BTS and Ateez Photocard Hunt Goes Global as Foreign Buyers Flood K-pop Resale Market

[Financial News] Overseas fans looking to buy photo cards of K-pop stars such as BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan), Ateez, and Stray Kids are flocking to South Korea's secondhand trading market. Even as prices average more than 40,000 won per card, transactions continue to rise, and overseas deals on Bungaejangter Inc. in the first half of this year increased 56% from a year earlier.
According to Bungaejangter Inc. on the 27th, transactions through its overseas-user service, 'Bungae Global,' rose 56% in the first half of this year from the same period last year. Bungae Global is a service that allows overseas users to directly purchase K-goods and other products traded in Korea.
The item most sought after by overseas users was K-pop stars' photo cards. In the first half of this year, photo cards accounted for 35% of all overseas transactions. When the scope is expanded to 'star goods,' including photo cards, the share rises to 60%. In other words, 6 out of every 10 overseas transactions involved star goods.

Overseas fans are also paying substantial amounts for a single photo card. The average transaction value per photo card in the first half was 42,000 won.
Photo cards are often distributed in limited quantities through album purchases or event entries. Because it is difficult to obtain a desired member's card or a specific version, peer-to-peer trading has become active among fans. As K-pop fandoms have spread worldwide, photo cards once traded mainly among domestic fans have become a cross-border item for buying and selling.
The most frequently traded photo cards overseas were from Ateez, BTS, Stray Kids, and PLAVE. Photo cards from these four teams accounted for 34% of all overseas transactions. Photo cards from 11 teams, including QWER, Illit, and CORTIS, accounted for another 15%.
As more overseas users search for K-pop goods, Bungaejangter Inc. is also expanding its international trading environment. It has increased the number of shipping partners from one to three, adding Delivered Korea, Able Union, and FD. The company has also enabled real-time tracking of the shipping process, from the seller's dispatch to the forwarding warehouse and finally to the overseas buyer's destination.
Payment options have also been expanded from the existing credit cards, PayPal Holdings, Inc., Alipay, and WeChat Pay to six methods with the addition of Apple Pay and Google Pay. The move is aimed at lowering purchase barriers for overseas users by offering payment and delivery systems tailored to each country.
A Bungaejangter Inc. official said, "We focused on improving convenience for overseas users by taking into account the fact that preferred payment methods and shipping conditions differ by country." The official added, "Going forward, we will continue to more precisely connect domestic sellers with overseas demand based on tastes and product categories."

[email protected] Choi Hye-rim Reporter