Life-size body pillows with pictures of GFRIEND members were released for sale by Source Music, but withdrawn days later after some fans claimed the goods reminded them of sex merchandise. / Courtesy of Tcafe



By Ko Dong-hwan



Goods that are tribute to K-pop girl band GFRIEND have angered fans because the objects can apparently be used as sex toys.



The life-size pillows, 180 centimeters long and 60 centimeters wide with a full body image of each member color-printed on top, are the source of the controversy. People criticized the goods for encouraging fans to hug the objects and perhaps do more than just hugging them.



Source Music released the products on Dec. 29 ahead of the band's first exclusive concert on Jan. 6-7 at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul. They were introduced on the band's social network site with hashtags "#GFRIEND 1st Concert 2018" and "#Season_of_GFRIEND."



Each object in the six-piece package costs 60,000 won ($56). They were among 25 new products including cheering wands and shopping bags. The goods are worth a total of 1 million won.





GFRIEND performs during a showcase of their fifth mini-album "Parallel" at Seoul Yonsei University on Aug. 1. / Korea Times file