K-pop group goods you can only get from Japan: BTS, TWICE, EXO and more
Japan loves K-Pop as much as you do. That’s why they call it the Hallyu Wave – the thing about waves is, they keep coming back.
So, as weird as it sounds, some merch from K-Pop groups is only released in Japan.
We’ll cover some basics and big hits from around the time this post goes live, but this isn’t gonna be a huge list of stuff. We’re not going back to like, KARA and SNSD era here. As if any of us want this to be thousands of words long. If you’re a diehard fan who thinks we missed something important, leave us a comment.
BTS
Well, ‘2017 BTS Live Trilogy Episode III The Wings Tour ～Japan Edition～’ feels like an obvious place to start… It’s not where BTS started, they’ve been active in Japan for years.
These boys work super hard, and aren’t showing any signs of letting up. BTS has released a ton of songs (and 2 best compilation albums) in Japanese, like:
- Boy In Luv
- Mic Drop
- Love Yourself
- Blood, Sweat, and Tears
- No More Dream
- Crystal Snow (which is on the Mic Drop CDs anyway)
We didn’t even get to the calendars or trading cards yet. Or that weird LINE collab where all the members got funky nicknames. ‘Kooky Jungkook’ = genius.
TWICE
How many K-Pop groups actually put ‘Japan debut album’ in the title of their Japan debut album?
TWICE did, with #TWICE. Makes it way easier to search for. And they’ve done a bunch of Japan original singles, like Candy Pop, Wake Me Up, and One More Time. When your group’s 1/3 Japanese, promoting in Japan’s a no-brainer, really.
One more thing to look out for is the TWICE Japanese debut showcase DVD, ‘Touchdown in Japan’. As if they hopped off a private jet and onto the stage. Don’t forget your Candy Bong when you sit down to watch it!
EXO
Not content with already releasing everything in 2 languages, EXO took on Japan in a big way. EXOPLANET concert tours, Japan singles with an edition for each member… Even EXO-CBX got a Japanese album release. Being repped by Avex makes a big difference, huh.
But then, that means it’s weird for EXO’s number of J-releases to be kinda low. We know they’re busy being crazy popular in other countries, but EXO didn’t put out an official Japanese single for all of 2017. What makes up for that?
Trading cards do. Collect pics of your faves wearing as many outfits as possible!
BLACKPINK
Fun fact: search for ‘blackpink’ on Yahoo! Auctions Japan, and you’ll see a ton of clothes and handbags. That’s cool, but not what we meant. You’re better off searching the DEJAPAN website for results from places like Amazon Japan and Rakuten.
The main attraction’s their debut Japanese album, in regular and limited editions. It features J-versions of Boombayah, Whistle, Playing With Fire, Stay, and As If It’s Your Last. Double the lyrics to learn for your next karaoke trip. Don’t worry, we’ll do the rap parts.
You can also try hunting down the September 2017 edition of Nylon Japan – BLACKPINK were that month’s cover girls. They got a group shot and individual covers, like it’s a new single or something.
Super Junior
A legendary group like SuJu – with a super long discography like SuJu – always has J-releases in their history. Hell, there was even a Japan edition of ‘Oppa, Oppa’. And mini Putitto cup hanger figures of Donghae and Eunhyuk…
When Super Junior puts out a Japanese album, it’s not just ‘limited’. It’s more than ‘special’. Yep, the ‘Japan Limited Special Edition’ went there. All it’s missing is an extra ‘super’.
Oh yeah, and as if we could ever forget ‘Mr. Panda and the hedgehog’. We’ve tried. So many times…
SHINee
Seeing as SHINee’s first Japan tour was back in 2012, they’ve had a lot of time to pump out the merch. Check Yahoo! Auctions listings for their tour goods, and other ‘fan fave’ items that got snapped up by someone else first.
Try not to cry watching or listening to FIVE. Wait, we take it back. Curl up in a ball and cry. Cry a lot.
14 Japan singles and 4 albums from 2011-2016 give you a place to start collecting SHINee CDs. And a way to remember how damn talented Jonghyun was. We’ll even forgive the total weirdness of Ring Ding Dong to hear that voice.
Get your K-Pop fix from Japan
Complete your collection – and your shrine. For K-Pop merch you can only get in Japan, we’re here to help a fan out. Order with no service fee via DEJAPAN, for international delivery.
