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Line Friends' LA Pop-Up Store, Featuring BTS' BT21 Characters, Draws More Than 15,000 Shoppers

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The latest Stateside Line Friends store opened up in Los Angeles last week and saw more than 15,000 people visit the store upon opening. A temporary pop-up, it is the second store in the U.S. to feature the BT21 characters created by BTS and Line Friends.

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Opened Friday in Hollywood, the Line Friends pop-up store features goods that feature the imagery of the eight BT21 characters created by Korean septet BTS and also original Line Friends characters. Unlike the Times Square Line Friends store, which opened in July 2017, the LA-area store is a short-lived branch that is set to be open for only three months. Its opening precedes September’s Staples Center stops of BTS’ Love Yourself tour. The worldwide tour, which includes over a dozen North American stops, kicks off in Seoul on August 25.

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According to Line Friends, the Times Square and Los Angeles stores were opened with the company’s aim to establish itself Stateside. Line Friends is associated with the messenger app Line and Line Corporation, which are Japanese-based but associated with South Korea’s Naver technology company.

The store’s opening took place the same week BT21 announced its collaboration with Converse.

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BTS are the first Korean stars to take a role in the creation of official Line Friends characters. The BT21 figures -- Tata, Van, RJ, Chimmy, Cooky, Shooky, Mang and Koya -- are each associated with one member of BTS as well as their fandom ARMY, and are featured on a variety of goods ranging from plushies to clothing.

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A video produced by Line Friends shows customers lined up along the street in front of some of Hollywood's most famous sites, including Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and celebrating the store's opening both in and outside the store.