🎤 WOW, FANTASTIC BABY!
The goods formula that has moved fans for 20 years ⭐

2026.08

Hope your week is off to a good start! Right now, the Musinsa stores in Seongsu and Myeongdong (two of Seoul's busiest shopping districts) have crowds lining up with their own money in hand, all for merch. The reason: BIGBANG's 20th-anniversary pop-up. And yesterday (August 24), the 20th-anniversary media exhibition "COSMOS" opened at DDDSeoul near City Hall Station. A pop-up and an exhibition at once. The whole city is buzzing with BIGBANG.

It's all merch, yet the temperature gap is huge. Our corporate keepsakes tend to sit in unopened boxes, while over there people will pay above retail just to get their hands on one. So in this letter we dug into the secret. The pop-up wraps up on August 27, so let's walk through it together before the doors close. A good formula deserves to be borrowed for your own brand, right? (Curious which pop-ups are busiest right now? Check the Goods Calendar at the very bottom 😎)

(Official poster for the world tour "XX : COSMOS" · ⓒYG Entertainment)

BIGBANG turns 20 this year. They debuted in 2006, so it's exactly two decades. According to YG Entertainment, their first stadium-scale world tour, "XX : COSMOS", runs from 2026 into 2027.

The starting point is the pop-up open right now. At Musinsa Megastore Seongsu and Musinsa Standard Myeongdong, from August 14 to 27, 58 merch items went on sale. You prepay online and pick up on site by QR code, so even the queue flow was designed in advance.

(The 20th-anniversary edition light stick, unveiled for the first time at the pop-up · ⓒYG Entertainment)

The star is the 20th-anniversary edition light stick, revealed for the first time on site. A "B" shaped like a treble clef, the number 20, and a repeat sign are engraved into it. One design tells the story of going back to the beginning and continuing on. Over the past 30 days, "BIGBANG light stick" was searched 9,380 times on Naver, Korea's largest search engine.

(Spin-off merch that grew from one light stick: keyring·clicker·pin badge·cross strap · ⓒYG Entertainment)

(Official exhibition poster · ⓒYG Entertainment · MYT)

The excitement doesn't stop at the pop-up. Just yesterday (August 24), the 20th-anniversary media exhibition "COSMOS" opened at DDDSeoul near City Hall Station. In a space of roughly 3,300 square meters, there is even a zone where light stick beams form constellations. Here too, the light stick is the star.

The exhibition-exclusive merch is worth a look as well. The 20th-anniversary light stick can only be bought by those who secure a first-come purchase ticket, and the limited-edition hologram tee is capped at exactly 2,020 pieces, each with a unique serial number from 1 to 2,020. Why this number detail matters is something we'll unpack in the next section.

(Compiled from the exhibition guide on the Naver blog "Artboy" · Check the exhibition's official social channels for live booking and stock)

A light stick is no longer a lighting tool. Just holding one shows which side you're on. It's a badge of belonging. Corporate merch runs on the same principle. Instead of handing out things with a logo stamped on them, make something that lets the recipient feel "I'm on this brand's side." That's what sticks around. Shall we sketch out what your brand's signature merch could look like?

(Official merch jersey·ball cap·tote bag·slogan towel · ⓒYG Entertainment)

Pick apart the list of 58 and something interesting shows up. A jersey, a ball cap, a tote bag, a mini rug, a light stick cushion, a blanket, a slogan towel. There are far more things you keep using at home and in daily life than things you'd use at a concert. The center of gravity in fandom merch has shifted from the venue to everyday life.

(A table clock for the desk and a mini jacket keyring for the bag · ⓒYG Entertainment)

Three formulas can be pulled from this.

Bring it into your company and it looks like this. For a 10th founding anniversary, make the number 10 the hero of the design. Choose items that live where hands land every day, like the desk or the bag. Then add one line of a slogan that sounds like you. Seeing real projects built on this formula will make it click faster.

You don't have to be an idol agency to make it. Here are five you can start with nothing but a logo file.

(Lenticular card whose image changes with the viewing angle · Made by O-SEAN)

First up is the lenticular card. Tilt it and the picture changes, so it connects straight to photocard culture. We even delivered a batch for a Gwacheon National Science Museum event in just 4 business days. Even a tight schedule has a way through.

(Film keyring and LED acrylic coaster · Made by O-SEAN)

Second is the film keyring. It captures moments from your event as film frames you can hand out. Third, the LED acrylic coaster is merch that lights up, so it ties naturally into the light stick story.

(Custom-shaped cushion and custom ticket · Made by O-SEAN)

Fourth is the custom-shaped cushion. BIGBANG's merch lineup actually includes a light stick cushion. It can be made in the exact shape of your mascot or product. Fifth, the custom ticket. It turns the invitation or entry pass itself into a keepsake people want to hold on to.

You don't need hundreds of units. Tell us the size of your event first and we'll find an approach that fits, together. Curious about other items? The keyring & accessories category is a good place to start browsing.

We also picked three trends through a merch buyer's eyes.

(Moktak keyring in obangsaek, Korea's five traditional colors · ⓒYeongcheon Moktak)

First is the moktak keycap clicker. A moktak is the wooden block Buddhist monks tap during chanting, and this keyring puts a moktak-shaped cap on a mechanical keyboard switch so you can click-click away. Bongeunsa Temple's zodiac "Merit Keycaps" sold out, and monthly searches hit 2,540, roughly 7x the previous month and a 12-month high (source: Naver Search Ads Keyword Tool). It's hard to find outside temples or fairs, so handing it out at an event gives you guaranteed scarcity.

(Made-to-order leather planner with engraving · ⓒSuminami)

Second is the planner. A planner in midsummer may sound odd, but search volume in the third week of August hit a 4-month high (per Naver DataLab). The absolute number is big too, at 25,110 searches a month, and "planner production" alone draws 1,850 a month, so demand for corporate logo planners is real. The year-end merch season has already started in the search bar, which means if you plan to hand out next year's planners, now is the time to order.

(Keycap LED keyring with a customizable logo · Made by O-SEAN)

Third is the clicker keyring trend itself. Clicky keycap keyrings are still going strong. O-SEAN's keycap LED keyring can be made with your custom logo at KRW 8,000 apiece. Curious what it's like? Start by imagining the click on the product page.

Ideas come from the field more than the desk. We ranked the 10 merch pop-ups drawing the biggest crowds right now. The ranking is based on 30-day monthly search volume from the Naver Search Ads Keyword Tool, pulled on August 24, 2026.

(Source: Naver Search Ads Keyword Tool · 30-day monthly search volume · pulled 2026-08-24~25)

Pokémon Mega Festa celebrates Pokémon's 30th anniversary with a giant Magikarp waterway and collab merch from 10 brands, and the Riftbound pop-up is the first public reveal of the LoL TCG starter pack. If you're stuck for merch ideas, drop by two or three of these this week. Thirty minutes is enough to see which merch makes people open their wallets.