Golden Child: Breathe Woollim Mall Merch Review

With Golden Child's "Breathe" promotions that began on February 25th, 2021 to follow up "Burn It" promotions, it's no surprise that Woollim has released official "Breathe" merchandise on Woollim Mall. Woollim Mall tweeted on March 10th at 12PM KST that preorders for "Breathe" merchandise would begin on March 11th at 12PM KST. This tweet revealed 2 products, along with a group photocard and 10 individual photocards so it wasn't clear which product includes the individual member photocards. Once preorders opened, it was made clear...that the photobook would include 1 random member photocard, rather than the entire set of 10.

Golden Child 5th Mini Album [YES.] | [Breathe] Official MD:

• [BREATHE] Photobook / 25,000₩ / $21.18 USD
• [BREATHE] Wristband & Photocard / 15,000₩ / $12.71 USD

Unlike the YES. merchandise where some items were posted on the English version of the Woollim Mall site a few days later, both products were posted on both the Korean site and English site on March 11th roughly at 12PM KST. Both products had a shipment start date of April 5th. If ordering both products from the English site and shipping directly to the US, the item total was $33.89 USD, shipping was $65.69 USD, so the total would be $99.58 USD.

Kpoptown posted both "Breathe" products a few hours later, with a release date of April 6th. The photobook was $28.50 USD and the wristband was $18.90 USD. If ordering both products and using DHL shipping directly to the US, the item total was $47.40 USD, shipping was $27.00 USD, and the total was $74.40 USD. I decided to order from Kpoptown, and ordered just a few minutes after they had posted both products so that I can be one of the first to lock in my order in case Kpoptown underestimates the amount to buy from Woollim Mall.

I checked Woollim Mall on April 5th and the photobook was out of stock. Kpoptown had 1 photobook left in stock, but it was sold out the next day.

I received a shipment notification from Kpoptown on April 7th, and my package arrived on April 12th.

Kpoptown's packaging again has been really good, just like my past 2 Woollim Mall merchandise purchases through them. They used a flat cardboard box and thick air fillers to fill up the entire space. At the bottom where the photobook with the wristband stacked on top, followed by a snug layer of bubblewrap.

Here are the "Breathe" merchandise!

Photobook

The photobook comes in a shrink wrap (like an album) with the photocard sliding around on top.

The back cover of the photobook has the Golden Child Volleyball Team logo in the center, with "BREATHE" at the top and "GOLDEN CHILD" at the bottom. The product information and holographic Woollim seal are on a sticker on top of the shrink wrap. I like how this product sticker is orange, almost matching "Breathe" era's color.

Here is the front cover of the photobook. It looks like a special edition magazine, with the bar code and "VER. M05" at the top. First off, I just want to say how excited I am about this photobook; this is definitely one of the Golden Child items that I have been most excited about since their debut, because this is the first time we are getting Golden Child in their own branded sports jerseys in print (aside from the Gol-Cha! photocards).

The spine has "GOLDEN CHILD" in the center. All the text and images on the covers and spine have a glossy finish and are embossed, and the material of the cover has a nice, velvety (or waxy) texture, all similar to the Pump It Up album covers. While a bit thin (wish there were more pages!), I love just how large the book is! The dimensions are about 8.875" by just under 10.875" by 0.25".

The photobook comes with 1 random member photocard out of 10. All images are of the members wearing this black tie outfit. I got Donghyun!

Here is the backside of the photocard, which matches the design of the photobook's back cover. The photocard has a glossy finish.

The photobook has 48 pages; the first page has the Golden Child Volleyball Team logo, the last page has "BREATHE" printed, and then there are 46 pages of photos all of Golden Child in the gym with their volleyball jerseys.

I absolutely love how huge the photos are! For the individual member photos, there is 1 photo per page and generally the photo is maximized on the page, though there are a some pages like Jangjun's to mix up the page layout.

There are 4 individual photos per member. I really like how the photos are taken from all over the gym, really making it feel like a sports photoshoot.

There are also 4 group photos inside the photobook. This first one is on a 2-page spread; the way they formatted this photo turned out really nicely since all members can be seen clearly despite the spine.

The band-aid is seriously too cute! And the visuals shining from a Mr. Kim Jibeom! I also really like how the gym was completely decorated with banners and signs of the Golden Child Volleyball Team, and that we even get a glimpse of the banners in Jibeom's photo.

Here is the second group photo, which is the same image as the photobook cover. Also Tag's darkened red hair suits him so well! In other photos within the photobook it looks even darker, which is such a pretty shade on him.

Seriously these band-aids are super cute and counterbalances the toughness that Donghyun's aura portrays.

Here is the third group photo. I like how it's a different formation from the first two group photos. This one feels like an authentic volleyball team photo!

This is the darker red shade I was talking about on Tag! Absolutely breathtaking.

How fitting that the band-aid duo are together!

I really like the details of the team's volleyball uniforms and windbreakers, with "GOLDEN CHILD" on the sleeve, and the member's name and number and the team logo on the front. And I have to talk about Jaehyun! The entire "Burn It" era was such an emotional roller coaster ride of emotions, first with Jaehyun's streaks then with Jaehyun's teaser photo, but I'm so relieved that for "Breathe" he looks so natural and like his best self! 

For Bomin and Jibeom to follow Jaehyun's photo, my top 3 are attacking me so much!

I really like the details that they put into the boys' outfits, right down to the volleyball finger tape!

And lastly is a beautiful group photo on a 2-page spread showcasing their team outfits! This photo would make for such a pretty header.

And the very last page of the photobook has the text matching the photobook cover.

Wristband & Photocard

The packaging is identical to the wristband and photocard set from Golden Child's NOW concert merchandise. The NOW wristband packaging is now shorter because I didn't realize that I didn't have to tear open the top...it is a ziplock style bag with a clear front and silver back that can open from the top without tearing the top.

The backside of the packaging contains the item sticker and holographic Woollim sticker. Again this product sticker is orange, almost matching "Breathe" era's color.

Here are the contents of this set. 

Here is a comparison of the "Breathe" wristband and the NOW wristband (which came in another clear resealable bag). The "Breathe" wristband is slightly longer.

Here is a closer look at the wristband. The "Golden Child Volleyball Team" logo is a bit big, so the longer length of the overall wristband balances out the logo. The wristband is made of cotton and polyester.

Like the NOW wristband, the "Breathe" wristband is really high quality. It is really thick and comfortable on the skin.

Here is how the wristband looks on my wrist. Again it is quite long, but it looks really natural on Golden Child when they have their long sleeve windbreakers on.

And here is the group photocard.

The photo is the same as one of the group photos in the photobook.

The photocard has a glossy finish. The backside has the "Golden Child Volleyball Team" logo with this era's orange hue as the background.

Overall, I'm so happy that Woollim released "Breathe" merchandise! I love how there is a practical item (though of course I must preserve the wristband!) and a photobook, and as I mentioned earlier, I'm so happy that the entire photobook is filled with Golden Child-branded outfits. So many past Golden Child branded outfits don't have photos in print (we only have the Gol-Cha! photocards and the Miracle albums, photocards, and ID cards, along with random selca photocards), so to dedicate an entire photobook to these volleyball uniforms made me so happy. And I'm really grateful that Golden Child ended "Burn It" era with their usual bright, energetic concept with "Breathe" promotions!