Get in Line!

For TWICE’s 10th anniversary, they set up a pop-up store — basically a disguised merch booth with some extra props. I wanted to go on Monday (2025-10-20), but the queue was already full. I decided to try again today because I wanted to see the inside for myself and score some cool merch!

So I got on the metro and headed back to the Yongsan Mall. I arrived an hour before the mall opened — 30 minutes before the digital queue would open (I’d learned my lesson this time). While waiting in line, I took out my tablet and got some work done.

Once the slots opened up, I claimed a spot and was free to wait somewhere else. I decided on one of the three Starbucks inside the mall — it had plenty of space and, most importantly, power outlets for my laptop. I got some breakfast and tea (to justify my stay) and got to work.

After a while, I noticed the guy sitting across from me was also wearing TWICE merch and checking the live merch stock for the pop-up store on his phone. This guy was doing exactly what I was doing: working remotely while juggling TWICE stuff! I subtly rotated my water bottle so the TWICE stickers were visible, angled my laptop with its TWICE decals toward him, even coughed once or twice — but he was too deep in meetings to notice.

Around lunchtime, I saw my spot moving up in the queue, so I grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the booth.

TWICE Pop-up Store

I arrived at the booth and was allowed to enter without waiting. I showed them my TWICE movie ticket, which I luckily still had in my wallet, and received a bingo card for it! To complete the card, you had to do various tasks: take photos with props and upload them to social media, play a few games (ring toss, block stacking, and button mashing), and — of course — buy merch for two of them.

The item I really wanted — a zip-up hoodie — had already sold out. So I opted for a t-shirt and a keychain instead. There were plenty of TWIVELYs, but each one focused on a single member, and since I don’t really have a bias, I skipped those. I walked around, read the messages the members had written on the walls, took some more pictures, and completed the bingo card.

The whole experience was a bit strange. I mean, I really like TWICE (I think I’ve made that pretty clear over the past few days), but this pop-up store wasn’t really my thing. It was such a hassle to even get in, only to buy overpriced merch and get a few bonus photocards and stickers. I’d already seen much of the interior on social media, so there wasn’t much left to be excited about. Still, I’m happy I got the t-shirt!

Visiting the pop-up store will probably be the last TWICE-related event I do for a while. Their anniversary celebrations are over, and they’ll be heading back on tour soon, so expect to see some more “touristy” posts in the future.

Ending the Day Off

After leaving the pop-up store, I went back to my hotel, set up my workspace, and got a few more hours of work in. I had a good call where we managed to close in on some outstanding tasks. Around 19:00, I closed my laptop and went out to dinner with Kathrine, my friend who’s staying at the same hotel.

We had a great time talking about future plans for Seoul and finding that elusive work-life balance. I really enjoy chatting with her — our lives are so different, yet we share a surprising number of similarities. We ended the night with a stroll along 청계천 (Cheonggyecheon Stream) and called it a day.

Today was a bit hectic — between the unstable work setup and waiting in line for the pop-up store — but I still managed to get everything done and even scored some merch. Another successful day for the books!