As the LEGO Group and Netflix collaborate on KPop Demon Hunters, Kat argues that it could help set a precedent for more K-pop music to be represented in the brick…
With LEGO KPop Demon Hunters promising to bring the colourful world of songs to life in a wave of upcoming sets, it could open the door to more LEGO collaborations inspired by Korean media. The LEGO Group is trying to gain market share in that part of the world, so what better way than by creating sets inspired by the culture? If LEGO KPop Demon Hunters is a success, it could introduce a new league of K-pop fans into the hobby.
KPop Demon Hunters isn’t the first time that the genre has been represented in the brick. When Ideas 21339 BTS Dynamite launched in 2023, BTS fans (known as Army) actually crashed LEGO.com and it sold out within minutes. Because of the global popularity of the music and intensity of the fanbase, that sort of reaction is common.
K-pop inspired LEGO sets
KPop Demon Hunters is likely to be extremely popular, but there is a bigger fanbase out there for other K-pop inspired builds. As K-pop fans come into the LEGO hobby via this new theme, they will want to see their own favourite idols in the brick. It might be difficult for the LEGO Group to create an overall K-pop theme due to all the different labels and licensing agreements involved (though no-one should doubt the Danish company in recent years, with a greater breadth of licensed sets than ever before), individual sets based on specific groups is a clear possibility.
This is where LEGO Ideas may become a future home for more K-pop sets. Currently there is a submission based on BLACKPINK – the girl group behind hits including Pink Venom, Ice Cream and Ready For Love. It already has a decent amount of support. If K-pop fans fall in love with LEGO KPop Demon Hunters and realise the potential of having brick versions of their idols, that support should increase.
K-pop collectors
Many K-pop fans are collectors. They are probably some of the most devoted collectors out there, hunting down rare photocards from albums, acquiring a plush version of each group member and tracking down every album variant available. It is common for fans to display lightsticks on stands and posters of their favourite group on the wall. Adding LEGO sets and minifigures into the mix would be another unique way for devotees to indulge their passion for their favourite groups.
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There is plenty of inspiration for the LEGO Group to offer new K-pop sets. Each time a group has a comeback – the specific term used for a new album beyond the debut one – they also release a slate of music videos. They may as well be small movie productions given that they are detailed, full of amazing costumes and often feature striking visual effects.
The most popular groups
BTS have just returned, selling out stadiums in less than an hour, so another LEGO set based on their songs would certainly prove popular. Then ATEEZ, Stray Kids, ENHYPEN, SEVENTEEN, TWICE and EXO would all be good options too. Some of these groups have collaborated on toy collectibles before. Stray Kids worked with Disney for exclusive Zootopia 2 plush toys in the style of SKZOO, the group’s animal mascot alteregos.
K-pop members would also make great ambassadors for the products. Seonghwa, part of ATEEZ, is famously a huge LEGO fan and is often building sets on his livestreams (particularly Star Wars ones). Much in the same way that sports players are being used as high level influencers by the LEGO Group, the singers themselves could promote the sets and broader brand.
Whatever the future holds for how the LEGO Group and K-pop industry, the new KPop Demon Hunters theme is going to help introduce a new wave of fans to the brick, while also bringing LEGO lovers into the world of this type of music. As Rumi would say, together it’s going to be golden.
Blocks Importantly though, will the sets even be scaled for play? Blocks hopes so – read our take here.
Blocks has long championed the idea of sets inspired by the film and has a guide to other LEGO sets that fans of the film might enjoy. LEGO Ideas users have submitted creations inspired by the animated epic. Should the new sets feature minifigures or mini-dolls though? Or should they be 18+ disply models?
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