OtaKuPop Is Northeast Minneapolis’s K-Pop Hub

I remember when I first discovered OtaKuPop in Minneapolis. I’d been complaining to a friend about not having an affordable place to buy K-pop albums in person—when I could manage to find them in a store, they were expensive, or the selection was limited. And while my favorite group, SHINee, is certainly popular, the band is not “buy at Target or Walmart” popular.

Frustrated, I pulled out my phone and typed “K-pop store” into Google Maps—a ritual that never yielded results. But this time, OtaKuPop came up. The first review featured a picture of SHINee’s latest album and a comment saying it was priced affordably. I made a plan to visit.

Going to OtaKuPop was like going home. Plastered on the outer windows were giant K-pop posters. The store’s landing had a board covered in sticky notes with patrons’ favorite idols. There was also information on upcoming K-pop concerts and community events. The store itself was small, but alive with natural light. The large TV played music at a comfortable listening level, and the merchandise was organized. There was a sign for “Harmony’s bias shop,” which featured fun fan merch. Best of all, the prices were affordable. I quickly became a regular.

To learn more about the store, I sat down with owner Derik Thaden, who opened OtaKuPop in October 2023.

Owner Derik Thaden is always ready to talk K-pop and answer questions. Jon Carnes Photography

Origin Story

“I’m an adopted Korean,” Thaden told me. “I was adopted when I was a baby. My parents wanted me and my brother to keep with Korean heritage, so we went to a Korean culture camp in Brainard, and we had been doing that for years. We’d take trips to Chicago to load up on stuff and I saw everything and picked it up. That was way back in the ’90s.”

So how did he decide to turn his fandom into a business? His parents, he explained, both owned businesses, and he’d worked for them.

“I side-jobbed selling photocards and stuff online and I thought about branching out,” he said. “And from there, my parents—they were thinking about retiring—asked what I wanted to do, and I said I could try opening a store. Where [OtaKuPop] is at now was a storage room for my mom’s business and I asked my landlord if he could renovate because we’d been there for over 30 years. And the landlord was happy to get it renovated and happy to support a business there.”

Starting a business, especially one with physical products, is a lot of work.

“I met some guys in Seattle, and they had just opened their own K-pop store,” Thaden said—the K-POP Empire in Everett, Washington. “I was out there for a Twice concert, and I started talking to them and they helped me meet with some people that would get me into wholesale buying and stuff. And they’ve helped me quite a bit.”

What’s Selling

OtaKuPop’s selection has grown a lot since opening.

“My store is doing way better than anyone ever expected. Apparently, people are hungry for K-pop more than I would’ve actually hoped. It always blows my mind how many albums I will sell.”

Originally, the store was going to focus partly on K-pop and partly on anime and manga—hence the name—but for now, there’s only enough space for music. “There’s going to be a room opening in the building soon, and that’s where it would be, but […] not sure if I’ll go ahead with it or not,” Thaden said. “There’s been a lot of those small shops opening in the city and the mall recently.”

As a fan of both K-pop and anime, I’d love for OtaKuPop to become my one-stop fandom shop, but this assessment made sense. I asked whether Thaden would ever use that room, or a different location, for more K-pop merchandise, but he shook his head.

“It would be nice to have a bigger space, but it would be so expensive. That’s one of the main reasons why I can sell at the price point I sell at. If I was in a mall, my prices would be up there.”

Albums at OtaKuPop cost about the same as ordering online and paying for shipping, and sometimes less. That was purposeful: Thaden wanted to base his prices on how much he himself would pay for an album.

When I asked how he determines what to stock, he leaned back, threw his hands in the air, and exclaimed, “Psshhh, I don’t know! I just look at my phone and scroll through a lot. I have a general idea of what’s popular and what’s not. If it’s a smaller new group, I usually get four to six albums, and then it’s just testing to see.”

There are also a plethora of older albums for purchase: “As long as the group is active, and the album is still in print, I can try and get them in. But if the group disbands, or a member gets in trouble, those albums are done.” Thaden uses the bias board in the shop to see who is popular, and people can contact him directly with requests. He is always happy to check whether he can get something in.

The OtaKuPop storefront, located just off Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis. Jon Carnes Photography

Looking Ahead

The store is open five days a week, but Thaden is there every day.

“Ten years ago, I used to work overnights at Target. This is a lot easier than that,” he said. “I still have another job—my mom’s shop is next store, so I do that too. Truthfully, this is just a big hobby for me.”

And that, I think, is why OtaKuPop is successful. The moment I stepped inside, I knew it was a labor of love. Thaden’s friendly demeanor and knowledge make him easy to chat with. If customers see him at a concert, they’ll say hi. Even though the store is small, it has become a third space, with friends popping in to hang out and talk K-pop. He has patrons who could buy albums at a big-box store, in some cases for less, but choose to buy at OtaKuPop instead. A community has formed.

There’s nothing like walking into a place that gets your fandom. There’s a sense of ownership: This is my store. This is my K-pop guy. I love this place. And I want it to flourish.

Albums inside OtaKuPop are organized by group. Boy groups are toward the front and girl groups are toward the back Jon Carnes Photography

OtakuPop is located at 966 Central Avenue NE in Minneapolis (entrance on 3rd Avenue) and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 1:00–8:00 p.m. There isn’t a website, but you can follow @otakupopmn on Instagram. If you have requests or questions, you can message on Instagram, email otakupopmn@gmail.com, or call the store at (651) 529-0687.