Unwanted albums from bulk purchases for photocards and fan events find new homes as shops give away surplus copies
Cardboard boxes brimming with K-pop albums sat inside a Seoul shop on Thursday afternoon.
Among the offerings were releases from chart-topping idol groups such as NCT and Ive, alongside those of lesser-known acts. Some were bundled with photobooks.
Yet every album was free for the taking.
Muller, a 24-year-old German tourist and fan of Tomorrow X Together, returned to the shop for a second visit during her weeklong trip to Korea, hoping to pick up more albums as souvenirs for her friends back home.
"I saw people talking about this place online and thought I'd give it a try. I didn't expect there to be so many different albums to choose from. I haven't found any Tomorrow X Together albums, but I've managed to pick up quite a few from other boy groups I like," she told The Korea Herald.
"There's something special about having an actual album on your shelf. It feels more personal than just streaming the songs."
K-pop Shop in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, is one of a growing number of stores in the city offering free secondhand K-pop albums.
Behind the giveaways is a growing surplus of unwanted K-pop albums, largely driven by fans who buy multiple copies to collect photocards and other exclusive merchandise, leaving the CDs unused as most music is now consumed through streaming platforms.
Some overseas fans even ask album retailers to ship only the photocards and other collectibles, leaving the CDs behind, according to Choi, 66, the owner of K-pop Shop, which opened in February.
Choi said albums left behind by customers after removing the collectibles were typically stored until record labels authorized their disposal.
Rather than throwing them away, he began offering albums cleared for disposal free of charge to international K-pop fans visiting Korea.
"I thought it would be nice to give them to fans instead, especially younger visitors from overseas who might not be able to afford albums. I wanted to offer them something special," Choi said.
"Even if they don't listen to the CDs, they seem to value the albums themselves as unique collectibles."
Bulk album buying is not unique to South Korea, with K-pop fans in Europe and other overseas markets also organizing group purchases to support their favorite artists and boost album sales.
In South Korea, however, the practice is further driven by album purchases serving as a gateway to official fan events, including fan-signing sessions, video calls and music show recordings. For lottery-based events, fans often buy dozens or even hundreds of copies to increase their chances of securing a spot.
The practice has raised growing environmental concerns over the waste generated by excessive album purchases.
A total of 13 local entertainment companies produced a combined 6,667 metric tons of plastic products, including CDs and packaging materials, between 2021 and 2024 — equivalent to the weight of roughly 4,445 midsize cars, according to Environment Ministry data obtained by the Hankook Ilbo in April.
cjh@heraldcorp.com