Actress Yoo In-young explores Pokémon card collecting in Gangnam

Actress Yoo In-young visited a Gangnam card store to experience Pokémon card collecting, where she learned how graded cards can surge in value to millions of won. During her visit, she opened 30th anniversary packs featuring 30 different types of Pikachu and observed how specific cards, such as Charizard, maintain high trading prices.

Actress Yoo In-young visited a card store in Gangnam to personally experience the world of Pokémon card collecting, which she recently encountered through the YouTube algorithm. Amidst various events and rare cards gathered for the Pokémon 30th anniversary, Yoo attempted her first "card opening" (the act of opening card packs) to observe the underlying culture of collecting.

"Not everything that shines is good"... Card value read through numbers

Upon visiting the card store, Yoo initially believed that shiny cards were simply good cards, but she showed interest as she encountered the complex criteria used to determine card value on-site. The collection market's nature was explained, where prices vary wildly depending on high numbers representing card condition or the popularity of specific characters. It was noted that while a higher leading digit in a card's number generally indicates a good card, the core factor is ultimately the difference in popularity. Yoo also received advice that it would be good to focus on collecting Pikachu.

The concept of "graded cards" particularly caught her attention. The structure where a card's value can surge from hundreds of thousands to millions of won—such as 700,000 won, 800,000 won, or 900,000 won—if a card is sent to a professional institution and receives a perfect score of 10 was a foreign and surprising point for the novice collector Yoo. The high topicality of the collection market was supported by mentions of cases where a specific card in collaboration with adidas could reach a value approaching 10 million won if it receives a perfect score.

30th Anniversary 'Reprint Cards' and the presence of Charizard

The core of this visit was the "reprint card" series, which reproduces popular cards from the past to celebrate the Pokémon 30th anniversary. While opening the 30th anniversary packs, Yoo checked the cards containing stories from the past one by one. This series is characterized by increased collection value, as it is produced based on designs redrawn by popular artists from the past. The 30th anniversary packs consist of a total of 20 packs and include 30 different types of Pikachu.

During the opening process, Yoo checked the cards amidst tension. According to on-site officials, the 'Charizard' card among this reprint series enjoys high popularity, with a trading price forming around the 300,000 won level. Through her reactions to the designs, expressions, and varying rarity of the cards revealed during the opening, Yoo confirmed that card collecting is a sophisticated hobby beyond mere play. In particular, detailed elements such as how a card's expression affects price increases and the rarity of cards like Mew caught the interest of collectors.

The collector's fate: Using top loaders for 'condition preservation'

During the card opening process, know-how from collectors for protecting expensive cards was also shared. The importance of being careful not to damage the paper when opening cards was emphasized, and the use of "top loaders" (plastic cases used to protect cards) was introduced to maintain card value. Top loaders are used to place cards inside empty spaces to provide maximum protection.

As she opened the cards, Yoo experienced the attitude of collectors who handle cards carefully, recognizing that physical damage occurring during the opening process can significantly impact the price during future grading inspections. Although the visit began out of simple curiosity, it concluded with her experiencing the depth of collecting culture as she witnessed the value created by card rarity and preservation status.

Source: original video (YouTube)