Ordering My Golden Child AURA Albums from Kpoptown, Ktown4u, and Makestar

After almost a year of waiting and endless hints and reassurance from Golcha (with Jangjun's ment in Philly and again a spoiler on the Weekly Idol live), on July 27th, 2022 at 6PM KST Woollim finally released a comeback teaser along with new hashtags, a new Golden Child logo, and a comeback date of August 8th! Then on July 28th at 3:10PM KST Woollim posted album details, and soon after showcase details.

I was going to stop blogging about ordering albums, but of course I always have issues that I feel warrant a dedicated blog post >.<

For Golden Child's 6th mini album AURA, there is a limited version and a normal version. The normal version is the only one applicable for lottery events (showcase, fansign, video call, etc.). My plan was to buy a few copies of the limited version on Ktown4u, where I know I'll be guaranteed the preorder benefit posters, and then order the normal version through a video call event for that site's preorder benefit photocard. But I foolishly talked myself into ordering 4 copies of the limited version from Kpoptown, along with Bomin's Woollim Mall ID (because I am still not over my Bominitis). Just 30 minutes later I remembered that the Bomin ID is the same image as the random Bomin ticket from the Cinema Kit that I have >.< I had placed my order on August 1st KST and Kpoptown had a special where first press posters were free if folded, so I was happy at least that was guaranteed (as for the first press mini poster set...we'll see). Then on August 9th KST I received an email from Kpoptown stating that the ID was sold out and asked if I wanted my order shipped and refunded for the Id and remaining shipping fee where the refund will come shortly after shipment, or fully refunded. I chose to keep my order, which they acknowledged, and shipped out my order on August 10th yet I still haven't heard back on the refund despite messaging them via email and through their site. As an update: I received my refund and an email confirmation from Kpoptown on August 16th, a few hours after my package arrived.

And then with the announcement of Jaehyun and Bomin being on the next issue of First Look, of course I had to preorder it! So on August 7th KST, I ordered 2 limited versions of AURA along with a copy of the magazine from Ktown4u, but unfortunately by then all preorder benefits had run out.

As for the normal edition, I decided to preorder 9 copies from Makestar's first event (to anyone curious, I had wanted to apply for Bomin but figured my slim chance was slightly better if I chose Jaehyun).

All 3 of my packages were picked up by DHL on August 12th and delivered on August 16th. From left to right are Kpoptown, Ktown4u, and Makestar.

My Kpoptown package arrived with 4 copies of the limited version and 4 folded posters, and luckily 4 sets of the mini posters (though of course no Bomin ID). My Ktown4u arrived with 2 copies of the limited version. My Makestar arrived with the full set of preorder benefit photocards, 9 copies of the normal version, and 9 folded posters distributed almost evenly among the 2 versions; unfortunately it didn't come with any of the mini poster sets despite being included in the product detail image on the project page (and if you look at Makestar 2, both the mini poster set and posters are not included in the product detail image, so I don't know if Makestar just didn't remove the mini poster set from the image or forgot to send them out). Please go to the bottom of my post for an update!

Makestar has really improved their process! They put each pob photocard in its own sleeve, and then together into a clear resealable bag. They were also super generous in giving an entire set of all 9 members when purchasing 9 albums. It seems like they're aware many people would purchase 9 albums, so they bundled 9 albums together and then had the pob photocard set taped on top.

Here is the order my Makestar pob photocards came in.

Makestar is getting more creative with their pob photocards, this time being double-sided hand heart versions. Here is the front side.

And here is the backside, which are finger hearts.

The normal version comes with 1 random photocard out of 18 (2 per member). My normal version albums all had consecutive serial numbers except for the first (far left) one, so I wasn't sure how the randomization of my photocard pulls would be. Luckily it was pretty good, with only 2 duplicates of Bomin! And I was able to pull almost every member; it's like I could pretend that there was only 1 photocard per member and say my set is almost complete sans Y and Jaehyun...

Here is a closeup of my normal version photocards. I was so excited pulling Bomin's 3 times hehe~

The limited version comes with 1 random bookmark out of 9, and 1 random photocard out of 36 (4 per member). As for my limited version albums, 2 albums had consecutive serial numbers while the rest were quite different. I'm really pleasantly surprised that out of the 6 bookmarks I pulled, I only had 1 duplicate! I pulled Y, Seungmin, Donghyun x2, Joochan, and Bomin. As for the photocards, I pulled 3 of the same Donghyun >.<

I'll have an unboxing post on the AURA albums coming up, along with some magazine unboxings and more posts on the rest of Golden Child's US tour^^

Update: On August 22nd KST, I received a shipping notification from DHL that a Makestar package was on its way. My friend had contacted Makestar inquiring about the mini poster set, however that path fell short as Makestar wanted my friend to provide photo or video proof. I actually did have an unboxing video (a process I religiously follow ever since Summer Breeze with Eline...) but didn't want to use my limited luck on this, so I never contacted Makestar.

On August 23rd PT, I received my package! 

It was indeed Makestar sending out the preorder benefit mini poster set. They had made this mistake with Lee Sujeong's posters as well; it's really nice that both times Makestar still used DHL.

There was lots of room inside the box, but all mini poster sets arrived in perfect condition.

I still have lots of posts in my drafts, but excited to get them all published!

Golden Child: Ddara Woollim Mall Merch Review

Golden Child came back with their second full repackage album Ddara on October 5th, 2021, and Woollim Mall had quite the turnaround by already announcing the list of official merchandise for this era on October 8th at 11:30AM KST.

Golden Child 2nd Album Repackage [DDARA] Official MD:

• HOODIE (black or white) / 65,000₩ / $55.06 USD
• L HOLDER SET / 25,000₩ / $21.18 USD

Preorders for these items are from October 8th at 2PM through October 14th at 23:59PM KST. This round of merchandise has this preorder window, however Woollim Mall still lists the L Holder Set for sale (as of November 14th).

On October 12th, Woollim Mall also announced a Polaroid event where customers who purchase at least 50,000₩ worth of [DDARA] MD are automatically entered into a lottery to win 1 of 10 Polaroids.

On the last day of preorders, October 14th at 10:02AM KST, Woollim Mall posted a clearer preview image of the merch. Honestly this made me less excited for the L holder set as it confirmed the photos were from the Ddara Version B album shoot instead of perhaps another photoshoot with alternate outfits from the music video.

Again,I'm not really enticed to buy from Woollim Mall for the chance of a Polaroid (because what are the odds). It took a few days for Kpoptown to list both items, but when they did (prior to Woollim Mall's preorder period ending) I ordered from there. On Kpoptown, the Hoodie is $64.90 USD (I chose only to purchase the white version), the L Holder Set is $25.90 USD, and DHL shipping was $29.00 USD, for a total of $119.80 USD. Ordering the same two items via Woollim Mall would have totalled to $132.91 USD.

Both items are expected to ship starting on November 8th.

My friend had ordered hers through Woollim Mall and received hers on November 10th. And as a pleasant surprise, hers arrived with a signed Polaroid! Her Polaroid was wrapped in bubblewrap. 

I received an email from Kpoptown on November 10th notifying me that my package has shipped. My packaged arrived on November 12th!

My package came in a small cardboard box with my merch wrapped in an outer layer of bubblewrap. The hoodie came in a plastic bag packaging that was folded in half, and to the right were 2 air pocket bags to keep everything snug.

Underneath the hoodie is the L holder set wrapped in bubblewrap.

As I took out the hoodie bag, I couldn't believe my eyes! (Cue "내 눈을 의심해"^^) There was a signed Polaroid of Bomin in a clear sleeve taped onto the packaging! I'm seriously at a loss for words, taking in my bad luck with online orders, and then my most recent good luck of receiving my first signed Polaroid not even two weeks ago. I thought I had forgone the chance of winning a Polaroid by choosing Kpoptown, but I'm so grateful it did work out. It's interesting how my Polaroid was packaged like this, as opposed to my friend's with bubblewrap; it makes me wonder if Kpoptown intentionally received the Polaroid and stuck it to my order, or if Woollim Mall packaged the Polaroid like that and Kpoptown left it as is.

Here is a closer look at the Polaroid^^ It's the same background as my friend's Polaroid too; I wonder where and when they took these! And I still can't believe I now have signed Polaroids of my first two biases!

And here are the Ddara merchandise! As a callout, the product sticker is larger and different in design.

Hoodie

The hoodie comes in a black plastic zip lock bag. The product sticker with the holographic Woollim seal is on the front of the bag.

Here is how the hoodie looks straight out of the bag.

And here is the hoodie! It is one size, made of cotton, and comes in either black or white. There is a large kangaroo pocket. The backside is the same color as well. The music video screenshot is of different material from Golden Child's past tops ("One" tee, "Bong Bong" tee, and YES. hoodie), where this time the image feels like the same material as the hoodie itself. Additional details include wide but thin drawstrings with sewn edges with metal openings at the end of the hood, and the DDARA era Golden Child logo at the end of the left sleeve.

Here is a closer look at the image of the hoodie. You can see there is a faint edge between the creamish background of the screenshot and the white of the hoodie. This is the reason I chose a white hoodie, so that the image would be more seamless than a cream rectangular box on a black hoodie.

I always love the branding of Golden Child's clothes and the little details put into them, such as the clothing tag. The tag inside the neckline is the same as the one on the "Bong Bong" tee, with the Game Changer era Golden Child logo printed on it (which is weird since DDARA does have its own font and era logo).

The backside of the hoodie just under the neckline has "DDARA" printed in black with this era's font.

As this hoodie is one size like all of Golden Child's clothes so far, it is quite large and roomy. I'm 5'4" and 105lb, and this is how the hoodie fits on me. The sleeves are quite long that just the tips of my fingers barely stick out, and the body is a nice length that my jean pockets are almost fully covered. The hoodie itself is not too thick and not too thin, so it's nice to wear underneath a jacket if I'm going out in the colder months.

L Holder Set

The L holder set comes in a paper envelope, and the outer packaging is a clear plastic resealable bag.

Here is the backside of the packaging. The envelope flap itself is fully made of paper without any sticky substance so you don't need to risk damaging the envelope when opening it. The center of the flap has the DDARA era Golden Child logo. The new product sticker with the holographic Woollim seal is on the backside of the clear bag.

Here are how the contents were packaged inside the envelope: the 10 posters in age order starting with Daeyeol, and then the two L holders at the bottom.

To everyone's surprise, the two L holders are the same exact image. I originally thought Eline messed up yet again, but on the bright side you can now use one L holder and preserve the other one.

Here is the L holder with the Daeyeol poster inside. Even though the holder is translucent, you can hardly see the image of the poster.

These L holders are made of plastic film and are meant to hold A4 sized documents. The backside has "DDARA" and "Golden Child" printed in this era's font.

The posters are A4 size and are more like large glossy postcards with white backs. The fronts are prone to fingerprints.

Here are Seungmin, Jaehyun, Jibeom, and Donghyun.

And here are Joochan and Bomin.

Overall, I'm really happy that Woollim Mall has been holding events for their various official MD, and even more happy that I can confirm that there are winners for the Polaroid events, especially since they don't notify the winners and it's a matter of properly checking your package to see if a surprise Polaroid made it in^^ I am also beyond happy with both Woollim Mall and Kpoptown for this experience especially when I've had trouble with both companies. As for the Ddara merchandise, I like the variety of practical items (hoodie and L holder) and paper goods (posters). I also like how the hoodie uses an image outside of the Ddara album photobooks.

Golden Child: Game Changer Woollim Mall Merch Review

With a new era comes new merchandise from Woollim Mall! Golden Child came back with their second full album Game Changer on August 2nd, 2021, and on August 16th at 12PM KST Woollim Mall announced the list of official MD, this time being a t-shirt and postcard set.

Preorders for these items are from August 16th at 5PM KST through August 22nd at 23:59PM KST. As a callout, this round of merchandise has a preorder window, whereas for YES. and Breathe merchandise, they were sold until sold out.

Golden Child 2nd Album [Game Changer] Official MD:

• BONG BONG T-SHIRT (black or white) / 35,000₩ / $29.65 USD
• POSTCARD SET / 48,000₩ / $40.66 USD

Shortly after preorders opened, Woollim Mall also announced 2 events:

• Polaroid Event: Customers who purchase at least 50,000₩ worth of [GAME CHANGER] MD are automatically entered into a lottery to win 1 of 10 Polaroids
• Sign T-Shirt Event: Customers who purchase the BONG BONG T-SHIRT are automatically entered into a lottery to win 1 of 10 signed t-shirts (the gifted signed shirt will replace the shirt you bought)

These events are a bit uninticing. For the Polaroid event, you have to buy at least 2 items to qualify. For the shirt, if you only bought 1 shirt but you won the signed shirt, there's no way you can actually wear the signed shirt if you want to preserve it.

Both items are expected to ship starting on September 15th.

