짱구! The Sinchon Station Pop-up Store Chronicles

Although it can be a bit annoying to have a large pop-up store and exhibit located right in the hall leading to the entrance of Sinchon station (near exit 2), it is still a lot of fun to show up one day and see new characters plastered all over the windows and walls. The change happens so quietly and quickly, it's like magic.

As a big Shin-chan fan, or as they call him in Korea: Jjangu (짱구), I was super excited when his pop-up store appeared. For the first week, I did not want to wait in the huge line to view the store, but as I saw items disappearing I decided to go one night.

I waited about 35 minutes to go in and was surprised at how cheap the items were for such a special event. Since the beginning of my study abroad here, I have been coveting a fuzzy blanket with no luck, but at this store I found the fuzzy blanket of my dreams (as pictured above)! I also got a super cute plush pencil case in the shape of Shin-chan and some stickers for my scrapbook.

For those who are not interested in spending money, there are also a myriad of photo opportunities located throughout the station, all with different themes featuring the characters of the pop-up, so you still have a chance to immortalize the memory.

If there are any popular characters you like, definitely keep your eye on Sinchon station throughout your visit because you never know which character will get its own pop-up store next!