Chingu Dachi looks something out of Myeongdong underground in Seoul.
There is a K-pop/J-pop store in Manila that can make all your merch dreams come true. If you think we’re joking, then it’s time for you to pay Chingu Dachi a visit. The first word in the store’s name is Korean for friend, while “dachi” is the shortened version of the Japanese word “tomadachi,” which also means friend.
The shop is located at Unit 5, G/F Ledesma Building, No. 11 Jordan Street, Multinational Village Parañaque. It shares space with Cinna Von Laundry. If you are an eagle-eyed Shawol (SHINee’s fandom) you will notice that the laundry shop’s logo comes in SHINee’s pearl aqua shade. That’s because the owner is a Shawol. She also likes EXO and Infinite.
“The reason why I put this shop up is simple. I had the space, interest and stocks,” said young entrepreneur Ed Margareth Barahan.
Her shop looks something out of Myeongdong underground in Seoul. The bottom portion is filled to the brim with albums of SHINee, Girls’ Generation, EXO, NCT, BoA and Red Velvet. But she also has albums of bands BTS, Wanna One, Infinite B.AP. BTOB, Weki Meki, 2PM and all the other South Korean artists you can think of.
You can find BT21 plush items, Sesame StreetxSHINee plush collection and Lightsticks on the upper shelves. There are boxes filled with official merch, knick knacks from different groups still waiting for a spot in the shop.
She has official shirts from SMTown, NCT, 2NE1 and Big Bang hoodies. There are photo cards, keychains, event lightsticks, posters, stickers and even clothes. We also spotted quirky merch like the cupcake tower and spoons of Big Bang.
At the shop front, you can find the J-pop hand fans similar to those you can find in Mandarake in Tokyo. She has official merch of J-pop groups including AKB48.
It’s expensive to be a fan
Her business started out because she was a passionate fan. She knew that she had to be resourceful to afford the merch she wanted to buy because her parents weren’t going to buy it for her.
That was how she started a groupbuy. She asked around for interested parties to join with her. She asked for service fee for her efforts. This was in 2012, back when she was still in college. She created @pearlescentown in Facebook for her groupbuys. She now runs her own website.
But you visit her store for the limited, rare and discontinued items for sale. Her collection can rival SMTown’s Sum Shop display in Seoul.
One of the most expensive albums in the shop is signed SHINee’s Jonghyun “Base” album. It is P8,000, but an unsigned one can be bought at P820. She has signed Momoland, Weki Meki and Seventeen albums.
The prices of signed products are steep, because she buys them from secondary market herself. Add the international shipping fee and the service charge she pays to her point person into consideration and you get the reason for its price.
But she has affordable albums, too. Her BTS Japan released album goes for P300. AKB4/Arashi also goes for P300. She says that the Japan released K-pop albums tend to be more affordable.
She sells some albums cheaper than the ones you can find in Korea. Do not be scared to inquire to her about this.
What you cannot find in her shop, she said can look for it. She has an existing network in Korea and Japan who can look for the items you want. For a fee, of course. She calls this the “Find It For Me” service.
For high school students who do not have the budget to purchase anything above P100, she has items that go for as low as P15. She even designs her own merchandise like name pins and key chains.
“There are plenty of shops nowadays. There is a lot of competition. Find a way to stand out,” she said. She found a way to stand out by designing her own items and including them as freebies for merch bought from her store.
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