GamingPokemon

Is it worth investing in Korean Pokémon cards?

Andres Velez
Korean Pokemon cards including PawmiPokemon

Learn all about Korean Pokemon TCG Cards with our guide, including where to buy them, why they’ll become more expensive, a list of their extensions, and more.

Even though Pokemon and Pokemon TCG are a worldwide phenomenon, Korean cards were underappreciated and undervalued for a long time. Now, South Korean Pokemon TCG cards are getting more and more attention, which has not escaped the attention of collectors overseas.

These Korean Pokemon cards are known for having comparable quality to Western sets, for being cheaper, and lastly, for having beautiful and distinctive designs that make cards valuable to collectors.

There’s less information available on Korean sets than on English and Japanese versions. So, we hope this guide will better arm you with the information you need to buy some cheap, but, cheerful cards.

Contents:

List of Korean Pokemon card extensions and decks:

The following Pokemon extensions and battle decks were released before XY:

  • Series 1 – Start of an Adventure – Torterra, Infernape, Empoleon, Raichu decks
  • Series 2 – The Burning Confrontation
  • Series 3 – Space-Time-Crash – Dialga & Palkia decks
  • Series 4 – The Different Dimension
  • Series 5 – Mysterious Seven
  • Series 6 – Crescent Moon of Darkness – Cresselia & Darkrai decks
  • Series 7 – Hidden Powers
  • Series 8 – Beautiful Legends
  • Series 9 – Miracle of the Lake
  • Series 10 – Guardians from Ancient Times
  • B/W Series 1 – Black / White collection
  • B/W Series 2 – Red Collection
  • B/W Series 3 – Hail Blizzard & Psycho Drive
  • B/W Series 4 – Dark Rush
  • B/W Series 5 – Dragon Collection
  • B/W Series 6 – Dragon Blast & Dragon Blade
  • B/W Series 7 – Cold Flare & Freeze Bolt
  • B/W Series 8 – Plasma Gale
  • B/W Series 9 – Thunder Knuckle & Spiral Force
  • Shiny Collection
  • EX Battle Boost
  • XY 1
  • XY 2 – Wild Blaze.

Besides these, there are also numerous Starter, Half, and, Theme decks, special sets, and, Promos up until the release of Pokemon Black and White.

To view more Korean Pokemon cards, try the Korean Pokemon Card website and Google Translate.

For complete lists of the cards available in each of the sets above, take a look at Bulbapedia.

History of Korean Pokemon cards

Korea has an interesting history with Pokemon and a historically trying relationship with Japan. The nation lifted its ban on Japanese imports in 2004, the same year Nintendo was able to operate as Nintendo of Korea. Before then Pokemon titles had gained popularity after a partial lift of the ban in 1998.

Just like in America, Wizards of the West Coast released their original Pokemon base set in Korea. Although, this didn’t happen until 2000. It was in 2003-2004 that Nintendo of Korea started releasing cards, which were collections of existing sets.

Then, in 2011, the Korean releases began to follow a similar pattern to the Japanese and US releases for sets with Black & White.

New cards are now released at similar times to the European and American expansions, but curiously they call these ‘Extensions’ instead.

Korean Pokemon TCG cards are more affordable alternatives to Japanese card art and have nearly the same print.

Fans visiting Korea know just how cheap the cards are compared to Western and Japanese sets. For example, there is this Pokemon 151 booster box, which is selling for just under 1/4th of the price of a comparable Japanese product.

Differences in Korean Pokemon cards

  • Korean Holo and regular Pokemon cards have yellow borders. Much like Japanese cards, the bottom left corners of the cards don’t use the English circle & star system for rarity, instead opting for letters, ie. C is common
  • The cards typically have different ridges and textures with the English versions having deeper ridges
  • Secret rares are not guaranteed in every booster pack
  • Currently even rares such as Moonbreon, are far less expensive than Japanese & Western versions.

What makes Korean Pokemon cards valuable?

Korean Pokemon TCG cards showing Lillie, Celebii and Moon UmbreonPokemon
Korean Lillie, Celebi, and Moonbreon.

Korean Pokemon TCG cards are valuable mainly because they have limited print runs compared to American and Japanese cards.

The quality of the cards is also higher than what it was, with some collectors even placing the present-day Korean cards above the US and Japanese equivalent cards in terms of quality.

Other factors affecting the value of the cards include:

  • Difficulty obtaining them
    • Outside of Korea, the cards are rare, supply is low and demand is increasing
  • You can buy more cards for your buck, making them valuable to those who enjoy opening multiple packs of cards
  • The artwork and promos can still be exceptionally beautiful and are limited
  • Increased interest in Korean culture from the West and demand for Korean products.

Where to buy Korean Pokemon cards

You can purchase Korean Pokemon cards via:

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