My husband, who is an indie musician here in Korea never had this lightstick phenom, so it is definitely something unique to the KPOP industry. Member Jisoo was actually the one who named the lightstick, and “ Bbyongbong” wasn’t just chosen for its cute rhyme.

Even though fans had mixed feelings about Red Velvet’s lightstick, it does signify a change in the times. The first lightstick looks like a lollipop and the 2nd version looks quite different with a black center. It took four years for Red Velvet to get for their lightstick, but some of their labelmates have waited twice as long! Having seen a number of KPop acts over the years while living in Korea, the idea of the lightsticks wasn’t new to me.

Author’s note: I anticipate that SM will announce the release of a new one next time they go on tour. When I initially started collecting lightsticks, Red Velvet’s Lightstick was one that I really wanted to add to my collection. Each KPOP group has a different stylized lightstick and everyone from new fans to highly interactive fans try to get one. Now there’s also a third generation of the design with all being similar though their features have changed over the years.

The lightstick is designed to replicate a toy hammer, and “ Bbyong” is Korean onomatopoeia for a “pop” sound—just like the sound of a hammer toy. As the most popular Kpop group coming out of Korea, their lightstick, or I should say lightsticks, are the most popular too. NCT released their official lightstick in 2018 and it features a green top with the name of the group on four sides.Way back in the early days of K-Pop, fans used to wave colored balloons in the air as a way to represent and support their favourite group. The vivid pink bulb of the lightstick looks just like a firefly in the darkness, so the name fits perfectly. Since NCT’s lightstick is known for its square (or cube) shape, they changed the letter “ㅇ” for the square character, “ㅁ”—which translates to “m” in English. Cokodive:Cokodive is a trusted seller of official Kpop lightsticks and fans worldwide get lightsticks from them.

However, I was recently working on a trends project for a company and realized just how vast the KPop lightstick phenom is. Prior to getting an official lightstick, fans are only able to purchase concert-specific lightsticks. The light from this lightstick can be synced at concerts with a central control and to the GFriend app via Bluetooth. Some group’s lightsticks, however, have unusual names you just can’t figure out at first glance—here are 8 you’ve probably always wondered about.

Lightsticks now have Bluetooth capabilities, might be charging ports, and can by synced to live concerts. Thought the lightstick was invented by BigBang, they didn’t really become mainstream and popular until the second generation of Kpop. They have lightsticks from must about every group as well as KPop merch, KBeauty goods, and everything else you could want from Korea really. After we got a BTS nightlight in one of our Seoulboxes, my daughter has become really interested in these light up options that go with her favorite singers (she quite likes Blackpink).

The light on this stick connects via the official TWICE app and can be synced at concerts to a central control and it also comes with a stand so that it can act as a mood light in your room. If you’re looking for a specific lightstick from a specific group, here’s what you need to know about them.The lightsticks usually have the group’s logo and some unique features or design to make it different from other lightsticks.