This birthday cafe for BTS' V opened in Myeongdong, Seoul, in 2023. (Naver blog @belife13)

Have you ever attended a birthday party without the guest of honor?

That’s exactly what K-pop fans are doing: celebrating their favorite artists' birthdays at cafes that allow them to be used for this purpose.

In Hongdae and Myeong-dong in Seoul, where many of these birthday cafes are located, you’ll find cafes decorated with neon signs, posters and balloons in honor of various K-pop idols. Fans from both Korea and abroad flock to these celebrations.

“I live in Japan, but I bought a plane ticket to Korea just to celebrate BTS’ V’s birthday closer to him,” a Japanese Army member told The Korea Herald. Last year, around 50 birthday cafes took place on V’s birthday, 30 of them in Seoul alone, says the fan community.

Though it is called a "birthday cafe," it is actually an event organized by fans for their favorite K-pop artists. Fans rent or reserve a cafe, which they not only decorate but also create artist-related merchandise such as cupholders, keyrings, postcards and stickers to sell at the venue.

“You can host a birthday cafe even if you don’t know how to make these goods. Nowadays, there are online stores that specialize in creating items for birthday cafes, where you can easily place orders,” shared a K-pop fan experienced in organizing such events.

Items are on display at a birthday cafe for BTS' V in Myeongdong, Seoul, in 2023 (Naver blog @belife13)

Birthday cafes include giveaways of limited-edition items on a first-come, first-served basis. Fans particularly gravitate towards cafes with uniquely designed merchandise and, at popular birthday cafes, it’s common to see fans lined up hours before opening.

“If your favorite artist's birthday falls in February or September and you want to host a birthday cafe, you need to act fast to secure a venue, as those months are packed with idol birthdays. Some cafes have free bookings while others do not,” the K-pop fan added.

Hynn Han, owner of Lucky Ducky, a cafe in Myeongdong specializing in birthday cafe events, explained, “We do not charge a rental fee; we operate solely on the profits from beverages and desserts purchased by our customers. Sometimes the revenue from birthday cafe events is significantly lower than that from regular customers, and at other times, it can be much higher. It’s a bit of a gamble.”

Occasionally, fans are fortunate enough to have their guest of honor make a surprise appearance at the birthday cafe.

This is part of a series that introduces aspects of K-pop that will help you better understand the music, artists, fans and business of K-pop. -- Ed.