BT21 is a collaborative project, formed by LINE FRIENDS and, one of the biggest names in the music industry right now, BTS (방탄소년단).
Since the brand’s launch in 2017, LINE FRIENDS x BT21 have released all kinds of items, including stationery, plushies, and Funko Pops. They even collaborated with UNIQLO, giving fans access to BT21 merchandise on the high street (at extremely affordable prices). BT21 has an online store and physical stores, worldwide. There are 8 characters; one character for each of the seven members of BTS (Tata, Mang, Chimmy, RJ, Koya, Cooky, Shooky) and an extra character (Van) that represents BTS’ fanbase, ARMY.
Last year, BTS played two sold-out shows in Wembley Stadium. This BT21 pop-up store was open from the 28th of May – 2nd of June, with the concert dates on the 1st and 2nd of June. The BT21 pop-up store was located in Camden Market in The Provender Building, Stables Yard. Entry was free and the store opened every day, for the duration of the event, at 10 am and stayed open for a reasonable amount of time. There were fans flying in from all around the world to attend BTS’ Wembley shows so it was convenient that the pop-up shop was open for a few days, giving people multiple opportunities to attend.
Unfortunately, the pop-up store didn’t have a huge selection of items to choose from, compared to what you can get on the LINE FRIENDS Official Store. They had t-shirts, bags, pillows, stickers, mugs, pens, and other generic merchandise items. I purchased a “Tata” t-shirt, “Koya” cushion and some stickers. My friends and I got to the store super early in the morning to queue up for the grand opening, expecting that there would be more items to choose from. When we got inside, we were quite disappointed due to the lack of items that we were hoping for, like plushies (which are very popular). Maybe because this was their first time hosting an event like this, so they didn’t want to aim too high? I don’t know. Regardless, it was still a cool experience and it was nice to see so many ARMYs and BT21 fans in a venue that wasn’t just for a concert.
The prices for the items weren’t too bad; nothing that shocked me too much, considering that it’s basically merchandise (which is always a bit pricey). T-shirts were about £20-30, depending on the style. The cushions were £30, which is definitely quite pricey for a pillow but I anticipated that. The stickers that I got were £5, so I ended up spending like £55 which I don’t think is too bad.
All in all, the event was exciting and it really kicked off the countdown to BTS at Wembley so it was a lot of fun. I’m still yet to post my experience at BTS’ Wembley shows, so that post will be up next (as i’m trying to post things, chronologically). This post is so long overdue; I had it written up for a while and just never got around to posting it but with all that’s been going on recently with COVID-19, I felt like now was the time. Also, I’ve changed websites, which is interesting, and I have my own custom domain now so yay for independence!
Anyway, again, sorry for how late this post is. Like literally, no one cares because the pop-up store closed in… um… June of 2019 so this is so irrelevant but you can buy stuff online if you’re interested in their stuff! STAN KOYA, MY FAVE. Also, they did another pop-up in November (another post still yet to come, but it’s coming ok, I promise!) so I’m sure they’ll do BT21 pop-up stores more often.
Thanks for reading! Keep scrolling for photos from the event. Stay safe during this difficult time,
JK ♡
