Draft:Photo card

"Photocards (in Korean, 포토카드 [Photocard] or 포카 [Poca]) are small trading-card sized pieces of cardboard with exclusive selfie (in Korean, 셀카 [Selca], short for 셀프 카메라 [Self Camera]) photos taken by idols, usually while backstage of the photoshoots for the album cover art."^[1] The first group to include randomized photocards was Girls' Generation for their album Oh!. However, photocards can be traced back to the Motown era and J-pop.

Sources

academic^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]
news/popular media^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]
investigations^[13]^[14]^[15]
possibly useful^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]

References

1 2 James, Samantha (2025-06-28). "Affective Participation From the In-Between: The Platformization of K-Pop Fandom". Social Media + Society. 11 (2). doi:10.1177/20563051251351390. ISSN 2056-3051.
↑ Desnika, Kitra; Tambunan, Shuri Mariasih Gietty (2023-06-27). "Consuming K-Pop Photocards: Mediated Intimacy in Indonesian Fan Practices". Athena: Journal of Social, Culture and Society. 1 (3): 154–160. doi:10.58905/athena.v1i3.137. ISSN 2985-3605.
↑ Rashidi, Waleed (2025-12-01). "Photocards and Collections: The Appeal, Popularity, and Uses of K-pop Compact Disc Purchases in the United States". Journal of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association. 25 (1): 12–19. doi:10.2478/meiea-2025-0004. ISSN 2993-0545.
↑ Lane, Kaitlyn (2025-09-25), "The Intersection of Fan Video and K-pop Photocard Collecting", The Routledge Handbook of Fan Video and Digital Authorship, New York: Routledge, pp. 357–371, ISBN 978-1-032-71740-1, retrieved 2026-04-24
↑ Mohammed, Sharifah Faizah Syed; Balqis, Nur Maizatul (2025-06-30). "Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve:K-pop Merchandise in Validating Identity". Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education. 25 (1): 83–98. doi:10.15294/harmonia.v25i1.24450. ISSN 2541-2426.
↑ Gloria, Gaby (2022-02-21). "Why K-Pop Fans Are Buying, Trading, and Selling Photos of Their Idols". VICE. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ "The K-pop photo card frenzy comes with a catch. Here's how not to get scammed". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2025-10-15. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ "Why K-pop fans are going wild over stars' photocards". South China Morning Post. 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ Teh, Cheryl. "Inside the big business of boy paper, a booming sub-industry of the K-pop machine". Business Insider. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ Teh, Cheryl. "My wallet and I took a trip into the heart of the K-pop photocard business machine. We barely survived". Business Insider. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ Siguion-Reyna, Sara (2021-07-21). "Photocard Fantasies: Inside the World of K-Pop Merch". lifestyleasia-onemega.com. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ Jung-youn, Lee (2025-01-15). "Bring your idols everywhere with sparkling photocards". The Korea Herald (in Korean). Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ 조선비즈 (2023-08-02). "[단독] '아이돌 포토카드 끼워팔기' 의혹…공정위, SM·JYP·YG 현장조사". 조선비즈 (in Korean). Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ "FTC probes big K-pop agencies over 'photo card' selling". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ "Major K-pop agencies investigated for unfairness of excessive tie-in merch - The Korea Times". www.koreatimes.co.kr. 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ Saeji, CedarBough T. (November 2024). "Making icons: the rise of the K-pop adjacent industries". Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. 25 (6): 874–895. doi:10.1080/14649373.2024.2365594. ISSN 1464-9373.
↑ Kim, Suk-Young, ed. (2023). The Cambridge Companion to K-Pop. Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108938075. ISBN 978-1-108-83705-7.
↑ "Preying on their love? K-pop fans let their emotions rule as they chase after idols and photocards". CNA. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ "In a digital age, why are CD sales flourishing in Korea?". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
↑ https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/k-pop-environmental-practices-1.6930864

[:0-1] 1 2 James, Samantha (2025-06-28). "Affective Participation From the In-Between: The Platformization of K-Pop Fandom". Social Media + Society. 11 (2). doi:10.1177/20563051251351390. ISSN 2056-3051.

[2] Desnika, Kitra; Tambunan, Shuri Mariasih Gietty (2023-06-27). "Consuming K-Pop Photocards: Mediated Intimacy in Indonesian Fan Practices". Athena: Journal of Social, Culture and Society. 1 (3): 154–160. doi:10.58905/athena.v1i3.137. ISSN 2985-3605.

[3] Rashidi, Waleed (2025-12-01). "Photocards and Collections: The Appeal, Popularity, and Uses of K-pop Compact Disc Purchases in the United States". Journal of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association. 25 (1): 12–19. doi:10.2478/meiea-2025-0004. ISSN 2993-0545.

[4] Lane, Kaitlyn (2025-09-25), "The Intersection of Fan Video and K-pop Photocard Collecting", The Routledge Handbook of Fan Video and Digital Authorship, New York: Routledge, pp. 357–371, ISBN 978-1-032-71740-1, retrieved 2026-04-24

[5] Mohammed, Sharifah Faizah Syed; Balqis, Nur Maizatul (2025-06-30). "Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve:K-pop Merchandise in Validating Identity". Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education. 25 (1): 83–98. doi:10.15294/harmonia.v25i1.24450. ISSN 2541-2426.

[6] Gloria, Gaby (2022-02-21). "Why K-Pop Fans Are Buying, Trading, and Selling Photos of Their Idols". VICE. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[7] "The K-pop photo card frenzy comes with a catch. Here's how not to get scammed". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2025-10-15. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[8] "Why K-pop fans are going wild over stars' photocards". South China Morning Post. 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[9] Teh, Cheryl. "Inside the big business of boy paper, a booming sub-industry of the K-pop machine". Business Insider. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[10] Teh, Cheryl. "My wallet and I took a trip into the heart of the K-pop photocard business machine. We barely survived". Business Insider. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[11] Siguion-Reyna, Sara (2021-07-21). "Photocard Fantasies: Inside the World of K-Pop Merch". lifestyleasia-onemega.com. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[12] Jung-youn, Lee (2025-01-15). "Bring your idols everywhere with sparkling photocards". The Korea Herald (in Korean). Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[13] 조선비즈 (2023-08-02). "[단독] '아이돌 포토카드 끼워팔기' 의혹…공정위, SM·JYP·YG 현장조사". 조선비즈 (in Korean). Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[14] "FTC probes big K-pop agencies over 'photo card' selling". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[15] "Major K-pop agencies investigated for unfairness of excessive tie-in merch - The Korea Times". www.koreatimes.co.kr. 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[16] Saeji, CedarBough T. (November 2024). "Making icons: the rise of the K-pop adjacent industries". Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. 25 (6): 874–895. doi:10.1080/14649373.2024.2365594. ISSN 1464-9373.

[17] Kim, Suk-Young, ed. (2023). The Cambridge Companion to K-Pop. Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108938075. ISBN 978-1-108-83705-7.

[18] "Preying on their love? K-pop fans let their emotions rule as they chase after idols and photocards". CNA. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[19] "In a digital age, why are CD sales flourishing in Korea?". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2026-04-24.

[20] ttps://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/k-pop-environmental-practices-1.6930864

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