Golden Child: Goldenness 2nd Generation Fanclub Membership Review

On May 13, 2020 at 1:10PM KST, Golden Child's official VLive channel announced the recruitment for 2nd generation Goldenness via Vlive's Fanship. The application period is from May 13th at 1PM until June 30th at 11:59PM KST (I guess Woollim learned from last time and created a longer application period) and can be purchased through VLive - if via PC, the payment will be through coins (the VLive currency), and if via the app, the payment will be through PayPal or credit card or debit card. Golden Child's 2nd gen fanclub membership is the second within Woollim to go through VLive Fanship, with the first being Rocket Punch's 1st gen which began enrollment in March 2020.

Goldenness 1st gen began back in mid-2018 and when a 2nd gen wasn't revealed after the one year period and when 1st gen still applied for ticketing back in December 2019 for Golden Child's 1st concert, I was really hoping 1st gen could continue gaining presale benefits with a much smaller pool of official fanclub members. But looking at the bright side, I hope many newer Ness can enjoy being official members now~ 

There are two package options:

1. Official Fan Club Membership Fee (WELCOME KIT included) for $28.74 USD ($44.75 USD delivery fee to the US)
2. Official Fan Club Membership Fee (WELCOME KIT excluded) for $20.53 USD

Both packages include the VLive Fanship, special events, and advanced booking. The details of the welcome kit were revealed on June 15th via Golden Child's Twitter. The membership is from June 30, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

Applying for the fanclub membership was even more straightforward than Rocket Punch's. It was all in English and can be done through the app. I selected the first option, and it already had all my identification and shipping info filled out, then it routed me to PayPal to complete my one-time purchase of $73.50 USD (membership + kit + shipping).

You can access your fanship by going to My --> My FANSHIP and here you can view the shipping status of the welcome kit, as well as change the shipping address (the country cannot be changed). The estimated arrival date ranges from September 28, 2020 to October 28, 2020 and you can change your shipping address up to 7 days before your estimated arrival date. Note that the membership number is your V LIVE App number so it's the same for all your fanships.

On July 7th, Woollim announced the recruitment is extended until July 20th.

On August 6th, Vlive sent a notification stating that the welcome kit is being prepared, and to ensure your shipping address is correct. On August 13th, Vlive sent a notification saying that the welcome kit will be shipped soon.

On August 24th, I checked again and the estimated arrival date range updated to August 19th to September 19th. Korean Goldenness also started receiving their welcome kits today. On August 25th, I checked again and the tracking has updated! My welcome kit shipped on the 24th and is coming via EMS. The wait was quite long (especially for EMS), but it finally arrived on September 15th. For anyone curious, the shipping label states the package weighs 600g and the amount is worth $12 USD.

The exterior packaging is so cute! Starting with Rocket Punch's Ketchy 1st Generation Fanclub welcome kit, Woollim has upgraded the cardboard box to be branded with the fanclub name. It's too bad the shipping label is so large, so it covered majority of the bottom of the box.

The box is small enough to fit all the items in here without much space. The downside is that there was nothing to really protect the items inside; they were all just placed inside the box. As a note, I opened the box from the bottom, so the tote is at the top.

From bottom to top (since I opened the box from the bottom) are the tote, photobook, and plastic pouch. Unfortunately the pouch and its jagged items made the photobook curved and left a scratch on the cover.

Here is a closer look at all of the contents of the welcome kit. The blue slip of paper is from Vlive and the backside contains information in both Korean and English for requesting to exchange goods.

And here are the contents of the pouch: the official fanclub card (the backside of the postcard contains messages from the boys), pack of photocards, hand mirror, and name badge.

The membership card came in a sealable soft plastic sleeve that was stuck on the postcard. It's pretty sticky, so I suggest slowly removing the sleeve from the postcard to best preserve the postcard. The card is hard plastic and your V LIVE App number and name (as entered under your "Edit Profile") are printed at the bottom. It's cool how the bottom part is clear! But in all honesty, the first generation card was exceptionally beautiful and elegant...while this generation's theme is a bit more simple.

