Open Fansigns: Some fansigns are open for everyone to watch. So if you didn’t get in, you can still go and see EXO. But if you want to get a good view, show up early

Closed Fansigns: Only people who got into the fansigns, are allowed to go.

almost all fansigns work by random drawing. buying one album is like getting one ‘raffle ticket’, so the more albums you buy, the better chance you have of winning.

to enter a fansign, you must buy an album at a specific store during a specific time period. this information will be posted on fancafes, etc. for SM artists, they will have all of their fansign information posted on their site notice boards (EXO's notice board: https://exo-l.smtown.com/). the notices will say where and when the fansign will be held, as well as where and when to buy the albums, how many winners will be chosen, and when and where the winners will be announced. the buying time period is usually around 3 days long, and the store to buy the albums at is always one specific store location, not the entire chain. for example, if they say to go to the soundwave store in the lotte department store in incheon, that’s where you have to go (ex. not any soundwave store, that specific location only).

after you arrive at the store, there will be signs posted (and the album the fansign is for will be playing in the store on loop. this is guaranteed) so you will know you’re in the right place. all you have to do is go up to the counter and ask for however many albums you want (and trust me, even if you say you want 200 albums, the staff won’t even be phased. they see that shit all the time). when you get the albums, they will give you some raffle slips that vary from store to store, but basically they all just require a name, birthdate, and phone number**. after you finish, you put the filled-out slips into a box with everyone else’s. the slips are all numbered and the random winners are chosen with a computer or otherwise, not by hand-picking, so you don’t have to worry about folding your slips or spacing them out or anything. they may even have you turn in your stack of slips all stapled together. don’t worry about this at all, your chance of winning is the same either way.

how many albums should you buy?

depending on the group you’re trying to see, fansignings can either be really cheap or REALLY expensive. for less popular groups like Hello Venus, Dal Shabet, etc, buying one album is almost guaranteed entry to the fansign, whereas for shinee, exo, or other super-popular (usually male) groups, it’s common to spend hundreds of dollars and still not win entry.