I’ve been to Washington DC for K-pop before, but this time I wanted to make an entire day out of it! Before heading to Capital One Arena to see aespa, my aunt and I spent the afternoon exploring Koreatown in Annandale, Virginia, just outside of DC.
I knew there was a Korean community in the area, but I had no idea just how robust it was. There are Korean restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, shops, cafés and businesses everywhere. We ended up turning an aespa concert into an entire Korean-culture-themed day.
It was also extra special because this was my aunt’s first K-pop concert and really her first big introduction to Korean culture. I basically threw her straight into the deep end, complete with matcha, bulgogi, lightsticks and concert freebies!
Cute K-Pop Shopping at Lil’ Thingamajigs
Our first stop was Lil’ Thingamajigs, which was pretty much made for me. The store had a little bit of everything: K-pop albums and photocards, stationery, collectibles, character merchandise, accessories and plenty of other cute things. There was even a whole wall of K-pop merchandise, plus rows of Japanese-style capsule toy machines.
And because I obviously couldn’t leave empty-handed, I picked up a Miffy keychain, a pink pen and an adorable cat notebook. It was such a fun first stop and set the tone for the rest of our day.
Matcha & Treats at Shilla Bakery
Next, we headed to Shilla Bakery, an Asian-style bakery and café.
The bakery cases were filled with all kinds of treats, including beautiful fluffy Japanese cheesecakes. I ordered a sandwich, a butter mochi and what ended up being one of my favorite things I ate all day: a pistachio iced latte. It was SO good!
My aunt chose a coconut macaroon and a strawberry matcha, which was particularly exciting because this was her first time ever trying matcha! The drink was gorgeous. Bright green matcha layered with strawberry at the bottom and pieces of strawberry on top. Introducing her to foods and drinks that I love was honestly one of my favorite parts of the day.
Lucky Cats at Wellbeing More
From there, we stopped at Wellbeing More, a Korean department store filled with housewares and all kinds of miscellaneous finds.
Apparently I had unintentionally decided on a cat theme for the day, because I came away with a lucky cat ramen spoon, a pair of chopsticks and a cute cat chopstick rest.
My aunt joined in on the lucky cat shopping too and bought some lucky cat dish sponges along with a little spoon for her sugar bowl. I love stores like this because you never quite know what you’re going to find… and then you inevitably leave with several things you had absolutely no idea you needed!
Korean Food at K Market International
At this point, it was definitely time for a proper meal. Our next stop was K Market International: a huge Korean grocery store with an attached food court.
I ordered kimchi fried rice topped with a sunny-side-up egg, which is just the kind of comfort food I love. Spicy, savory fried rice with a runny egg on top? Immediately yes.
But the big milestone belonged to my aunt: she tried beef bulgogi for the first time and loved it!
So within the span of a few hours, I’d gotten her to try both matcha and bulgogi for the first time. Luckily, she was loving everything I introduced her to!
Finally, after an afternoon of shopping and eating our way around Annandale, it was finally time for the main event.
Off to Capital One Arena for aespa!
We headed into DC for aespa at Capital One Arena, and I was SO excited. I’ve been following aespa for almost my entire K-pop journey, going all the way back to their debut with “Black Mamba.” It’s always so much fun and so surreal to see a group in person when you’ve watched their career unfolding for years.
I also made sure my aunt was properly prepared for her first K-pop concert. I got her an aespa T-shirt and her own lightstick, so she wasn’t just coming along as an observer. She was participating!
Before the show, we handed out bracelets and unofficial photocards I’d brought as freebies to other fans. In return, we ended up receiving some seriously cute freebies ourselves, including little handmade drawings of a couple of the aespa members, keychains, a phone charm and more.
My aunt absolutely loved this part of K-pop concert culture. She thought it was so cool that fans make bracelets, photocards and little gifts to hand out to complete strangers at concerts. By the end of the night, she was already talking about making bracelets with me for the next time.
Finally Seeing aespa!
And then aespa came onstage!
The concert was incredible. Our seats in the lower bowl (section 109 to be exact!) gave us a great view of both the members themselves and the enormous screens and visuals behind them, which were such a huge part of the production. I love everything that goes into creating the atmosphere of a K-pop concert. The staging, outfits, choreography, lighting, visuals and, of course, the sea of glowing lightsticks throughout the arena really create a truly immaculate vibe.
Seeing aespa perform songs I’d been listening to for years was amazing. And seeing them in person made me giddy with excitement. They even performed a couple songs that I had previously slept on, but hearing them live made me fall in love with them! Camouflage and Bite are great examples of this.
After the show, I stopped at the merch table and bought myself an overpriced aespa T-shirt as a souvenir. Obviously. It’s part of the experience!
A Little Slice of Korea Just Outside Washington DC
What surprised me most about this trip was how much there was to explore in Annandale. I previously had no idea just how established the Korean community in the DC area was, and our few stops barely scratched the surface. We went from browsing K-pop albums and cute stationery to drinking matcha, shopping for Korean housewares and eating bulgogi and kimchi fried rice. All before heading into the city to see one of my favorite K-pop groups!
One of my favorite parts was getting to share the whole experience with my aunt. I got to introduce her to this little slice of my world! She started the day having never tried matcha or bulgogi and never having attended a K-pop concert. She ended it waving an aespa lightstick, exchanging freebies with other fans and already planning to make bracelets with me for the next one.
I’d call this a successful introduction to K-pop. And considering how much of Annandale we didn’t get to see, I have a feeling this won’t be our last trip to DC’s Koreatown.