The backside of the card has a spot to sign, along with the Woollim authentication seal, and general information.

The backside of the postcard contains the printed messages from each member.

The photocard set comes in a matte paper sleeve.

There are 30 photocards; 3 per member, and each member has one with a printed sign, printed name, and drawing on the backside. It came in this order: Bomin (sign, name, drawing), Joochan, Jangjun, Jaehyun, Jibeom, Tag, Donghyun, Y, Daeyeol, Seungmin.

All the photocards have a matte finish. They seem more fragile than other finishes; I think I accidentally scratched one of them which trying to pick it up, leaving a mark...

Here are the backsides of the photocards. The first set has the members' printed messages and autographs, the second set has the members' names, and the third set has the members' drawings! These drawings are really adorable; Daeyeol's lion looks so realistic, Y's rabbit, Jangjun's cow is so adorable, Seungmin's porcupine, Jaehyun's Bongji(?), Jibeom's tiger, Donghyun's ant, Joochan's fox, Bomin's self-portrait(?), all are so cute!

Here are the remaining contents within the clear pouch. The hand mirror came in a sealable soft plastic sleeve. This sleeve is also pretty sticky; I couldn't even remove it from the postcard. The pin from the name badge was slipped between the flap of the postcard.

Here is a closer look at the hand mirror and name badge.

The hand mirror is surprisingly really high quality! The hand mirror feels heavy duty, and has a matte finish on the front. As for the name badge, I'm still unsure how I feel about the quality. It is really cute and the badge part is made of thick, durable plastic, however I don't like how it's just a safety pin in the back. But then again I guess name tags are usually like this?

Canvas tote bags seem to be a staple for Woollim's fanclub welcome kits, and they end up being either cream or royal blue; this time it's a mix of both. The eco bag came in a sealable plastic bag. It's cute how the "GOLDENNESS" text matches the rest of the goods within this welcome kit, but overall the design is still rather basic. The backside is plain cream. There are no pockets inside. The tote is about 13" by 13.5" and hangs comfortably around the shoulder with about 9.75" between the top of the straps and the lip of the bag.

The photobook is softback and has a matte finish. It's neat how there are 2 front covers. This first cover and majority of the photobook are from this casual photoshoot.

This section has 47 pages and starts off with a group photo.

The next few pages contain 2 photos per member, with 1 to 2 photos per page.

The layout of each page is different, and some pages from this photoshoot have fun edits. I love the design on Seungmin's page, and how it matches the design of the paper sleeve holder for the photocards.

I really like how the edits are all different from page to page, like this one of Y. And for pages without edits, it's nice that there's no wasted space.

There is another group photo from this shoot.

Following are 2 more photos per member, with generally 1 photo per page. Again, I really like the design here. Jibeom's page is the only one that incorporates his number, but I just love how they're still using their numbers to identify them.

There are 2 2-page spreads: this one of Daeyeol and another one of Jaehyun.

This section wraps up with another group photo from this shoot.

For the rest of the photobook, we need to flip the book upside down and start with the other cover. This alternate cover reveals a collage of photos from a cream suit photoshoot.

This section contains 33 pages and only contain individual member photos.

There are 2 2-page spreads in this section as well.

Besides the 2-page spreads, each page generally consists of 1 to 2 photos of 1 member, and each member has 3 sets of photos.

This shoot shows off a more reserved and serious look and has fun edits, contrasting with the playfulness of the first shoot.

Overall, the contents of the welcome kit definitely don't equate to the price, but regardless I have no regrets. The exterior packaging is cute, the drawings from the photocards are adorable, the hand mirror and name badge are nice additions, and the photobook is rather thick. As for the membership itself, I hope that there will be more fanship contents to make up for not being able to use the membership benefit for events.