The Rare Select at Sunway Pyramid
The K-wave phenomenon in Malaysia is apparent in how many K-pop acts are in this year’s concert lineup. It goes to show how big K-pop fanbases are in Malaysia, with fans selling out shows and buying official merch all the way from South Korea.
That being said, K-pop shops selling albums and merchandise are popping up around Klang Valley, including The Rare Select. This K-pop store recently opened at Sunway Pyramid, with a galore of albums and official merch for fans to purchase at decent prices.
What is The Rare Select?
The Rare Select is an offline K-pop shop at Sunway Pyramid that sells a good collection of merchandise including albums, photocards, and lightsticks. You can find official merchandise of groups like Blackpink, Plave, Fifty Fifty, and BOYNEXTDOOR, as well as of solo artists, much like at a shop you would find in Korea.
What to shop at The Rare Select
Photocards
Upon entering the shop, you can’t miss this cylindrical shelf with a lightstick in the middle. Here, there are neat rows of photocards from K-pop boy groups such as BOYNEXTDOOR, Stray Kids, ATEEZ, and SEVENTEEN, and girl groups like Red Velvet, ITZY, BLACKPINK, and aespa.
There’s also a selection of photocards from soloists IU and Minho.
When you take a closer look, these photocards are encased in a hard plastic casing, keeping the photocards in pristine condition. It also means you can freely decorate the casings with cute stickers to complement that cute photo of your bias.
These photocards cost as low as RM3 and as high as RM35.
Official albums & vinyls
A K-pop store is incomplete without the albums. Here, you can skip the expensive shipping fee of online purchases and buy official albums in various versions of your favourite artist for just under RM100.
There’s even Le Sserafim’s Spaghetti album that creatively looks like a packet of spaghetti and a seasoning pack.
You can also find vinyl albums like Minho’s first single album Tempo, for RM85.
The shop also carries the latest K-pop albums, including a shelf for BTS’ Arirang album in their various versions, including a photocard-heavy Weverse Album version.
Lightsticks & other merchandise
If you don’t yet have a lightstick of your bias group, or are looking to expand your lightstick collection, you can head to the lightstick section of the store in the far back. It’s stocked with mini lightstick keychains if you want something cute and lowkey.
There are also the regular lightsticks from bands like Super Junior and &Team, as well as HUNTRIX and Saja Boys.
Near the entrance, you can find a section of Bigbang GD’s Zoa merchandise. For the uninitiated, Zoa is GD’s cloud cat character for his collaboration with LINE Friends. The little feline is actually inspired by his own cat, Princess Zoa.
How to get to The Rare Select?
The Rare Select is located next to The Face Shop on the lower ground floor of Sunway Pyramid’s Orange Concourse. If you’re coming over via e-hailing ride, Oasis Entrance will be the nearest drop-off to the store.
Those coming via your own vehicle can park at the Orange Zone for the easiest access to the store. Parking rates start from RM3 on weekdays and RM4 on weekends and public holidays.
Shop for everything K-pop offline at The Rare Select
Shops like The Rare Select make shopping for official albums and merchandise much more accessible. You could browse at your own pace and check the physical item for yourself. No more worrying about your merch getting damaged during shipping, either.
Address: LG1.116A, Lower Ground 1 (LG1) Floor, Sunway Pyramid, Jalan PJS 11/15, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Opening hours: 10am-10pm, Daily
Contact: The Rare Select Instagram
Also read: This K-Pop Shop In SS15 Has Photocard Vending Machines, Official Albums & A Cool Lightstick Wall
Cover image adapted from: TheSmartLocal Malaysia
Photography by Sarah Aminllah.