Toronto: Kpop Stores

My kpop obsession sent me on a wild goose chase all around Toronto today to find all the kpop shops in the vicinity. Though exhausted and mostly empty handed, the exposure to Toronto's kpop scene was well worth it! To completely document my experience, I took lots of photos, so beware of the visual-heavy blogpost!

My first stop was the Koreatown at Bloor and Christie:

Jong Ro Korean Books and Music
650 Bloor Street West

The man at the counter was very kind and friendly, quickly greeting me as I stepped into the long, narrow, old-smelling shop. There were mostly books for sale, with a hint of kpop on the left wall and at the counter.

The wall displayed several legit kpop CDs, including Infinite's Infinitize, showing a fairly updated selection. I came to his shop on March 27th, just a couple of days after Infinite's New Challenge physical album release. He checked his books and said it won't be another two weeks before he gets that in. Against the wall there were kpop shirts and posters. On the counter were small pins and mugs with low quality pictures.

Just You Sarah and Tom
624 Bloor Street West

This tiny shop carries adorable Asian knickknacks, similar to Morning Glory. There is stationary, Hello Kitty products and kpop items. They were even playing Teen Top's "To You," getting me into the kpop mood. The worker, a young Korean woman, was very friendly. After asking me my favorite band and my responding with Infinite, she showed me the collection of Infinite posters that consisted only of Sungyeol from the Paradise shoot. Realizing the limited selection, she even phoned their other location and asked if they had more variety in stock, which they did.

Just You carries a variety of not authentic kpop posters, socks, notepads, and other small kpop merchandise. Sadly they don't sell CDs.

This shop also sells not legit photocards, $0.95 each. I decided to buy one of Infinite. Then the worker surprised me by wrapping the photocard. She let me choose two wraps: clear or clear with opaque pink flowers (of course I chose clear so no flowers would obstruct the photo!). Next she told me how many girls choose two photocards to get wrapped in one to place in their wallets. I knew this was a good marketing strategy, but I fell for it and decided to buy a photocard of Myungsoo too. She then wrapped both photos together and taped it up, then let me choose from an assortment of colorful ribbons. She slid the center of the ribbon together and it suddenly became a bow to tape on top of the photocard! Somehow one simple photocard became a gorgeous card that I'll treasure even more.

Here's the final product! Myungsoo and the boys of Infinite look amazing, but the bow blocks Sunggyu's head. I don't know how fangirls place the card and bow into their wallets, so for meantime ill just find a nice place to stick the bow elsewhere.

My second stop was in between the two Koreatowns:

Just You Too Sarah and Tom
686 Yonge Street

This shop seems identical to the original one, but with smaller inventory.

After the friendly, conversational worker asked me my favorite kpop group and bias, she recognized me as the Infinite girl who called from the other shop. She showed me her Infinite selection: one of Sungjong from the Paradise shoot and two of Sungyeol from the Paradise shoot, again.

This store's stack of posters and photocards were smaller but it had legit kpop CDs on display! There were only a few CDs, including one of Exo-K and an OST of a recent drama.

My third stop was at the second Koreatown at Yonge and Finch:

Morning Glory
5619 Yonge Street

This Morning Glory is much larger than other ones I've visited, and offers a greater variety. There are display cases full of Korean cosmetics (many brands of which I'm not familiar), stationary, Nintendo/Mario character slippers and other plush goods, as well as kpop merchandise. They were playing CNBlue's "I'm Sorry," which got me excited.

There were random, not authentic kpop goods, such as mugs, posters and key chains.

What set this branch apart from other Morning Glories I've visited, however, is that this one carries legit kpop CDs! There was IU, Infinite-H, and more, all on shelves behind the counter so ask. I asked the worker, an older Korean woman, when she'd get the new Infinite album, but she had no idea. She had no knowledge of kpop either, but was still very friendly.

If you're in Toronto, check out these shops if you have time! They're spaced out throughout the city and selection is very limited, so don't be disappointed if you don't see anything to fangirl over.

The Great Wall Mall: Various Korean Stores

Just the other day I traveled to The Great Wall Mall, a small Asian mall with several clothing boutiques, antique shops, 99 Ranch Market and restaurants of different Asian cuisines.  Here is the address: 18230 East Valley Highway  Kent, WA 98032.

Joo Joo Cosmetics
This little kiosk is a gem of a find, because there is no indication that such a places exists via the Internet. The store hours are very limited, only opening a few hours from Thursday to Saturday.

Joo Joo offers a limited selection of Korean beauty products, but many of these items are unreachable in the greater Seattle area. This kiosk has one Holika Holika mask, Etude House masks, several SkinFood products and Holika Holika's Pig-Nose product. The masks are $3 each, which includes tax. I came here only to by one product:

Holika Holika Cherry Blossom Essence Mask.  This is my first Holika Holika product, and I was entranced by this mask because of the brand's endorsers, CNBlue. When I use this mask, I'll be sure to write a review.

Morning Glory

This shop is part of the global Morning Glory chain that sells Asian trinkets and stationary.

This particular store also carries a few Kpop items.  There are PSY tee shirts out front. Covering the exterior are posters of beauty advertisements, including Han Ga In for Isa Knox. This store also offers large and small calendars, as well as posters, of kpop bands 2NE1, 2PM, Beast, Big Bang, Infinite, MBLAQ, SNSD and Super Junior.

Jang Soo Tofu Korean Tofu and B.B.Q. Restaurant
This restaurant is amazing in every way. The warm Korean food smell, along with tasty food and a TV is an excellent combination.

I sat at a table that faced the TV, which was showing the currently airing drama The King of Dramas on SBS with English subtitles. Seeing Choi Si Won while enjoying my delicious meal made me so happy.

Every meal comes with side dishes, and this restaurant offers high quality, unique ones. There are the usual brussel sprouts, but every other dish was much more fascinating. The kimchi had lots of flavor and was chopped up perfectly, so there were no chewy, tough pieces. The zucchini was slightly crunchy and had a mild spice.  The small red ball in the top right is a slightly chewy squid/fish/radish (I'm not sure)...all I know is that this side dish is my favorite. The mashed potatoes were sweet and consistently soft and pureed.  Each meal also comes with a small fried fish that you debone yourself. The fish is so soft and tender and flavorful; definitely a side dish that Korean restaurants don't often offer. Best of all, the friendly waitresses kept asking if we wanted more of each side dish (except for the fish).

If you're looking for a few hours of Asian shopping, come by The Great Wall Mall to do your grocery, cosmetic and merchandise shopping, as well as tasty dining.

Sydney Chinatown: Kpop Stores

Sydney, Australia's Chinatown spans several blocks and is adorned with authentic Chinese restaurants and...kpop stores!  I felt like I was in heaven, being surrounded by heavenly cuisine and kpop.  I visited Sydney in August 2012 and will never forget it.  Their Chinatown is mainly a pedestrian street stretching two blocks long.  Walking down the streets of Chinatown, multiple stores blasted Gangnam Style loudly to draw attention.  Those were the stores I was attracted to, since they were just calling to fangirls.

Rong Bao Tang
[UPDATE: Rong Bao Tang located to just around the corner. Here is the new address:
Level 1 389 Sussex Street, Haymarket, Sydney, NSW, Australia. There is also a branch in Melbourne. Look in the comments for more details.]

Old Location: 46 Dixon St nr Goulburn St, Haymarket, NSW

The first store on my list was Rong Bao Tang, also known as Best Media Asia.  It is located on Dixon Street, the pedestrian street.  This store carries the largest collection of popular Asian movies, dramas, CDs and random kpop merchandise.  They even have a selection of signed rookie kpop band CDs.  Often they have great freebies. By purchasing two concert DVDs, I received a free large SHINee 2012 calendar!  The front is adorned with kpop posters and there is a TV facing the street blaring kpop shows.

Morning Glory
33 Goulburn St. btwn George & Sussex St., Haymarket, NSW

There are actually three Morning Glory stores in this vicinity, but only this location has kpop merchandise.  This cute stationary and gifts chain store (they have stores in the US and Canada too!) has a nice selection of $5 posters and unique items, such as kpop tumblers, planners, post-its and even socks.  Peek through the door and you can see a poster from Tony Moly's photoshoot with Kim Hyun Joong!

East Avenue

This small store is in an alleyway that is connected to Dixon's pedestrian street.  It mostly sells Asian clothing, but there are also kpop posters ($10AUD), postcards ($2AUD) and keychains ($10AUD).  The products are mostly of more well-established kpop stars and actors, such as Lee Min Ho, Kim Bum, Kim Hyun Joong, Jang Geun Suk, SNSD and IU, just to name a few, and not newer kpop idols.

I'll have another post about the kpop merchandise I bought here.  If you're ever in Sydney's Chinatown, check out these stores!