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Spotlight

K-pop Ka-ching

Merchandise Stores

The K-pop experience would not be complete without officially licensed merchandise of the genre¡¯s famous acts like BTS and BLACKPINK. This is a look at leading retail establishment for K-pop stuff through e-commerce, multimedia or brick-and-mortar shops as well as a YouTube sensation in K-pop dance.

Written by •  Kim Jane

Spotlight

© KPOPTOWN

KPOP TOWN

This place offers an expansive lineup of product categories, with the scope and quantity of goods determined by what Korean items are most in demand rather than their relation to K-pop. In addition to character souvenirs, beauty products and Korean snacks, KPOP TOWN sells official merchandise licensed by all major entertainment agencies of K-pop acts.

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Myeong-dong: Underground Shopping Center & Music Korea

In Myeong-dong, a bustling Seoul district frequented by shoppers and international visitors, a shopping center for K-pop merchandise and souvenirs is located underground. The space is teeming with vendors fluent in English and Chinese, and customers can haggle a bit depending on a seller¡¯s mood.

In the vicinity is MUSIC KOREA, one of the nation¡¯s biggest K-pop retailers with online and offline stores sporting an impressive inventory of K-pop discography. Aside from the latest albums, posters and collectibles, the store is stocked with an array of memorabilia of K-dramas or other Hallyu-related content.

Located inside the Nature Republic building, the store is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

  • Near Exit 6 of Myeong-dong Station: Between City Hall
    & Myeong-dong stations 3F, 52, Myeong-dong 8na-gil,
    Jung-gu District, Seoul, Korea

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© CJ ENM DIA TV

Random Play Dance YouTuber

A pharmacist by day, Go Toe Kyung started uploading videos of himself doing K-pop cover dances until he started hosting what is now his trademark: random play dance (RPD) events. Like a mob flash, Go and his fans assemble at parks or other public spaces to dance to a K-pop song. His fans are said to even book flights to get a bird¡¯s-eye glimpse of his specialty. Once he announces his schedule through social media, his groupies are sure to gather from all over Korea and even from global cities like Paris, Milan and New York.

Go famously attributes his popularity not to his influencer ability but to K-pop, saying, ¡°That, namely the global presence of K-pop, makes me proud to be Korean.¡± He also met the K-pop boy band NCT in Los Angeles, where members appeared the moment the YouTuber started a cover dance to an NCT song.

© CJ ENM DIA TV

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SMTOWN

For six years, SMTOWN@coexartium attracted K-pop fans from the world over to its location at the giant shopping complex Seoul COEX in the upscale Samseong-dong neighborhood. This year, SMTOWN Museum was closed in May and SMTOWN & Store in June and both will reportedly be relocated to Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province.

The site in Samseong-dong featured activities and content of SM Entertainment artists like merchandise sales, exhibitions and a virtual reality experience, with artists holding their birthday parties and fan meetings there.

  • (Old location)
    Yeongdongdae-ro 511, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu District, Seoul
    (Expected new location)
    Palyong-dong, Uichang-gu District, Changwon,
    Gyeongsangnam-do Province

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