📏 Standard photocard size
Industry-standard K-pop photocards are 55 × 85 mm (about 2.17 × 3.35 inches) — roughly half the size of a Pokémon TCG card, slightly larger than a US business card.
Some agencies use slightly different sizes for special editions (square 70×70mm for SM "OST" cards, 64×96mm for HYBE mini-poster cards). The 55×85mm format dominates 90%+ of releases.
🃏 The 6 main types
Standard album photocards
앨범 포카Bundled inside the album itself. Random member pull from the album's pool. Each album version has a unique pool.
POB (Pre-Order Benefit)
POB / 특전Bonus card given by a specific retailer (Weverse, Ktown4u, Yes24, Aladin, Music Plant). Each retailer has different cards.
Lucky Draw (LD)
럭드 / 럭키드로우Random pull from a special event pool, available only when buying from certain retailers. ~1 in 50–200 buyers receives one.
Fansign event card
팬싸 포카Hand-distributed at fansign (lottery-only) events. Limited to ~50–500 copies per event. Often signed by the member.
미공포 (Mikongpo) — unreleased
미공개 포카Photocards that were printed but never officially distributed (sample cards, leaked test prints). Highest collectible tier.
Concert MD / Trading photocard sets
콘서트 MDTour merch card sets sold at venue only. Often 9-card binders, season's greetings, fan club kits.
🇰🇷 Korean terminology you'll see
✨ Holo / finish types
- Glitter: Specks of metallic foil. Common on POBs.
- Rainbow / Prism: Spectrum shift across angles. YG and HYBE favor this.
- Lenticular: Two images switch with viewing angle. Concert MD specialty.
- Spot UV: Glossy raised pattern over matte background. SM specialty.
- Hot foil stamp: Mirror-finish gold/silver lettering. Anniversary / season's greetings.
- Embossed: 3D raised texture. Rare, fansign-tier.
💎 Rarity hierarchy (resale price proxy)
| Tier | Type | Print run | Resale floor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | Standard album PC | 10K–500K | $5–15 |
| Uncommon | Retailer POB | 3K–80K | $15–40 |
| Rare | Lucky Draw | 500–5K | $50–200 |
| Very Rare | Fansign signed | 50–500 | $300–2000 |
| Holy Grail | 미공포 + visual member | 0 (unreleased) | $1000–10K+ |
🪪 Anatomy of a photocard
A retail K-pop photocard is a 55 × 85 mm card on a coated stock roughly 250 to 300 gsm, with a glossy front lamination and a matte back. The front carries the artist photo at full bleed, usually with no caption. The back carries the album title, the member name in a thin signature font, a tracking number or inclusion code, and a release year. The print line on the bottom edge is the strongest tell against counterfeits: official cards use a vendor-specific micro-text or a fine dotted line that cheap reprints cannot replicate without obvious smearing.
Recent generation photocards may also include a holo overlay, UV-reactive ink, or an embossed signature. Each of these features has a documented counterfeit lookalike, so a single feature in isolation does not prove authenticity — the combination of all features for the specific album version is what an authenticator checks. Our album detail pages include reference scans for the common counterfeit pitfalls per version.
🗂 Storing a collection
For a long-hold collection use acid-free toploaders, then archival binders with side-loading sleeves so the card does not slide every time the binder is opened. Avoid PVC sleeves; the plasticizer migrates into the card's gloss over years and creates a faint haze that lowers resale value. Keep the binder out of direct sunlight — UV-sensitive holos and signature inks fade noticeably within months on a sunny shelf.