is hard.. Really though buying kpop cds or goods in Korea is harder than I thought! They don’t sell it everywhere as you may think!

I had to buy some BTS albums for my friend Merrium so I was definitely on the lookout for any CD or Kpop store while out and about.

I found kpop goods at…Myeongdong, Dongdaemoon, Itaewon and an underground shopping center at Bupyeong Station but it really wasn’t as common as you’d think so be sure to google places to buy your goodies before you head to Korea.

This was the underground shopping center at Bupyeong Station shopping. 부평역! It was CROWDED. My roommate Lyssa and I came here the day the Exo repackage(?) album came out.. we were not aware LOL It was insane, it was the tiniest little shop and people were elbowing each other accidentally just trying to walk around. These Chinese girls were buying every single exo album they could. They legit brought suitcases to carry them home in. I’m not  joking. I’ve always heard about these mega fans but witnessing it first hand..whew.. I actually bought one of BTS’s albums here and it was a longgggg wait to get to the cashier. The poor cashier..his face.. you could tell he doesn’t pay attention to anyone anymore, homeboy didn’t even make eye contact while ringing me up lol. Poor guy~

So these are the types of shops you want to look for. These little hole-in-the-wall shops are your best shot to find what you want. I saw Super Junior DVDs from 5 years ago ( I used to love Super Junior so I was like WHUTT)

One store we found had knick knacks with kpop stars on them! Pillows, pillowcases, canvases, watches, notebooks, blankets, cups etc! It was endless! I would’ve bought a Jungkook poster but I literally did not think it would fit in my luggage.😦 Don’t be afraid to ask the sales clerk to help you. Even if you don’t speak Korean the group names are like universal. Lyssa legit just looked at the sales clerk going “B1A4?” And he showed her where B1A4’s section was right away. It was so funny.

 

NEXT STOP! 동대문 Dongdaemun Shopping! The kpop could be found on the top floor of the Lotte Fitin building. This mall is about 8 floors and was magical~~~~ I wanted to spend more time here but I was exhausted after one round. So the first 6 or so floors are all shopping- clothes & accessories, the next floor was dining and the top floor was this really cool kpop stage. They had a hologram concert of Big Bang that you could buy tickets and watch.

So its pretty hard to explain what exactly this floor is. The closest thing I can say to describe it is kpop merchandise chaos. I’ll explain: You walk up the stairs and there is a hallway filled with Kpop goods. A lot of it is Big Bang, PSY, Exo stuff. Jackets, CDs, stationary~ Random puzzles and gift tags with Korean written on them. When you get to the end of the hallway there are cardboard cutouts of Got7!! You bet your ass I took pictures with them! Then there was the ticket booth for the concert, the entrance and huge TV screens showing music videos.

 

 

If you keep walking there were more cardboard cutouts!! 2PM with hearts🙂 hehe

NEXT STOP: Dongdaemoon Design Plaza!

THIS PLACE IS INSANE. and endless. It is a silver dome-curved shaped building that looks like a museum. We walked in because we thought it was some sort of art museum and we weren’t completely wrong. It was like a modern unique shopping design center. It was officially called the Design Lab. The receptionist just said it was a store..meep. lol So these are Birdseye views of the first floor. It is a huge space and as soon as you walk in there is a whole section dedicated to SM entertainment. I will only talk about the kpop section of this design plaza even though that is only a fraction of all the goodies in here.

 

Since this plaza showcases SM entertainment there are a lot of authentic goodies from the groups. Right off the bat you see NCT albums, Exo posters, bags, shirts, hats~

 

There was a section for each group from F(X) to DBSK to SNSD~ It was really cool seeing the actual jacket they wore on and stage props🙂Everything was hella expensive so I refrained from buying anything. It was definitely a place you have to visit if you’re an avid SM fan like myself!

 

 

 

 

The last place I found Kpop goods was in Itaewon! The Hamilton Shopping Center can be found right outside Itaewon subway Station at any of the four exits. Just look around and it is a big brown building. A KFC is inside the building so it should be easy to spot out. Right at the ground entrance before you actually enter the building there is a pile of Kpop goods at your fingertips. There isn’t a wide variety of goods but they have all the big hitters and recent trends like BTS, Seventeen, Twice~ The weird thing was that there wasn’t an employee or cashier in sight though.. Even if I wanted to buy something no one was there to help me..Maybe they were in the bathroom or something cause I could’ve jacked something and never get caught! LOL

Ohhhhkayy! That is all for buying kpop stuffs in Korea..Bottom line- do your research! And bring lots of money..lots and lots of money hehe 🙂

That was by far the most unorganized post I’ve written so far.. Forgive me.