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Friday, August 16, 2013

Burnaby: KR Multimedia Kpop Store

KR Multimedia is a kpop store located in Crystal Mall in Burnaby, a city neighboring Richmond and Vancouver.  This is the only store I have found in the Pacific Northwest that carries official kpop merchandise.  While the shop itself is quite small, it is completely packed with so many kpop goods!  This will be a picture-heavy post, but I was so excited while taking these photos that most of them are blurry.
The storefront of KR Multimedia is already eye catching, with kpop merchandise sprawled throughout the window display.  Inside was playing Coffee Shop (CNBlue), One Shot, Man in Love and Dream Girl; playing these hits hypnotized me in a kpop shopping spree!
On one wall is a display of kpop albums.  There is typically only one copy of each album they have, and maybe one or two albums per artist.  I forgot to check for prices, but they seem reasonable as I bought Infinite's Evolution album for my friend here and that was $17 (Canadian currency).  Also if you purchase an official album, you get 20% off one poster, which is a nice bonus!
The opposite wall has many posters neatly displayed in swinging frames.  The top row carries mostly official album posters while the bottom row has unofficial posters and endorsement posters.  Posters cost roughly $10 to $16, regular price.  Just tell the worker which poster you want and they'll pull it up from behind the counter.
There are locked displays filled with lots of merchandise.  On one display (the top left cubby) there are pig rabbits from the drama You're Beautiful, along with Korean beauty products from SkinFood, Tony Moly and more. 
The unofficial merchandise is quite pricey.  I saw a set of 7 mini clothes pins with Infinite on top, and that was $7.  I bought my friend a set of 6 1 cm diameter BAP circle stickers that cost $4.  A deck of playing cards costs $10, etc.  Other unofficial merchandise include keychains, rings, bracelets, notepads, pencil bags, cups, backpacks, even nail clippers...the list goes on.  The cups in the bottom right are of Jang Geun Suk and Kim Soo Hyun for some endorsements.  There are also many unofficial scrolls hanging above.
In one display there were also Infinite concert goods!  There was a set of pins from Second Invasion Evolution for $23, a slogan towel for around $33 and a clear file set apparently from all of the Infinite eras.
The workers are also very friendly and knowledgeable.  I asked one worker if they carried Reply 1997, and she knew exactly what I was talking about and explained their preordering system to me because they didn't have this product.  She said that you can put a down payment and they can preorder an item and it can come in the next shipment which arrives in one week.  You can preorder albums, magazines, concert goods and more.  Behind the cashier counter was a shelf of preorders.  I had my eye on that Infinite magazine...I've never seen that blue cover and want it so badly now!

KR Multimedia does their marketing on their Facebook page.  They post new shipments, preorder options and post about hosting events to trade photocards.  I love the kpop community that this shop holds!

Overall, I absolutely love this shop!  They have the latest releases (newly released albums come within a week it seems), reasonable prices and very friendly and knowledgeable workers.  I can't wait to stop by KR Multimedia again for my kpop fix!  Also I'll post my mini haul from KR Multimedia soon, so stay tuned.

4 comments:

  1. O... M.... G...... I'm going to be Vancouver for an event in a week or two.. I have a day to spend on my own afterwards.. guess where I'm going to be.... I should maybe warn this store ahead of time so my behaviour does not alarm them....... I didn't actually expect there to be a kpop store in the Vancouver area. wow..

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    1. Hahaha you are too adorable! I was very surprised when I first found out about this store too. I've been going here for a few years now, but my last few visits were disappointing because they didn't carry any Infinite stuff anymore :/ But if you're into the more actively promoting groups, then you'll love it here^^

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  2. my dad is going to Vancouver this week and said he could bring my dad some stuff, and I really want an army bong, do they sell them there?

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    1. Hi! I would suggest that you contact them (I think you can message them on facebook) to see if they have any army bongs available! Good luck^^

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