BTS' pop-up showcase in Seoul quenches fans' thirst amid pandemic
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The pop-up showcase is inspired by South Korean boy band BTS' latest album, Map Of The Soul: 7.
PHOTO: BTS/INSTAGRAM
SEOUL • A BTS pop-up showcase in Seoul has quenched the thirst of local fans during the pandemic era, offering them a unique experience related to the global pop-music juggernaut.
Taking over a three-storey building at the trendy Garosugil area in Gangnam district, southern Seoul, the offline showcase, dubbed BTS Pop-up: Map Of The Soul, opened its door to fans on Oct 23. It follows the boy band's first pop-up store that opened in Seoul last year.
Inspired by BTS' latest album, Map Of The Soul: 7, the complex features various experimental zones and showrooms that reproduces themes from the group's major hits from the album, including Black Swan, On and Dynamite.
On the first floor, fans are greeted with various merchandise, including clothing, snacks, water bottles, colouring books, make-up tools and fashion items, most of which are available for purchase only online.
An official from Big Hit Entertainment, BTS' label, explained that the showcase was more of a preview of the online store, where various merchandise is available.
The second floor, designed after On and Black Swan, showed off more artistic installations.
Visitors can walk under a beautifully adorned huge bird cage, a symbolic item from the music video of On.
The highlight of the venue is located on the top floor, where a colourful Dynamite zone provides a whole package of fan favourites.
Various attractions - from the vibrant doughnut shop of the Dynamite music video to figurines of BTS-inspired TinyTan characters - serve as great photo spots.
The doughnut stand grabbed attention as it featured the band mates' heartwarming handwritten messages for their fans, known as "Army".
The Seoul showcase runs till Jan 24 next year and is set to land in Tokyo and Singapore next Saturday.
Over the same period, Big Hit is also running a pop-up online store on BTS online fan community Weverse until Jan 24.
The store is available for fans in South Korea and the United States, while it will be open to fans in Japan, seven other Asian countries, including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, and 15 European countries from next Saturday.
THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK
