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Friday, September 4, 2020

Rocket Punch: Ketchy 1st Generation Fanclub Membership Review

On March 16th, 2020, Woollim announced Rocket Punch's official 1st generation Ketchy fanclub membership. The application period is from March 24th at 2PM until April 7th 11:59PM KST and can be purchased through the VLive - if via PC, the membership must be purchased using coins (the VLive currency), and if via the app, it must be purchased using another method (ex. credit card).

There are two package options:
  1. Welcome Kit & Real Official Lightstick for $43.86 USD (delivery fee excluded)
  2. Welcome Kit for $29.83 USD (delivery fee excluded)
Because the fanclub membership includes the VLive Fanship, benefits included in both package options are the Rocket Punch Fanship channel, Fanship content, chat, fan board, ad-free videos, and special events. Like other more traditional fanclub memberships, this one also includes advanced booking opportunities and a welcome kit.

Applying for the fanclub membership was pretty straightforward and all in English. The only uncertainty I have is that Woollim is having an event where those with who applied and ended up with one of the eight specific membership numbers (special Rocket Punch dates^^) based on order of payment will win a signed Polaroid, however the membership number is the same as my VLive account number.

After purchasing a package, you can access your Rocket Punch Official Fanclub <Ketchy> Fanship under the My Fanship page. Under the Welcome Kit section, you can request your welcome kit within the request period of March 23rd, 2020 at 10PM through April 27th, 2020 at 7:50AM KST. Here you will enter your shipping address and pay for the shipping fee. Shipping to the US was $35.08 USD for me. After completing this, you can view the status of your package within this same section.

On April 6th, Woollim announced the extension of the application period to the end of April (April 30th at 11:50PM KST) where the membership will be active from May 1st, 2020 to May 1st, 2021. The day before period close, Woollim posted the inclusions of the welcome kit.

On June 29th, Vlive sent a notification that the production of the welcome kit has started and to make sure the shipping address is correct.

On July 27th, Rocket Punch announced offering an additional recruitment period from July 31st at 2PM until August 9th, however it looks like the lightstick is no longer an option for purchase. On July 31st, they announced that the light sticker (ver. 1) will be on sale for a limited period of time beginning the 31st at 4PM via Everline (the same website for Golden Child's concert merchandise and additional runebong sale).

On July 28th, Korean Ketchy began receiving their welcome kits.

