Hi! I’ll be heading to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Okinawa) and Korea (Seoul) this summer, and I’m looking to really splurge on some booster boxes while im there. However, I’m torn between going all in on either Japanese or Korean, as I cannot and will not let myself collect the same set in different languages (So I could get different sets in different languages, but thats a bit more complicated). I’ve done a decent amount of research on what MSRP seems to be in Japan these days, but I wanted a bit more information about Korean product from other buyers. I’ve seen on the website it says 30,000 won per box, but I wanted some insight if other cards stores tend to be more expensive or cheaper, If the price difference (between Jpn and Kor) is marginal, then I’d probably go for Japanese product, but otherwise I would heavily consider Korean just to rip more packs.
If anyone has any info on this topic it would be greatly appreciated, along with any sort of advice and experience in purchasing sealed product in either country! (I also understand that prices will fluctuate with new releases and time since theres still about 3 months left, so I am also considering everything with a grain of salt!)
Sets that I’m looking for (if it helps): VStar Universe, Crimson Haze, Wild Force, Ancient Roar
I can just give you some information about Japan. All prices that I am going to mention are including tax. MSRP is usually 180 Yen per pack for a regular set (30 packs per box makes a MSRP per box 5,400 Yen). High Class sets (like Terastal Festival or VSTAR Universe) have an MSRP of 550 Yen per pack (or 5,500 Yen per box). There are some other sets, like 151, that have a different price per pack (151 had 270 Yen per pack and with 20 packs per box those were 5,400 Yen as well).
Just a heads up, you usually can find most recent sets at Pokemon Centers for MSRP, however certain sets (the most popular ones) will have a harsh limit how many packs you can buy per day. At card stores you can also find a lot of modern sets at MSRP however usually not the most popular ones. Sets like VSTAR Universe are likely not available for MSRP at neither (very popular set and over 2 years old which means usually not longer printed).
If you’re looking for quality cards to someday grade, then I would personally lean more towards Japanese cards. I just went to Korea a couple of months ago and found that the print quality is much better than before but not as good as Japanese print quality.
As for prices, Korean cards are quite cheap with most sets being ₩30,000 and specialty sets being ₩50,000 (Terrastal Festival, 151, VStar Universe, Eevee Heroes). With the current exchange rate it was super cheap coming from America.
You can find a bunch of vendors selling boxes and packs in tourist areas like Namdaemun, Bukchon Hanok Village, Dongdaemun, and Insadong. But if you want a bit more variety and stay within Seoul I would go to the shopping mall complex within Ipark in Yongson. They even have league nights there and people play the tcg. Don’t waste your time searching in Coex, they only have One Piece and Yugioh. They had a pop up, but that is now closed.
