There were posters of the K-pop boy group members scattered on each wall. Fans fawned over the photos of each member. Most importantly, they were there to buy merchandise and albums, enthusiastically opening them, hoping to pull photocards of their favorite members.
From May 9 through 11, P1Harmony had a pop-up for their comeback “DUH!” in the West Loop. They extended the event through May 15 due to its popularity.
Pop-ups for K-pop groups have been springing up around the Chicago area. There are many reasons that pop-ups happen besides album releases — things like member designed merch and tour merch.
“DUH!” is P1Harmony’s eighth EP since their debut in 2020. The band consists of six members: Keeho, Theo, Jiung, Intak, Soul and Jongseob.
When asked about why they come to pop-ups, fan Alle Santiago said they “love the environment.”
“Everyone’s here for the same thing, coming together for the same group,” Santiago said. “There’s just something so fun about it.”
The pop-up was held by record label and distributor Hello82. Hello82 was founded in 2018 in Los Angeles, expanding across the United States in late 2024, introducing pop-ups to Chicago, New York City, Seattle and Dallas. The event space changes each time they have a pop-up.
Hello82 has collaborated with other K-pop groups like Ateez, Xikers, Tomorrow X Together, The Boyz, ITZY and Le Sserafim.
Alle Santiago and her friend Lilly Santiago, who coincidentally have the same last name, opened albums together and giggled over pulling photocards of each other’s favorite members.
“I’ve been to all of Hello82’s pop-ups (in Chicago),” said Lilly Santiago, who has been into K-pop since 2018. “I’ve been to Le Sserafim, The Boyz and Tomorrow X Together.”
The friends met on Roblox in 2018. Back then, they exchanged Twitter handles and soon found out they went to the same Ateez concert — and were in the same row. Alle Santiago is from Florida, and Lilly Santiago lives an hour outside Chicago.
“I love P1Harmony,” said Alle Santiago, who has also been into K-pop since 2018. “I originally came down here for the Xikers concert, and decided to stop by.”
Mercury Ragland, a K-pop fan since 2016, overheard Alle Santiago mention she went to the Xikers concert on May 9, the night before they attended the pop-up. The three fans bonded over the small-world coincidence that sometimes happens in a K-pop community filled with millions of fans.
Many fans who attended the pop-up already liked P1Harmony, but Ragland went because their friends are into the band.
“I’m here to get educated,” Ragland said.
Ragland said they enjoy meeting other K-pop fans at pop-ups.
“I think it’s a really great way to meet other people who are also into the same groups as you are,” Ragland said. “It’s like a concert — but smaller.”
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