If I placed my order of 1 shirt and 1 postcard set on the US Woollim Mall site, the total price of the goods would be $70.31 USD and shipping $56.67 USD, for a total of $126.98 USD. Kpoptown listed both items the next morning (KST). On Kpoptown, the t-shirt is $36.90 USD, the postcard set is $49.90 USD, and shipping via DHL is $25.00 USD, for a total of $111.80. I decided to forgo the 2 Woollim Mall events as they're both lotteries rather than guaranteed, and purchased from Kpoptown instead.

I received an email from Kpoptown on September 27th notifying me that my package has shipped. My package arrived on September 30th!

My postcard set was wrapped in several layers of bubblewrap, while my shirt was curled up beside the postcard set. There were also air fillers on top that really filled up the remaining space of the cardboard box.

Here are the "Game Changer" merchandise! For the Bong Bong t-shirt, I opted for only the white version, however Jaehyun wore the black version...we could've been matching...

Bong Bong T-Shirt

The t-shirt comes neatly folded inside a sealed color zip lock bag. The sticker with the product information and holographic Woollim seal is on the backside of this bag.

Here is the t-shirt still neatly folded straight out of the bag.

And here is the t-shirt! It is one size, and made of cotton and polyester. The music video screenshot image is of similar quality to Golden Child's "One" tee and YES. hoodie.

I always really like the branding of Golden Child's clothes. The tag inside the neckline the has Game Changer era Golden Child logo printed on it.

The backside of the t-shirt just under the neckline has "GAME CHANGER GOLDEN CHILD" sewn in a sky blue hue.

Like all of Golden Child's clothes, this t-shirt is also quite large and boxy. I'm about 5'4" and 105lb, and this is how the tee fits on me. The sleeves go to my elbows and the length hits mid-thigh. Honestly I don't think I could wear this out, but I would still like to display it within my collection somehow~

Postcard Set

The postcard set comes in a sturdy matte box. The color and design match the Version A photoshoot really well.

The bottom of the box has the product information and Woollim holographic seal. This outer box has dimensions 7.5" by 5.5" by 1.75".

There are two magnets within the flap to hold the box together securely. Opening up the flap reveals the postcards, along with a ribbon. This ribbon is attached to the bottom of the box; lifting it up helps to easily take out the postcards.

Here is how the ribbon looks like at the bottom of the box.

I started first by looking at the backsides of the postcards. The backsides all have the Game Changer logo printed in the center and oriented based on the photo orientation on the flipside. The colors are also based on the photoshoot they're from, and there is slight variation among the colors. I found it a bit strange that one green postcard, a Jaehyun one, was turned backwards...the postcards are all made of matte cardstock and are 4.875" by 6.875".

There are a total of 100 postcards, containing all individual member photos. The first 30 postcards are from the Version A photoshoot. All postcards are organized in sets of 10 and come in this member order (Tag - Y - Daeyeol - Donghyun - Bomin - Seungmin - Jangjun - Jaehyun - Joochan - Jibeom). I really like the progression of these photos, how with each set the photos are more zoomed in.

Next are 30 postcards from the Version B photoshoot. Again, there's a nice progression from full body shots to bust shots. And it turns out, I did get a duplicate Jaehyun postcard at the very end of this section (bongbeom^^).

And the last 40 postcards are from the Version C photoshoot, the one that surely all Goldenness were most anxious about, and for good reason! These photos are mostly DEADLY, and then there's the super cute and adorable fluff ball Donghyun! And I was so excited seeing bongbeom together within the first set, it took me awhile to register that I'm missing a Joochan postcard...so while I gained a duplicate Jaehyun postcard, I'm missing a Joochan one which is saddening because this photoshoot is definitely my most favorite of Joochan's from any era!

I thought I was safe with Jaehyun...until I got to this set?! Also while some photos are quite sharp, some are a bit blurry, like Seungmin's here...

And WOW did they save the most deadly for last! WHAT is up with Y and Jaehyun?! First off Y without his shirt and then Jaehyun cutely pouting but like THAT?! And not to mention the other members' exposure as well...and then there's the cutie Donghyun to try and balance it all out^^

Overall, I'm a bit frustrated that Everline screwed up 2 orders in a row for me (first with not sending out the snapback within my Summer Breeze order, and now not having the proper set of postcards within the postcard set). As for the Bong Bong t-shirt, the name is really adorable but the shirt...Woollim is really lacking in the design department but at the same time they still know Ness will buy it. And with the postcard set, I really do love this item and how they've included so many additional photos from these photoshoots not originally included in the Game Changer albums. I love that the box is pretty to display, and the postcards would be pretty to frame up as well.