At 11 a.m. on the 7th, a convenience store in Mapo District, Seoul. When asked if there was any stock of the new Pokemon bread, the store owner answered like this. One side of the shelf where the bread is placed was empty. It was the spot where "Pokemon bread," released by Samlip to mark the 30th anniversary of the Pokemon series, flew off the shelves as soon as it arrived.
The situation was similar at 10 nearby convenience stores. Most of the Pokemon bread delivered the previous evening was already sold out, with only a few stores having a small amount left. An office worker who has been collecting Pokemon merchandise, a person surnamed Kim (25), said, "I went to more than three convenience stores but couldn't get it," and noted, "I'm even considering a secondhand transaction."
◇Fandom "stirs" over stickers preserving the original illustrations
The star of this sold-out craze is five new types of Pokemon bread released by Samlip to mark the 30th anniversary of the Pokemon series. They are selling fast as soon as sales begin at convenience stores, supermarkets and online malls nationwide.
The "ttibuseal (sticker)" inside the bread is the driving force behind the boom. The new products include 100 random stickers based on the original illustrations of "Pokemon Red and Green" for Nintendo Game Boy in 1996, the start of the Pokemon series.
In particular, it is being credited with tapping fans' nostalgia by preserving the artwork of Sugimori Ken, Pokemon's lead art director. Compared with existing stickers, the lines are thinner and the saturation is lower, emphasizing a hand-drawn feel.
◇On social media, "Pokemon bread holy sites" are shared
The Pokemon fandom is moving quickly to get the new stickers. On social media (SNS), information is being shared in real time about so-called "Pokemon bread holy sites," meaning convenience stores with large stock.
One convenience store that increased preorders and secured 495 Pokemon breads sold nearly 450 in a single day. The store owner, a person surnamed Kim (36), said, "While looking over the new products, I saw stickers that sparked nostalgia and ordered the maximum quantity," and added, "Customers were waiting even before 9:30 p.m., when logistics arrive."
On KakaoTalk Gift, 11,000 units offered in a pre-order before the official launch sold out in two days. More than half of buyers were in their 30s, it said.
Search volume also surged. According to Naver Data Lab, searches for "Pokemon bread" the previous day hit a record high for the past three years. On Google Trends, search volume has risen sharply since the start of the month, and on the "Pocket CU" application, Pokemon bread ranked high among popular search terms.
◇Pokemon turns 30, crowds from convenience stores to Seongsu-dong and the Han River
This is not the first Pokemon bread boom. When it was first released in 1998, it enjoyed great popularity amid a sticker-collecting craze. After being discontinued in 2006, it was rereleased in 2022 as "The return of Pokemon bread," and convenience stores again saw "open runs" and sellouts.
The 30th-anniversary stickers are also moving into the secondhand transaction market right after release. Depending on scarcity, prices per sticker have formed in the range of 2,000 won to 30,000 won. On some transaction platforms, posts offering specific sticker exchanges are also appearing one after another.
The boom is spilling over from bread to offline events. On the 1st, about 160,000 people flocked to a Pokemon 30th-anniversary event held around Seongsu-dong in Seongdong District, Seoul. As participants crowded a rare card giveaway, police and ambulances were dispatched. The "Magikarp card" distributed at the event is being transacted on secondhand platforms for the upper 300,000-won range.
On the 5th, about 5,000 people took part in "Pokemon Run 2026 in Seoul," held around Ttukseom Hangang Park in Seoul. Participants ran 5-kilometer or 8-kilometer courses and enjoyed events featuring Pokemon characters.
Experts analyze that amid an economic downturn and anxiety, content that evokes past memories is being consumed again.
Lee Eun-hee, a professor of consumer studies at Inha University, said, "It appears that young people feeling economic and psychological anxiety are buying items they were attached to in the past," and added, "At the same time, on social media, buying the bread and collecting stickers is taking hold as a kind of 'play culture.'"