Golden Child: Goldenness 3rd Generation Fanclub Membership Review

Woollim has been more on top of their fanclub memberships this year than past years. Golden Child's 2nd generation Goldenness membership truly lasted 1 year, from June 30th, 2020 to June 30th, 2021, whereas the 1st generation Goldenness membership lasted almost 2 years, starting in mid-2018. On May 31st at 12PM KST, Woollim announced via Twitter that the 3rd Generation recruitment period would be from June 7th at 2PM KST through June 30th 11:59PM KST, with the active period being July 1st, 2021 through June 30th, 2022 via Vlive.

There are 2 package options:

• Official Fan Club Membership Fee (WELCOME KIT included) for 35,000₩ or $31.48 USD ($36.43 USD delivery fee to the US)
• Official Fan Club Membership Fee (WELCOME KIT excluded) for 25,000₩ or $22.49 USD

As a note, I pulled these prices right as the recruitment period began. Rocket Punch's 2nd generation membership was also available via Vlive with the same recruitment period and membership prices in KRW, however I ordered that membership on June 26th and the price of the fee with the welcome kit changed to $30.82 USD plus $35.66 shipping. There was no way for me to pay in KRW so I had to accept the fluctuating exchange rate.

Both packages include the Vlive Fanship, special events, and advanced booking. The details of the welcome kit were revealed on June 25th at 2PM KST with a photo preview of the MD. Based on the image, the welcome kit includes all paper goods, so it's disappointing but not surprising how expensive the shipping fee is.

Applying for the fanclub membership is very straightforward via Vlive's mobile 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 $67.91 USD (membership + kit + shipping to the US).

You can access your fanship by going to Golden Child's Vlive channel, then the "My Profile" icon, then "MEMBERSHIP" to view the shipping status of the welcome kit. There is a request period of June 6th at 10PM to July 30th at 7:59AM (I'm assuming this is in my local time); however there is no additional action needed during this time frame unless you need to change your address. The original estimated arrival date was October 28th through November 27th. Note that the membership number is your V LIVE App number so it's the same for all your fanships.

On June 30th at 6PM, Woollim tweeted that the recruitment period has been extended through July 14th at 11:50PM KST.

On August 13th at 11:50PM KST, I received a Vlive notification that the welcome kit is preparing for delivery and will be shipped soon. I then checked my Fanship and the estimated arrival date updated to August 19th through November 27th.

On August 28th I checked my Fanship again and the shipping status updated to "In delivery". Clicking on the details provided a various tracking numbers and showed that it was shipped out on August 25th. One of the tracking numbers included was for UPS. Checking the UPS tracking, it showed that my package weighs 1 lb.

The fankit arrived on September 4th in a flat cardboard packaging. 

The flaps are quite large, offering several layers of protection. There was also a layer of bubblewrap around the fankit.

Here is the fankit packaging! There is a "3" at the top and the bottom states "GOLDENNESS / GOLDEN CHILD 3RD OFFICIAL FANCLUB / 3rd fanclub kit" along with the members' names. The beige envelope was placed inside a clear resealable bag.

Here is the backside of the beige envelope. The center has the membership card within a clear resealable bag that is taped onto the envelope. There is also a sticker holding down the envelope flat that states "GOLDEN CHILD & GOLDENNESS 3". The envelope has a really nice velvety texture, like the Pump It Up album covers.

Vlive's usual blue slip of paper was also included, with this backside containing information in both Korean and English for requesting to exchange goods.

For the membership card, I tried to detach the clear bag from the envelope, but it ended up tearing the envelope, so instead I cut the top of the bag to take out the card.

Here is a closer look at the membership card. The card is hard plastic and your V LIVE App number and name (as entered under More --> Settings --> Profile Info --> Name) are printed at the bottom right. I like how the top is translucent like the 2nd generation membership card, but in all honesty the design overall is a bit simple.

Here is the backside of the card. There is a spot to sign, along with the Woollim authentication seal, and general information in Korean.

Here is a comparison of all 3 Goldenness membership cards. 1st generation's design will always be my favorite because they gave Goldenness a logo and the colors look so elegant.

To preserve the sticker, you can slowly and carefully peel the sticker rather than cutting through it.

Here are how the contents looked inside the envelope. From top to bottom are the 4-cut photo set, photocard set, postcard set, welcome card, and photobook.

The postcard set, 4-cut photo set, and photocard set all come in their own clear resealable bag. All the contents from this fankit are from 1 photoshoot. Unfortunately my photobook came with bent corners.

The front of the welcome card contains 2 sub-group photos. It's interesting how there are no full OT10 photos from this photoshoot, rather they are split into these 2 groups of 5. This card is made of matte cardstock and is about 4.375" by 6.125".

The backside of the welcome card has each member's printed message.

Here is the order that the 4-cut photo set came in. These are essentially stickers, with a glossy frontside and matte white backside like a sticker sheet. Each strip is about 2" by 6.3125".

Here is the photocard set. The photocards felt like they came straight off the press, as they were stuck together at the perforated nubs. 

Here is the order that the photocard set came in. They have a glossy finish.

The backsides of the photocards are in a pastel shade, generally matching the members' outfits. They have the members' printed messages and signs.

And here is the order that the postcard set came in. The postcards are pretty flimsy and made of thin paper. The dimensions are about 3.9375" by 5.9375".

All the postcards have this same backside.

The photobook is softback and has a matte finish. The dimensions are about 5.8125" by 8.3125" and there are 68 pages.

The front cover has a subgroup photo consisting of Y, Jangjun, Jaehyun, Donghyun, and Bomin.

The back cover has a subgroup photo of the remaining members: Daeyeol, Tag, Seungmin, Jibeom, and Joochan.

The first section contains 4 consecutive pages per member, with 4 photos total (except for Joochan, who has 3). I like how 2-page spreads are included throughout the photobook.

Here is how the layout may look like to accomodate 3 photos in 2 pages.

I really like this look on Jibeom! He looks like a young college professor^^

This is definitely one of my most favorite looks on Tag! He usually has such bold and bright styles, but he looks very dapper here which is quite refreshing.

This is definitely one of my top looks for Jaehyun too! Everything about it is perfect!

I like how overall the members give off a gentlemanly vibe, and then there's Donghyun playfully sitting on top of the drawer! 

The next section opens up with another subgroup photo of Y, Jangjun, Jaehyun, Donghyun, and Bomin.

This section contains 2 pages per member within this subgroup, with 1 photo per page.

I like how the page layouts are a bit different, and the wasted white space here isn't too bad.

This page layout is pretty too.

The last section starts with a photo of the other subgroup consisting of Daeyeol, Tag, Seungmin, Jibeom, and Joochan.

Similar to the previous section, each member generally has 2 pages and 1 photo per page (except for Joochan). I like how some of the pages are a pastel pink, matching the members' outfits.

Despite wearing such formal attire, Seungmin still looks so young and youthful!

And here is Joochan, who has 3 photos in this section to make up for having 1 fewer photo in the first section.

Overall, like with the 2nd generation welcome kit, the contents of this welcome kit don't really equate to the price, but of course there are no regrets. It's unfortunate that there wasn't any use for the membership card last year, but hopefully this year we'll be able to use it for an event...