On August 1st, I checked the status of my welcome kit via the Vlive app, and oddly enough it showed "delivered" and gave a tracking number that indeed showed that my package was delivered. Clicking on this tracking number revealed the real tracking number, and USPS tracking showed that the package was accepted in Korea on July 30th. The shipping method used was EMS. But actually taking a closer look...I then used both EMS tracking and Korea Post tracking, and both show that the package was "prohibited for air conveyance" and "returned to sender", which is in line with the Vlive tracking. On August 6th I sent Vlive an inquiry about the status of my welcome kit within the V App, and they emailed me back with a generic response that they'll resend the welcome kit.
The tracking within Vlive has since updated, with a new UPS tracking number that will be delivered via USPS. On August 7th the package was picked up by the carrier. I finally received my welcome kit on August 28th, but unfortunately with a lot of damage to the exterior box, including a huge gash along one side exposing the inside.
The box is so cute with Rocket Punch's logo and Ketchy printed on the outside, but with all the shipping labels and the huge cut it's not really preservable. I guess with all of the back and forth, this package went through a lot...luckily all the contents are inside and in decent condition.
Opening up the box reveals the membership card taped to the inside flap, along with the lightstick on top, followed by the tote bag, and at the bottom is the photo book.
Here are the contents: the official fanclub card, eco bag, photo book, post card (inside the photo book), photo card (inside the photo book), grip tok, and pin button.
The blue slip of paper is from Vlive.
The backside gives information in both Korean and English for requesting to exchange goods.
The membership card came in an sealable soft plastic sleeve before being taped inside the flap of the box. The card is hard plastic like a credit card and your V LIVE App number and name (as entered under your "Edit Profile") are printed on the top left. This pretty aqua color is commonly used throughout the welcome kit.
The backside of the card has a designated place to sign, along with the Woollim authentication seal, and general information.
Here are the grip tok and pin button. The grip tok is really cute with Rocket Punch's logo. And the pin button has a group photo of the girls in sporty outfits reminiscent of Bim Bam Bum era.
Here are the backsides of the packaging for the grip tok and pin button.
Here are the contents within the grip tok packaging, including instructions in both Korean and English, and a clear film.
The booklet is really cute and matches the comic book style in the photobooks of Rocket Punch's 3 mini albums. The cover is really high quality too, with the texts and photos embossed with a gloss finish rather than being printed flush.
Here is the back cover.
The photo book contains 48 pages with photos from 2 photoshoots. It begins with a group photo from the sporty photoshoot.
The next 24 pages contain individual member photos from this sporty shoot, with 1 photo per page, totalling 4 photos per member.
I cannot get over Dahyun from both of these photoshoots! She looks a lot more mature and just such model material. And Yeonhee's shade is absolutely gorgeous on her!
It's refreshing seeing the girls with natural hair colors, and the layout of this 2-page spread is really cute.
This second photoshoot shows the girls in what looks like edgy streetwear. The girls pull off this concept so well and really radiate confidence as models!
There are 18 pages from this second shoot, for a total of 3 photos per member. Dahyun again really rocking this look! And Yeonhee gives off Regina George vibes as a strong, confident leader.
The layout of each page has that comic book style, again continuing the style of the girls' mini album photobooks.
The very back of the photobook includes printed messages from each member.
This back flap is where both the post card set and photo card set are stored.
While this is a nice way to package up the post card and photo card sets, the tightness unfortunately made a dent on the top edge of the photo cards.
Here are how the post cards were placed in order from top to bottom (top left to top right, bottom left to bottom right). These photos are from the sporty photoshoot. The post cards are about 10cm by 15cm and have a matte finish.
Here are the backsides of the post cards.
And here are how the photo cards were placed in order from top to bottom. These cards have a semi-glossy finish.
The backside of each photo card has the member's printed message and autograph.
The eco bag is made of canvas, with navy blue detailing for Rocket Punch's logo. The pinstripes are also navy and add a nice touch to Woollim's usual plain totes. The strap is also navy, giving a nice contrast to the beige tote.
The back of the tote also has the navy pinstripes, along with "ROCKET PUNCH 1ST OFFICIAL FANCLUB KETCHY" in the Ketchy font. There are no pockets inside. The tote is square, with dimensions 14" by 14" and hangs comfortably around the shoulder with about 10" between the top of the straps and the lip of the bag.
And lastly, the lightstick! The lightstick comes packaged in a clear plastic tube with metal lids and a foam base at the bottom to hold up the lightstick.
Included inside are the product manual and USB-C cable.
The stick part is similar in design to Infinite's yeobong version 2. With that said, I'm really glad that the strap for Rocket Punch's already came attached; it was so difficult putting it on myself for the yeobong.
The lightstick really looks like a toy, but it's so fitting and fun! It matches well with the exterior pouches of Rocket Punch's mini albums which also remind me of toy packaging from my childhood. "ROCKET PUNCH & KETCHY" is printed at the bottom of the stick.
The centerpiece is a rocketship, and around it is a vertical ring with 6 stars. This vertical ring naturally spins around, adding the playfulness to it!
The product manual is very informative, with details in Korean on one side and in English on the other side. They really emphasize that this is Version 1. Key points are the usage time is about 5 hours while charging time is about 3 hours. The manual also explains the functionality, how to charge, and the associated app.
To turn on the lightstick, hold down the button (there is only 1 button) for about 2 seconds. The first mode is "White Lighting", where the lightstick emits a solid white light. No matter the mode, the rocketship always lights up as a solid white while the fire part is always a solid yellow. The base is where the color would change. Press the button again for "White Flash", where the base continues to flash on and off.
The next 2 modes are "Purple Lighting", pictured, and "Purple Flash".
The last 2 modes are "Pink Lighting", pictured, and "Pink Flash". The colors are a lot stronger in person, it's just a bit hard to capture in a picture. To turn it off, hold down the button again for 2 seconds.
To charge, plug the USB-C cable to the bottom of the lightstick and plug it into a PC, adapter, or cigarette jack (the manual states as long as these can supply 5V power). The hole above the slot will have a red LED on when charging; the red LED will be off when charging is complete.

And now onto the app! The app is available for iOS and Android and is called "Rocket Punch Light Stick". To connect your lightstick with the app, first turn on the lightstick, then open the app, then use the scanner within the app to scan the QR code located on the backside of the lightstick.
This is how the app looks like after connecting it with the lightstick. The top right shows the charge percentage, the top middle chair icon lets you enter seat information (if you're attending a live concert), and the top left is a menu for Light Stick Connection, Image Setting (to change the background; this pink one is the default), Seat Information, and Help.
Clicking on Lighting Control brings up the menu for all the features.
The default is to always have the light on, with white color and full brightness.

All features:
  • Light Off: turns off the light
  • Always: leaves the light on
  • Flash: light flashes
  • Rainbow: circles through various colors
  • Party: circles through various colors while flashing
  • Multi: circles through various colors while flashing more quickly
  • Candle: flickers a warm glow like a candle
  • Color: able to choose the color of the light
  • Brightness: able to choose the brightness of the light
Candle mode is always most interesting to me, and was definitely my favorite for Golden Child's runebong due to its realism. For Rocket Punch's lightstick it doesn't really have the same effect, but it's still fun to use this mode.

Overall, I'm quite happy with the variety of items within the Ketchy 1st generation welcome kit! The lightstick is definitely a must, the photo book is absolutely gorgeous, and the tote is really adorable. It's really exciting giving the fandom an identity and unity, and creating an official membership within Rocket Punch's first year since debut.

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