Each one costs 20,000 won, but you can just take them?

Hearing that keyword alone might make you think it is a scene of generous sharing.

However, this is a story about the dark side of the K-pop industry. Let us take a look at the article.

This is what it looked like in front of Ewha Womans University Station on August 31.

A cardboard box was placed there.

It was marked "FREE," and when people see "FREE," they usually think of a free giveaway.

Inside this box were dozens of idol group albums, worth about 20,000 won each, still wrapped in their original plastic packaging.

Why?

Analysts suggest that fans likely bought dozens of albums to win events like fan sign gatherings and simply discarded them.

This happens because the more albums you buy, the more chances you get to enter.

Scenes of illegal dumping disguised as sharing are frequently witnessed.

The singers and agencies of the discarded albums are not limited to just one.

After all, about 100 million K-pop albums are sold every year now.

Considering that such a physical album system is established across the entire K-pop market, analysts estimate that the amount of albums discarded without ever being used or listened to is quite substantial.