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Reuters

In a studio tucked inside a Shanghai mall, Shirley Chen is living out her K-pop-idol dreams.
The 28-year-old is at Chen Go, a K-pop-inspired “idol experience centre”, where customers get a chance to live like their favourite stars, if only for a day.
Opened in 2024 by entrepreneur Chen Rong, the centre attracts about 40 customers daily who dance choreographed routines and sign autographs for imagined fans at a mock meet-and-greet.
Guests can choose from more than 200 outfits – some imported from South Korea, others custom-made – and step onto sets carefully designed to resemble backstage dressing rooms and South Korean music programmes.


A full package, including the outfit, shoes, hair and make-up, costs 329 yuan (US$45).
“This place is great because they prepared a lot of backgrounds, you can change clothes, put together some videos by yourself, and accomplish your dreams of being an idol,” said Shirley Chen, who travelled from Ningbo, south of Shanghai, to celebrate her coming birthday at Chen Go.
“When I was a child, I liked to dance. So you could say that I wanted to develop on a similar [idol] path. However, as I got older, my parents wanted me to do something that could make money. So they kind of killed my childhood dreams in the cradle.”


Founder Chen Rong is a K-pop fan too. Her original plan was to open a photo studio mimicking an idyllic classroom with blackboards and desks, a nod to popular Korean reality TV shows where idols dress like high school students.
“Then I made a meet-and-greet set-up, and later the backstage set-up. After expanding in this way, I thought that all of my set-ups were related to the idol topic, so I opened an all-in-one idol experience centre,” she said.


The studio, which also attracts tourists from Russia, Japan and South Korea, is undergoing an expansion and will double in size by May.
Among other plans, Chen said she will start featuring social-media influencers as guest emcees and build a stage with a projector.


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Visitors dance while wearing costumes at Chen Go, an “idol experience centre” where fans dress up as K-pop idols and step onto sets carefully designed to resemble backstage dressing rooms and South Korean music programmes, in Shanghai, China. Photo: Reuters

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A visitor looks at a booklet providing posing ideas at Chen Go. Photo: Reuters

A visitor gets her photos taken at Chen Go. Photo: Reuters

A visitor chooses accessories to wear at Chen Go. Photo: Reuters

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At Shanghai’s Chen Go, K-pop fans can choose from 200 outfits, dance on special sets and sign autographs for ‘fans’ at a mock meet-and-greet


At Shanghai’s Chen Go, K-pop fans can choose from 200 outfits, dance on special sets and sign autographs for ‘fans’ at a mock meet-and-greet.
