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Friday, December 21, 2012

Sydney Chinatown: Kpop Stores

Sydney, Australia's Chinatown spans several blocks and is adorned with authentic Chinese restaurants and...kpop stores!  I felt like I was in heaven, being surrounded by heavenly cuisine and kpop.  I visited Sydney in August 2012 and will never forget it.  Their Chinatown is mainly a pedestrian street stretching two blocks long.  Walking down the streets of Chinatown, multiple stores blasted Gangnam Style loudly to draw attention.  Those were the stores I was attracted to, since they were just calling to fangirls.

Rong Bao Tang
[UPDATE: Rong Bao Tang located to just around the corner. Here is the new address:
Level 1 389 Sussex Street, Haymarket, Sydney, NSW, Australia. There is also a branch in Melbourne. Look in the comments for more details.]
Old Location: 46 Dixon St nr Goulburn St, Haymarket, NSW
The first store on my list was Rong Bao Tang, also known as Best Media Asia.  It is located on Dixon Street, the pedestrian street.  This store carries the largest collection of popular Asian movies, dramas, CDs and random kpop merchandise.  They even have a selection of signed rookie kpop band CDs.  Often they have great freebies. By purchasing two concert DVDs, I received a free large SHINee 2012 calendar!  The front is adorned with kpop posters and there is a TV facing the street blaring kpop shows.
Morning Glory
33 Goulburn St. btwn George & Sussex St., Haymarket, NSW
There are actually three Morning Glory stores in this vicinity, but only this location has kpop merchandise.  This cute stationary and gifts chain store (they have stores in the US and Canada too!) has a nice selection of $5 posters and unique items, such as kpop tumblers, planners, post-its and even socks.  Peek through the door and you can see a poster from Tony Moly's photoshoot with Kim Hyun Joong!

East Avenue
This small store is in an alleyway that is connected to Dixon's pedestrian street.  It mostly sells Asian clothing, but there are also kpop posters ($10AUD), postcards ($2AUD) and keychains ($10AUD).  The products are mostly of more well-established kpop stars and actors, such as Lee Min Ho, Kim Bum, Kim Hyun Joong, Jang Geun Suk, SNSD and IU, just to name a few, and not newer kpop idols.

I'll have another post about the kpop merchandise I bought here.  If you're ever in Sydney's Chinatown, check out these stores!

34 comments:

  1. What were the prices like for these shops? Which one was the cheapest/best value?

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    1. The stores worth your time with lots of selection are Rong Bao Tang and Morning Glory. I remember Rong Bao Tang's unofficial posters were 3 for $10 and unofficial concert/music DVDs were roughly $10-15. Morning Glory's official posters were about $5-10 and there was a Jung Yong Hwa monthly planner for $20. Sorry I can't recall the prices so well from my visit to these shops.

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  2. Thanks for this! Including addresses & pictures really helped a lot :)

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    1. I'm really glad you found this post helpful :) I hope you enjoy your visit to these stores!

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  3. Just to update ...for those that are interested...Rong Bao Tang (or Media Asia as it is also known) is moving ...just around the block...on February 1st, 2014..new address will be Level 1, 389 Sussex Street , Chinatown, Sydney (above Regal Group Duty Free)...it is the best place for KPOP merchandise, cd's and dvds in Australia ...and also has a store in Melbourne Australia

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    1. Wow, thank you for the update!! I didn't know they were moving or that they had another location!

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  4. Melbourne store address for Rong Bao Tang ( Media Asia) is 185 Bourke St, Melbourne (in the CBD)....for anyone that will be travelling to Melbourne

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    1. Thank you!! If I'm ever in the area, I'll be sure to stop by and have a field day there :)

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  5. Hi Macey ...Rong Bao Tang (Media Asia) Sydney store has just relocated ....and they have done a Youtube Video of the shop with the address and everything on the end ...thought you might be able to update you blog with the information ...thank you so ...love reading your blog by the way ....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL4ZV2jSyrk

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    1. Thank you for the information. I watched the video, and I'm so jealous this store doesn't exist around the world! The selection looks amazing (especially the Infinite OGS concert merch)! I'll be sure to post a quick update, thanks for telling me~

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  6. Are the stores still there? Have any closed down?

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    1. Hi! I'm sorry for the late reply, I don't know why my reply didn't go through...I actually haven't visited Sydney for awhile, so I'm not sure if they're still open or not, sorry!

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  7. Did the stores have the latest merchandises?

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    1. Hi^^ Rong Bao Tang would be your best bet for finding the latest merchandise, though I don't know how long it takes for them to receive new items.

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  8. Does anyone know if the rong bao tong stores are still open? Because on their Facebook page it says 'no more operational stores' and the website is gone too..?

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    1. I'm sorry I don't know if they're still open. I also looked at their Facebook page and website and it seems to be closed, but I haven't physically visited. It's disappointing as that was such a great store :(

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  9. Are these like the only Kpop shops in Sydney? :) Thank you!

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    1. Hi! I'm sorry, I don't know if there are other Kpop shops in Sydney! These were just the ones I found when I was on vacation there^^

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  10. Hello there! I'm looking for kpop shops here in Australia and I'm coming to Sydney to look for them because it's going to be my birthday on 29th of Sept. Thank you for the suggestions and I hope they're still open this 2016, or else I'll die TT^^TT By the way, this post is really helpful! :)

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    1. Hi~! Happy early birthday!!! I really do hope these shops are still open......I don't want you to be disappointed, especially on your birthday! I'm glad you found this helpful^^

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  11. Replies
    1. You're so sweet! Unfortunately I don't know if any of these stores are still open... :(

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  12. I have some updates on these stores. FEBRUARY 2017 - Rong Bao Tang is permanently closed. Yet they still operate on Facebook. Morning Glory is still open and operating. East Avenue is permanently closed but they still do makeup and Japanese art in private.

    So out of the 3 you visited in 2012, only one still exists. :D

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    1. Thank you so much for your updates!!! That is really too bad that these stores are becoming extinct :(

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  13. Hi~ I know it's not a permanent store but it still counts. There's a dtore that had 1 day events throughout Australia called ThatKPOPShop. Sometimes they change locations when the come back to the city but as of the last and the next time they come (April 15th) they're both in fuego studios (close to morning glory) :')

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    1. Hi! Thanks for talking about this store. I hope it helps others who are in the area looking for kpop stores^^

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  14. I feel so hard done by lmao... Im from Perth and we have a morning glory as well (its incredibly small). The average album cost is like $50...

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    1. I totally understand...I feel like many local stores really overcharge albums, so I usually just order online instead >.<

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  15. Do they have bts merch and albums there?

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    1. Hi! I personally am not sure, I would suggest trying to contact them first! Good luck^^

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