The minute I saw IU was releasing a pink CD player with her upcoming album, I knew I needed it, no matter the cost, quite literally 😅.
I preordered it back in June (the 19th) through SubK Shop. I had $5 saved, so after tax it was $100.88. And I got it in the mail August 25th.
Now there is a version of this CD player that someone found without all the IU branding on it. I wish I could find the tweet, but it was much cheaper. So a Uaena quote retweeted the original post and was like, then y’all can buy that one and leave the IU ones for us (the fans). Lmaooo big mood.
Do I think $100 for a CD player, CD, earphones, and inclusions is a bit much? Yeah, on the front end. I’m not sure how much it was for Uaenas in Korea, probably much cheaper. But as a collector and Uaena, who better to give that money to, lol.
I do need to get a physical copy of Lilac, Palette, and The Winning to complete my fave albums of hers. Long term, you can use the CD player and headphones for other albums so you get your money’s worth out of it. As you’ll see later on in the unboxing. So let’s get into it!
So A Flower Bookmark is a series that IU has been doing since 2014 where she covers popular Korean songs from previous decades. I really enjoyed this album. My three favorite songs are “Red Sneakers“, “Last Scene (Feat. Wonstein)“, and “A Beautiful Person (Feat. Balming Tiger)“. Another solid release from my girl 💕💕💕.
The packaging itself is super cute and easy to store. Something I greatly appreciate as my Kpop collection continues to grow substantially over the years. It’s a little beat-up due to shipping, but I’d rather the exterior have damage than the actual products themselves. Plus it’s not something I’m really going to look at that closely anyway.
The flowers and Hangul on the box are gorgeous. Something I didn’t think about until I started looking closer at the CD player itself was that the button names are written in Korean, lol. Like duh, but it didn’t cross my mind at all when I preordered it. I like that, though. It encourages me to work on my Korean language learning, I’ve been so inconsistent about.
You get plenty of items with this album. Free batteries are always a plus with electronics. I forgot what that white cord is for.
Even the envelope the inclusions come in is cute. I haven’t used the stickers yet, although I saw a lot of people have put them on the CD player.
I like that it shows you the entire run time of the album you’re listening to.
Closer look at the buttons.
The little flower detail on the CD is so cute . This CD player is gorgeous. I’ve been wanting a pink one for years now, and I haven’t really found one I really clicked with. Now I need someone to drop a pink cassette player 🙏🏾.
The earbuds/headphones are cute, and the sound quality is pretty good. You’re not going to get high quality sound from these. That fuzzy sound is keeping it true to the 2000s CD player sound. Adding to that nostalgia. I guess I could see what my Bose sounds like with these. I didn’t think about doing that when I first unboxed this. As long as you have a cord that’s compatible with the 3 mm jack, it should work fine.
The I and U on the left and right earbuds are chef’s kiss.
I had to test out what other albums would sound like on this CD player, so since I had gotten my f5ve album in the mail a few weeks prior, it was an easy reach on my Kpop shelf. And yeah, it sounds great on this player as well.
I’m incredibly impressed with the quality of this album version. It feels true to what CD players were like in the 2000s. I think I stopped using them around 2008. Like right before high school, and I had two iPods by then that I used to listen to music on. I recommend getting it if you intend to use it for days when maybe you want to get away from your smartphone. But don’t just shell out $100 for it because you think it looks pretty. If you’re financially able to do it, I think it’s a practical Kpop item to have in your collection. Especially for Uaena.
I meant to have this article out weeeks ago 🙈. But it’s out now. I’m in the process of bulk writing articles and playing catch-up, so look forward to more articles over the next couple of weeks. I hope y’all enjoyed this one, and I’ll see you soon!
Take care,
Ash💫