- K-pop's global fan base has evolved merch resale into a borderless market.
- That scale enables local fan preferences to influence pricing, demand, and transaction speed.
- As a result, resale platforms are growing into complete fandom and media ecosystems.
K-pop is driving a rapidly expanding global resale economy, demonstrating how secondhand stuff has turned into its own cultural commerce engine, says Bunjang's 2025 Global K-POP Merch Trend Report. The data shows how transaction patterns and fan involvement have shifted to reflect distinctly localized tastes as well as extraordinary cross-border demand, highlighting K-pop's growing economy. Notably, the report reveals that visitor numbers for Bunjang reached 13.2 million, marking a 300% increase from the previous year.
K-Pop Merch's Global Popularity Reveals a Borderless Resale Economy
Bunjang Global, also known as Bungaejangter, is originally a South Korean re-commerce platform, founded by co-CEOs Kang Seung-hyun and Choi Jae-hwa has recorded approximately 34.4M listings in 2025, with 65.4 new products added every minute across 235 countries. While Indonesia ranked highest in new subscriber growth, the United States dominated total sales based on purchasing power, depicting the diversity of global adoption. Meanwhile, continent wise, North America accounted for 51.7% of total sales, followed by Europe (19.4%) and Asia (19.1%). The analysis quantified the scope of worldwide delivery with total shipping routes topping 108.95M kilometers, revealing the logistics footprint of fandom-driven commerce.
Bunjang Global
Statistics at the country level show that artist preference is substantially correlated with merchandise value. In Korea, NCT topped both listings and sales with Stray Kids leading in the United States, while BTS dominated the UK market and ATEEZ dominated Germany. Collectors reportedly place high value on rare items, such as a Big Bang’s Daesung autographed LP, which sold for almost 3.96M won (~ $2,750.96 USD). Fandom power also influenced online activity and transaction speed, with search interest in Stray Kids' SKZ IT TAPE increasing by 4,800% and ATEEZ photocards selling out in just 82 seconds after being listed.
From Merchandise to Media: How K-Pop Fandom Powers Platform Engagement
Bunjang currently also serves as a de facto fandom media channel, with searches for T1, Playive, and web novel IP Demotjuk scoring high. Notably, the fan-voted New Year Billboard Awards garnered record engagement as well, with 2.9M votes across at least 222 countries. Interestingly, fandoms of BTS and CORTIS won, showcasing the global unity and artist influence.
The platform also created global fan campaigns for rookie group idntt and 24-member female group Triple S, supporting increased artist-fan interaction. Looking ahead, Bunjang Global intends to build its international re-commerce infrastructure by 2026, reaffirming its purpose as a tech-driven hub for fan engagement worldwide.
