With travel restrictions still in place, travelling to Korea for leisure doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. If you’re desperately looking to relive your Korea trips where you make that mandatory pitstop at SM Coex Artium or a K-POP store, Infinity KPOP might be the closest place in Singapore for now.
Located on the first floor of City Gate Mall along Beach Road, the exterior of the shop screams K-Paradise with its eyecatching sign that literally says “K-POP” (it’s tough to miss it, especially if you’re crossing from the overheard bridge that’s connected to Nicoll Highway MRT).
Some of you may recognise Infinity KPOP as they started officially in 2013 with their humble beginnings in a shop located at Downtown East E-Hub. In December 2020, Infinity KPOP moved over to City Gate Mall, a shop two times bigger than their previous shop at Downtown East.
Infinity KPOP is a business run by a local Singaporean family that are huge fans of K-Pop themselves. The store’s owner, Mdm Karin Chan, and her daughter, Ms Sally Chin, 26, shared that the origins of Infinity KPOP actually started from a pop-up pushcart concept.
Back in 2010, during the era where Super Junior’s “Sorry Sorry” and Wonder Girls’ “Nobody” was the talk of the town, Sally was still operating an online blogshop. As a massive K-Pop fan herself, she found it difficult to get hold of albums and merchandise and purchasing these items from online vendors was one of the more common methods back then. However, she still felt that it was an inconvenient procedure. Thus, she decided to design and make her own K-Pop merchandise to sell on her online blogshop.
Photo Credit: Infinity KPOP
On a whim, she decided to place some of her leftover self-designed merchandise stocks at her mother’s (The owner of the now Infinity KPOP) pushcart, which was only selling accessories back then. To her mother’s surprise, the leftover K-Pop merchandise sold beyond expectation, and from there on, the idea of Infinity KPOP was born. Recognising the potential of selling K-Pop merchandise, they decided to shift to a physical store in Downtown East. The decision to move to a retail store allowed them to offer a whole different dynamic first-hand experience for their customers.
Although they started with selling their own merchandise, what sets them apart now from any local online stores is that they also carry the latest K-Pop albums in the market and exclusive merchandise that are not found in Singapore – including the highly sought-after Line Friends BT21 items from Japan.
While Infinity KPOP may be operating as a business, they also value building up a close-knitted community. With each K-Pop group having their specific lightstick, it is no wonder that being in the K-Pop fandom culture creates a sense of belonging and community. This community spirit is greatly amplified and fueled when you enter the shop as you get to feel a sense of excitement of seeing your favourite idol’s faces on the newest merchandise while surrounded in an environment that’s playing K-Pop music.
Address:
371 Beach Rd, #01-01 City Gate, Singapore 199597
Nearest MRT Station: Nicoll Highway
Watch the full video interview here:
