NCT Dream Pulls 170K Visitors to China Pop-Up Stores

• Thousands of fans flock to NCT Dream’s China pop-up stores set up for Beat It Up promotions.
• The group closed 2025 with Korean music festival performances, with a planned expanded Japan tour.
• Pop-up store trends like NCT Dream signal K-pop’s push for unique offline fan engagement.

NCT Dream, the popular K-pop band, has drawn around 170,000 visitors to a series of promotional pop-up stores in China tied to the release of their sixth mini-album Beat It Up, as noted by their agency SM Entertainment. The events, which were organized in collaboration with the Chinese streaming service QQ Music, took place in eight locations throughout seven major cities, from Nov to Dec 2025. These cities included Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, highlighting the unit's significant market position in those areas.

NCT Dream's pop-up campaign was held at high-traffic retail malls, featuring Beat It Up-themed displays. Attendance peaked on Dec 27, 2025, when members paid an unexpected visit to the Shanghai Wangda Plaza, attracting large crowds. The appearance generated fan interactions such as clicking photographs and greetings on-site, indicating strong engagement beyond passive viewing of NCT Dream’s content.

NCT Dream Eyes Japan Tour Expansion Amidst Banger Year-End Music Festival Acts

As noted by industry publication allkpop, the China promotions added to NCT Dream's end-of-year performance in South Korea. The band featured on major music festivals such as the KBS Global Festival (Dec 19), SBS Gayo Daejeon (Dec 25), and MBC Gayo Daejeon (Dec 31). The group performed on their recent releases in these festivals, which included songs like BTTF (Back To The Future), CHILLER, and the Beat It Up title track. Each act featured unique stage concepts, ranging from noir military-inspired images to a boxing motif, and was notable for its consistent live singing and production value.

Moving forward, NCT Dream plans to extend their tour in Japan with a series of solo concerts named THE DREAM SHOW 4: DREAM THE FUTURE, which is scheduled to take place at Osaka-jo Hall from Jan 8 to Jan 10, 2026. The concerts reportedly serve as the next phase of the group's promotional drive across East Asia, which began with the album and pop-up activities.

Pop-up Store Activity in K-pop

The size of the pop-up attendance indicates that NCT Dream continues to be popular outside of their own market. Several other K-pop groups have attempted offline pop-up store campaigns like NCT Dream. For instance, industry reports note that 630,000 individuals visited 57 HYBE pop-up stores in the year 2025. In the first half of 2025, however, these pop-ups were 35 in number, with 28 stores located in Asia, 5 in North America, and 2 in Latin America. These pop-up stores also had BTS themes named SPACE OF BTS and MONOCHROME. Also, a SEVENTEEN (now a HYBE artist) pop-up store in Guangzhou (China) attracted around 90,000 people throughout its duration. 

Additionally, BLACKPINK, earlier in 2025 as well, attracted large crowds and long lineups in their pop-ups in five key Chinese cities, namely, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Beijing. Reportedly, due to high demand, access to Shanghai was limited to 1,500 guests each day via reservation, with additional fans waiting on-site. Taking all of it together, these activities represent a broader K-pop industry push for experiential, offline marketing to enhance fan interaction beyond streaming and concerts, particularly in China, Japan, and adjacent regions.