: 'Dude, write down your details for me, will ya?'

After a delicious meal and a good time exchanging stories and contacts ;-), it was time to say goodbye. But before everyone left, each person received a’lil goodie bag courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization and a Galaxie magazine.

A big thank you to everyone who made K-popped's 1st Sogaeting @ The Street Café a success.

The event was jointly organized by K-popped! and The Street Café, which by the way, makes a mean Vanilla Milk Bubble Tea. The drink was so good that it got our Hallyu Surf Instructor craving for it these days.

Interested in the next Sogaeting meet up?

Join the Sogaeting20s fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/sogaetingmalaysia20s

Friend Orchid on FB & write her your details:
http://www.facebook.com/orchid.kpopped

Related:
Sogaeting @ The Street Café on April 24
Sogaeting Malaysia

Keep reading >>

Summary only...

Sogaeting @ The Street Café on April 24

Psst, have you heard? The Street Café and K-popped! are organizing a little get together where boys meet girls…and they have some fun. Will you get your mind out of the gutter?

Sogaeting @ The Street Café is happening this Saturday and guests who have booked a place for the by-invite only event will get to meet and mingle with new friends with similar interests. Oh, and they will be taking home a goodie bag from Korea Tourism Organization and Galaxie magazine.

Sogaeting (소개팅), which basically means blind date, is a very common past time among Koreans. I’m sure you’ve seen K-dramas where the characters meet their dates for drinks at hotels, cafes and such, no?

Well, to make it less intimidating for Malaysians (we are quite shy, mah), we’re adapting it to our culture. Through the sheer effort of Orchid – and some help from The Street Café’s owner Andrew Kim – 6 boys and 6 girls will be attending our inaugural Sogaeting @ The Street Café.

They are:

여자

• Syud Zack
• Samantha Tew
• Cindy Xin
• Liming
• Syd Mokhtar
• Nina Kim

남자

• Kim Irsyad &
• 5 Korean guys whom I do not know the names of…yet (don’t worry, allow me to get them for ya ;-))

Drinks for the event will be sponsored by The Street Café and if this inaugural event turns out to be a hit, we’ll have more of them, OK? Isn’t it an interesting way to bridge the gap between Malaysians and South Koreans who are in Malaysia?

Wish us luck!

For more information on Sogaeting @ The Street Café, join our FB page: http://www.facebook.com/sogaetingmalaysia20s

Related:
Sogaeting @ The Street Cafe (24 April 2010)
Sogaeting Malaysia
Halal Korean food at The Street Cafe

Keep reading >>

Summary only...

Sogaeting @ The Street Cafe (24 April 2010)

Hi all,

K-popped! and The Street Cafe will be co-organizing a ground event called "Sogaeting @ The Street Cafe" on the 24th April 2010.

Thank you to those who have shown interest and who have sent Orchid (that's me!) a personal message on Facebook to secure a seat. Currently, we have more than enough ladies who have responded. Thank you girls!

So here, we are making a shout out to the guys out there, who are reading our blog. If you are interested, please private message Orchid on FB.

Please note that Sogaeting @ The Street Cafe is NOT A PARTY. It is more like a GROUP DATE. Five girls and five guys will be invited to the first session on the 24th. The Street Cafe will be sponsoring drinks but cost of food will be borne by the participants themselves. There will also be some freebies given out to the participants.

It's sort of a get-to-know one another session, and we hope to bring the Korean culture of sogaeting (blind date) here to Malaysia!

For more information:

• Check out the event on Facebook
• Join Sogaeting Malaysia 20s on FB

Related articles:
Sogaeting Malaysia
Halal Korean food at The Street Cafe

Keep reading >>

Summary only...

Sogaeting Malaysia

소 개팅 (pronounced So-gae-ting) is a favourite Korean past time. "Sogaeting" simply means blind date. On weekends, single Korean men and women would go on blind dates. They would obtain contacts of a member of the opposite sex from friends and meet up for drinks. If they don't hit it off, then they move on, and probably set up another date to meet another person the next week.

There is another Korean word for blind date called 선 (pronounced Son or Seon). These blind dates are normally arranged by parents for their children, with the intention of marrying them off.

Well, Orchid is attempting to bring this Korean culture of blind dates here to our shores - 소개팅 Malaysia (Sogaeting Malaysia). Become a Facebook fan, and meet new people, who knows, you might just find your Mr. or Mrs. Right there!

• Join Sogaeting Malaysia (if you are in your 30s or 40s)
  http://www.facebook.com/sogaetingmalaysia
  
  
• Join Sogaeting Malaysia 20s (if you are in your 20s)
  http://www.facebook.com/sogaetingmalaysia20s
  

Keep reading >>

Summary only...