NCT Home invites fans to step into a fantasy world where they can interact as guests of K-pop powerhouse NCT. It takes you to another level of delulu—from delusional, K-pop speak meaning you believe in the fantasies inside your head—because visitors are really made to feel like guest
The pop-up exhibit will be at the Megatrade Hall 2 of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong until Aug. 17. It was first put up by NCT’s agency SM Entertainment in Seoul early this year. Next in Line Entertainment (Nile) brought the exhibit here and we were told that measures were taken so that it would be the exact replica of what fans saw in South Korea.
Ticket prices are at P1,350 per head and includes a one-hour exhibit admission, random photo card, souvenir card, cloth wristband and access to exclusive merch. Reservations can be made at www.ncthomeph.com.
NCT under one roof
When you watch concerts and events related to NCT, you usually get the sub-units such as NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV, NCT U and NCT Dojaejung. Such is not the case in NCT Home. It’s all the members under one roof, plus their pop-up mascot, a golden retriever named Rocco. There are several rooms to visit. Romantic Garden is the first to welcome you. It has a basketball hoop where you can play, turf grass and poster lineup of members. By the end of the room, there’s a blue door that says “NCT Home.” Rocco’s doghouse is the first thing you will see when you go inside.
Take photos
The living room features wooden floorboards, white brick walls, a mint fireplace, sitting areas, foosball table, framed photos of the members and pennants with the names of the members hanging above the room. Every corner is photogenic and can be a good spot to take pictures in.
Most underrated area
But perhaps, the most underrated area in the room is a wall where you can find the mugs belonging to Mark, Yuta, Jaemin, Taeil, Ten, Jisung, Chenle, Taeyong, Kun, Jeno, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Yangyang, Hendery, Xiaojun, Johnny, Jungwoo and Haechan. Some of them are signed while others have cute drawings on it, presumably drawn by the members themselves when they visited the exhibit in Seoul.
There’s a bar after the game room where you can find the members’ videos blowing on cupcakes greeting you “Happy Birthday” in Korean. Visitors wait in this room to record their favorite members. There’s a black couch where you can sit—and watch the members play on the same couch on television!
Then comes a hallway that is divided into two sides. One side has the interactive posters while the other side has clothes that the members have worn. The clothes are protected by a casing, but all of them have pictures of the members wearing them. It is nice to see the details up close.
‘Controversial’ room
The AI posters have gained a lot of attention online. When we came in, we heard one visitor say that this is the “controversial” room. It’s because you can actually interact with the posters, just like those animated portraits from “Harry Potter.”
You can make the members’ head follow your hand as you run it across the screen. This allows you to have a better look and appreciation at the sharp angles of their jaws. With a couple of taps, you can make Mark wink or make Haechan open his mouth. The technology is unbelievable.
Star gazing
The next room has a starry ceiling, bunk beds and areas to lay on. There’s a projector showing the members’ pillow fight and playing with a telescope.
The Home Party next door feels like a picnic area where you can sit on bean bags as never-before-seen interviews of the members are shown. Then there’s the MD Zone where the merch is sold. When we visited on the first day, no merch was available yet but there was a preview of Polaroid Set you can get for P1,025. We know how valuable these photo cards are.
There are Photoism booths at the end of the exhibit. For P400, you can have a four-cut photo and downloadable video with the member of your choice.
The exhibit is a haven for NCTzens (their fandom name). An hour is more than enough to visit all the areas, and it’s definitely cheaper than flying to see the exhibit in Seoul.
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