New Single from j-hope of K-Pop Band BTS Triggers Run on Bouquets at Downtown Pop Up
Fans of j-hope and hot K-Pop band BTS started lining up at 4 a.m. on March 8 for the start of a two-day pop-up store promising free floral bouquets and an immerse interactive experience to promote his new single “Sweet Dreams.”
| 13 Mar 2025 | 08:09
Camera shy fan Ma Yeonju and her boyfriend Maceo Hembert on line to get into the Gensis pop up store to get flowers and immersive photo ops celebrating release of the Sweet Dreams single by j-hope of the popular K-pop band BTS. (
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The three hour wait to get inside the pop up store was worth it for these happy fans, who left bouquets of caranations and roses. (
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A doorman tells disappointed fans near the end of day two, “We’re literally running out of flowers.” He urged fan to check out SecretNY for another pop up experience a few blocks north. (
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Some fans seemed to exceed the six flower limit. (
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Waiting on line for hours did not seem to bother this fan of heart throb j-hope, who was celebrating the release of a new single, Sweet Dreams. (
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Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing. When news went viral of a two-day pop-up event celebrating the release of a new single by heart throb j-hope and the red hot K-pop band BTS in the Meatpacking District, thousands of fans began showing up in the early morning hours.
They braved 30 MPH gusts off the Hudson River for an immersive interactive experience and free flowers.
”I heard people were lining up here at 4 a.m. and it did not open until 10 a.m.,” said one receptionist just inside the doors of Genesis House, which offers nuevo-Korean themed restaurants and immersive experience in its basement. For j-hope it was offering photo areas for fans to post on Instagram and Tik Tok.
And they also got to take home a free bouquet of carnations, roses and other flora. Although it said j-hope was going to “personalize” the floral arrangements, it turns out he was not on the scene.
And by the end, neither were flowers.
Fans didn’t seem to mind, but were happy with the chance to celebrate the release of “Sweet Dreams,” and wander through the dreamy aesthetics and floral photo ops that were put up for the two day event March 8 and 9.
The crowd estimated at over 2,000 on March 8 stretched for two city blocks. At the end at its busiest, it was bumping into an anti-Elon Musk protest around the corner at a Tesla showroom on Washington Street. The K-pop fans of several thousand dwarfed the 350 or so who turned out to protest on Washington St.
The hours-long wait on the line by the windswept Hudson did not seem to bother any of the fans. “I’m from Chicago, but I live here,” said Shel Shen as she waited on the long line in the Meatpacking district.
A young woman who gave her name as Vee S. noted that j-hope is normally a rapper. “This is a really romantic song,” she said. “It’s his first romantic song.”
He friend, Alex Davis said she was not disappointed that the star was not on the scene. “He’s giving everyone flowers.”
Grace said she’s a big fan and came down to see the pop up store because “I’m a fan and I live in New York.”
Not too surprisingly, young women on the long line seemed far more enthusiastic about the BTS band than their guy companions.
Nick said he was there for the photo op and the bouquet, but conceded, “I’m really just doing this for my friend.”
A young woman named Ma Yeonju was a fan, but her boyfriend, Maceo Hembert said not so much. “I’m not a fan honestly, I’m just here for the flowers.” They were both from Paris but are living in the United States for months and heard about the pop store only the day before on social media.
But if you did not get there early, by the end, the flowers were gone and fans were being turned away.
A doorman named Sean had to go out and tell disappointed fans that the pop up had run out of flowers and had to turn fans away for the last hour or so.
”We’re literally running out of bouquets right now,” said Sean. “I blame greedy people,” he said. “People were taking too much of the stuff we were giving out.”
”There was supposed to be a six flower limit,” he said.
He said one visitor looked like she was assembling a bridal bouquet. “I asked her, ‘are you going to be tossing that?’”
But he urged fans to go to the web site SecretNYC. “There’s another pop-up going on a few blocks from here.” In New York, there’s always something to do.