A K-pop fan might tell you that falling in love with K-pop is a “slippery slope”.

First, you’re just watching music videos online.

Then you get the urge to try your favourite groups’ dance routines, check the reality shows they’re on…

Then you learn multiple fan chants, obsessively check for comebacks, and become emotionally invested in the lives of idols who feel more like family than strangers…

And now you just went to Seventeen’s concert and are suffering some major post-concert depression.

(Too soon?)

We can’t bring them (or any other K-pop idols) back to Singapore, but we can relate (and buy some merch to fill that emptiness in your heart).

Here are some stories of how far fans have gone to get their favourite idol’s merch (or in some people’s cases, get it back).

And maybe just the solution to the problem you’ve been pondering over.

Flying in for a concert… without a ticket

A chance to meet your idol is one that many dream of doing, but only a few get that opportunity.

A dedicated 23-year-old CARAT flew to Seoul, South Korea, in October 2024 so she could see Seventeen’s “Right Here World Tour”.

Just one teensy detail though—she didn’t have a ticket to the concert.

That didn’t stop the fan from having the time of her life though, making friends with the other fans outside the stadium and queuing on-site to buy official merchandise.

“I already carted S$90 worth of items on Weverse to pick up on-site at the concert,” she said, referring to a South Korean entertainment app by Hybe that caters to K-pop-related content, including the sale of artist-related merchandise.

While in the queue, the CARAT suddenly felt it wasn’t enough, leading her to buy S$80 more of merchandise.

Her dedication to Seventeen didn’t end there.

Hoping to get that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Seventeen, she also pre-ordered four albums before the boy group’s recent full comeback so she could enter a fan sign lucky draw.

Sadly, she didn’t win.

She later realised there was an album photocard lucky draw, where each regular set of albums would get her four random photocards.

She couldn’t resist and bought another set of albums (one set included three).

Seven albums in total. A dedicated fan indeed.

Tracing your steps down memory photocard lane

“I once lost a photocard I really liked in Japan and made my friends retrace our steps across Shibuya to find it,” another avid K-pop fan, 23, admitted.

Even worse, the hunt was for nothing as they didn’t even manage to find it in the end.

The photocard? Day6 Young K.

She also admitted to paying S$80 for a photocard benefit set previously for the same idol. 

Anything for family and a bang for your buck

A sibling made sure her brother really got the bang for his buck when she went to Seoul, South Korea for a holiday.

Her younger brother, 22, wanted IVE’s “I've IVE” album in the Rei version.

It came with its own set of struggles though—she and her friend had to visit each store just to check if they even sold IVE albums to begin with.

Not just that, she had to find the specific album that her brother was looking for.

To make things worse, since the sister wasn’t a K-pop fan like her brother, she had no idea who Rei was (yes, Rei is one of IVE’s members), much less what the album’s Rei version looked like. 

Being a good sister, she set her mind on finding the album for her brother.

With only a week to spare, she and her friend hunted for the album all across Seoul to find one at the cheapest price.

Fortunately, just a day before their flight home, she finally found the exact album her brother wanted—and at a few dollars less than the market price.

What a true testament of sibling love. 

Distance makes the heart grow fonder

For some fans, even if they’ve never had a chance to travel to South Korea, that doesn’t stop them from finding ways to get merch of their favourite idols.

A 17-year-old Blink dreams of going to a Blackpink concert in South Korea.

As a student, she can’t readily spend hundreds of dollars on concert tickets or flights to South Korea.

But that didn’t stop her from growing an impressive collection of Blackpink merchandise, though, with the largest collection among her friends.

Her secret weapon? Global Bunjang.

Saying that the prices are “super reasonable,” she mostly buys photocards on the platform, even managing to snag some rare and cool Blackpink merch there.

Can you tell who her favourite member is?

We get it.

You gotta do what you gotta do to get that merch. But not everyone can afford to keep flying to South Korea.

Even if you can, the thought of spending hundreds for concerts, plane tickets, or even photocard lucky draws isn’t always fun.

At times, you might even find yourselves weighing the pros and cons of buying merch of your favourite idol.

Or worse, when you see someone selling a rare photocard or an old comeback album that’s no longer available, you wonder about the authenticity and quality. 

Well, you’re not alone in this–and we have just the solulu for the delulu.

With Global Bunjang, you can now search for all the K-pop merch your heart desires… from the comfort of your home.

In July 2023, Bungaejangter (Bunjang), a leading platform for online C2C secondhand marketplaces in Korea, launched Global Bunjang.

Previously, Bunjang was an app limited to Korean fans, as it required a Korean ID and a mobile phone serviced by Korean telecom providers. 

Now, with Global Bunjang, international users can also access the platform to purchase secondhand merch from the Korean market (AKA more photocards, figures, edition cards, albums, and other fan merch).

So maybe if you lost the photocard of your favourite idol, you can search it up on Global Bunjang before grieving over the loss.

Global Bunjang’s variety might lead you to find hidden gems you didn’t even know existed.

If you’re wondering about the quality, you don’t have to. 

The platform offers a thorough inspection process to verify the production condition and accuracy before shipping internationally, which ensures your albums and merch are authentic. 

If you’re not sure what exactly you’re looking for but just want to browse to see what’s there, you can check out the “Popular K-Collections”. 

Plus, Global Bunjang users can purchase multiple items without any combined shipping fees (AKA money saved on international shipping costs).

Global Bunjang also pre-inspects the products’ condition and accuracy before shipping internationally, which are sent securely through global carriers.

So, what are you waiting for? 

Click here to start finding the perfect merchandise for you, all from the comfort of your home.

This sponsored article by Global Bunjang made this writer want to check out what Seventeen merch they have.

Cover photo via @pledis_17/X, @blackpinkofficial/Instagram, @ivestarship/Instagram, and Canva