Filipino NCTzens, welcome to your new home away from home! If you still haven’t recuperated from PCDs after NCT's back-to-back concerts in Manila, then you’re in for a real treat! Come home to your favorite K-pop group as they open their doors for you through a first-of-its-kind interactive exhibit called NCT Home in the Philippines.
Hang out with Taeyong, Jaehyun, Doyoung, Jungwoo, Haechan, Mark, Yuta, Johnny, Taeil, Xiaojun, Hendery, Yangyang, Kun, Jeno, Chenle, Jisung, Ten, Renjun, and Jaemin and feel the warmth of being with your biases in the comforts of your home country.
Originally set up in Seoul, Korea by SM Entertainment, SM Supermalls, in collaboration with Next in Line Entertainment and NICE Entertainment, bring NCT Home in the Philippines to the Megatrade Hall 2 of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong. The exhibit opened on the 20th of July, 2023, and is running until the 17th of August, 2023. Tickets can be found and purchased through ncthomeph.com. (Walk-ins are also welcome!)
THE JOURNEY
Filipino K-pop fans have an expression they use when they get their bias’ photocard through Lucky Draws and album pulls. You often hear them say, “Nakauwi na bias ko," which directly translates to, "My bias is finally home”.
This expression has become more meaningful through the exhibit as visitors are gifted the experience of being at home with their favorite members while getting a full on fangirl treatment at the same time, e.g., being given a chance to pull a random event photocard you can't get anywhere else.
When entering the hall, guests are welcomed by a huge NCT Home light-up signage that leads to a holding place where they claim tickets, an official NCT Home souvenir card, an NCT Home poster flyer, an NCT Home loyalty card, a Photoism admission ticket, a color-coded wristband, and the random event photocard.
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| Lovely NCTzens take pictures at the light-up signage by the entrance. |
BUS STOP
All aboard! The exhibit allows one hour for each visit at 30-minute intervals, with the first visit starting at 10:15 AM and the last visit ending at 9 PM, Mondays through Sundays until the 17th. Guests arriving earlier than their scheduled time can check out reminders at the Bus Stop.
ROMANTIC GARDEN
You've arrived at your destination! Once you enter the first room, your first stop will include a stroll around the Romantic Garden. This area boasts such a lovely ambiance that Czennies will absolutely feel giddy about. NCT songs playing in the background, a mini basketball court for one-on-ones, dim lights, bright LED monitors lighting up the walk-through and flashing the members' headshots…perfect!
But aside from the beautiful faces flashing on the screen, another thing that will catch guests’ attention is the garden table where hand stamps of members’ signatures are laid out. Fans are free to stamp away once they get in. The first batch of stamps is of nine members, while the remaining ten are found in another area.
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| The members' headshots are randomized and change every two seconds. |
ROCCO’S DOG HOUSE
Welcome home! Rocco’s happy to see you. NCT Home in the Philippines' mascot is named Rocco the Golden Retriever. His green dog house has its own spread of meticulously juxtaposed pictures on his wall. The dog house is pretty big, so feel free to crawl into it and chill with Rocco for a bit.
Right beside the dog house are more LED screens showing the members having fun next door.
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| Tall people, have no fear! Six-footers can also fit comfortably in Rocco's dog house. |
LIVING ROOM
You’ve made it to NCT’s living room, where all the fun(-er) stuff happen! Feel free to play board games with fellow Czennies, take photos at the framed photo-clad walls, or try your hand at Gacha (available soon—separate from ticket inclusions, PHP300 per game).
The Living Room is also where a collection of the members’ signed mugs are displayed. (Be careful not to break anything!)
BAR
One of the most noteworthy areas in the exhibit is the bar area. Here, you can sit across a video projection of the members wishing you a happy birthday. (Don’t be ashamed to celebrate your birthday here. It has already been done, and spoiler alert: the Czennie cried happy tears).
Food and drinks are not allowed inside the exhibit, but seeing your bias in front of you with a cupcake in hand is enough to fill anyone up.
INTERACTIVE HALLWAY
This area will leave you feeling like you really spent time with your favorite members. On one side, you’ll find touch screens you can play around with. Each interactive monitor shows a close-up of a member who reacts to certain hand gestures. You can make your bias smile, look up and down, wink…every member has a unique number of things they can do.
On the other side of the hallway is where you’ll find a display of the members’ outfits framed up in transparent cases. These are outfits they actually wore!
DARK ROOM
Now that you’ve spent your “whole day” with NCT, it’s time for a slowdown. Enter the dark room you go! The Dark Room takes after a literal bedroom where you can spring onto beds and watch NCT members get into pillow fights from two ceiling-high monitors. Take a breather in this area and watch the chaotic energy of the members before they fall into slumber.
HOUSE PARTY
The last room. Sadly. This is where most visitors stay the longest. This area resembles a movie-night-at-the-garden setup, where pillows, blankets, and cushions are aesthetically scattered on the grass, and monitors display never-before-seen clips of interviews and BTS.
And in one corner, you’ll find the rest of the members’ hand stamps on a thoughtfully arranged spread atop a table near the Dark Room exit.
SOUVENIR SHOP & PHOTOISM
To cap off all the fun and giddy, guests can purchase official NCT Home merchandise at the Souvenir Shop just outside the House Party area. Once you get all your merch, you’ll be wished farewell by a massive photo wall that exhibits life-size shots of all 19 members + Rocco.
In front of that are Photoism booths, where you can pay PHP400 for two 4-picture photo strips with the NCT member of your choice. You may also download softcopies of the prints and a short video too! The print-outs of the photo strips are of high-quality and are fantastic souvenirs.
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| You get two photo strips of the same kind—these are copies from two different Photoism sessions. | @photoism_ph |