K-Pop 101: Lightsticks
- ken prado
- Jan 19, 2018
- 2 min read
When you are a K-pop or even a K-Drama fan, you are sure to stumble upon merchandise, and one of those are lightsticks.
Lightsticks are merchandise that are crafted to suit the image and become the identity of an idol group or an actor or actress. Think of them as your regular neon glow sticks, only it has more heft, a specified color scheme, has more longevity, and more aesthetic.
Lightsticks come in many shapes, forms, especially colors as the colors are often times trademarked by the group's agency to avoid duplication and conflict.
The photo above is my very first lightstick - it is called the Carat bong. It got its name Carat as it refers to K-pop group Seventeen's fandom name, and bong which means light in Korea.
Just like concert tickets, these things sell like hot cakes - I had to scavenge every online shop that had this item for pre-order as I was not only battling my fellow international fans to get one, but as well as the Korean fans - talk about home court advantage. I was very persistent to get my hands on one of these things as soon as it got out, due to the higher demand back then, I bought mine for 2,300 pesos excluding shipping.
After paying for my order, I battled time, my patience, and our very own Bureau of Customs as they had to delay the release of the parcel due to import tax, but after a few more weeks
I got them. I was in awe that day because of its beauty. Never in my entire life I would imagine that I would be paying 2,300 pesos for a light bulb on a stick and not feel bad about it.
The lightstick emits the colors Rose Quartz and Serenity, Seventeen's official fandom colors.
Today, my lightstick resides inside my closet waiting to be waved and become part of an ocean. Sadly, during Seventeen's Diamond Edge tour here in the Philippines, I wasn't able to participate due to time constraints, I chose to comply requirements for school, but I am still hopeful that this year, Seventeen would once again embark on a concert tour and the Philippines would be included once again, and I can go - I am aiming to purchase a VIP or SVIP ticket this time.
The Carat bong is only one of the few official lightsticks that I will own, I am still waiting for my other bias groups to release theirs as well to add to my collection.
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