From the mid-2000s through the 2010s, repackaged albums were a staple marketing tactic in K-pop – a re-release of a studio album that includes new tracks and an updated concept to match them. It was the industry’s way of extending an album’s profitability while simultaneously providing fans with extra content and music only a few months after a group’s promotional cycle. However, as K-pop transitioned into the 2020s, repackaged albums gradually became less of a standard practice and more of an optional one, specifically by 2023. So what happened to the medium, and why has it seemingly been phased out in the last three years? And more importantly, what shifted in the industry, and how has it made up for the lack of repackaged releases?

Well, in order to understand today’s industry, it’s important to look back. The first repackaged album was released in 2003 by Korean alternative rock/pop band Loveholics. The album, called Re_all Florist, was an extension of the band’s debut record, Florist – both releases were six months apart. For South Korea, this was somewhat of a new concept, but it was inspired by the Western music industry and its reissue practices. In North America, for example, artists would often release deluxe editions of a studio album, containing “bonus” tracks and newer variants of the previous photoshoot.

K-pop, however, made repackaged albums feel much more immersive and novel, rather than a recycled version of the original release. Not only did the physical copies include all-new concept art, photobooks, and inclusions, but the music and promotional cycle was treated like an entirely new comeback, with groups making their daily rounds on music show performances, as usual.

While Loveholic’s repack was successful and laid the groundwork for future examples, the strategy didn’t truly take off until the late 2000s and early 2010s, when prominent companies like SM Entertainment began experimenting with the concept. Super Junior, specifically, is widely considered the group that helped popularize repackaged albums with the release of 2007’s Don’t Don. The record actually spawned two repackaged versions – the CD version with new tracks: "Marry U" (New Ver.), "A Man In Love", "The Girl Is Mine", and "A Man In Love" (Remix), and theCD+DVD repackaged version, which featured music videos and behind-the-scenes clips from the album’s production. By the end of the year, 164,058 copies were sold, making it the second-best-selling album of 2007. Since the industry typically counts repackaged sales as part of its original release, it’s safe to say the strategy worked in SM’s favor.

So, of course, with that knowledge, SM would continue the trend in 2008 with SHINee (The SHINee World + Amigo) and TVXQ (Mirotic A, B, and C versions). The trend continued throughout the industry and in other entertainment agencies like YG and JYP in the 2010s, but one of the most defining repack moments was in 2012. After releasing their first studio album, XOXO, in 2012, SM group EXO returned with their first repack, Growl, two months later. With combined sales of 570,000 and 760,000 copies, EXO became the first million-selling group since 2001, cementing their status as a K-pop phenomenon and proving that reissues can significantly change a group’s overall chart performance.

Over the next decade, repacks would remain a standard practice in the K-pop industry, especially for other third-gen groups such as NCT 127, NCT Dream, Red Velvet, and SEVENTEEN. There were even some fourth-gen groups who occasionally threw their hat in the ring, like ATEEZ, TXT, and ENHYPEN. However, by 2023, the number of labels prioritizing repackaged releases began to decline, with only a select few upholding the tradition, including SM with SHINee’s KEY and NCT 127, and Brave Entertainment with the boy group DKB.

Looking at the current landscape, one possible factor in the decline of repackaged albums is the growing use of member-specific editions, which feature individual members rather than the full group. Although this approach was already popular in the mid-to-late 2010s, it offers another way to encourage physical album sales through multiple versions tailored to individual fans’ interests. While these editions allow fans to collect albums featuring their favourite members, they can also encourage the purchase of multiple versions to complete a set.

For example, EXO’s 2015 album EXODUS and SuperM’s 2019 self-titled debut EP featured versions with uniquely designed spines that formed each group’s logo when displayed side by side in the correct order. EXODUS had 10 versions, with a further 10 available for its Chinese-language counterpart, encouraging fans to collect the full set.

SuperM took a similar approach, releasing seven member-specific versions alongside an eighth group edition. These examples illustrate how multiple versions can encourage fans to purchase more than one copy of a release. Other formats, including digital and keyring albums, offer additional options for physical music collecting. Keyring albums, for instance, use QR codes, NFC chips or digital cards to provide access to music without a traditional CD, while offering a compact alternative to conventional album packaging.

Another possible factor is the industry’s growing emphasis on new EPs, single albums and full-length releases rather than reissuing existing material with additional tracks. K-pop has always operated at a fast pace, but the decline of repackaged albums may reflect a greater focus on moving between distinct projects rather than extending an existing release’s promotional cycle. This can mean a more crowded release schedule, with new music arriving before listeners have had much time to engage with previous projects. Some labels have also released deluxe editions featuring alternative packaging and additional inclusions, although these do not always contain new music.

Of course, when discussing the shift in K-pop (or music, in general) in recent years, streaming is almost always a factor, for better or worse. With so much importance placed on streaming and its easy accessibility, it becomes harder for companies to justify re-releasing an album that most people will simply stream on their own and save money. That’s where individual member versions and digital novelty albums come into play. According to music critic Im Jin-mo in 2017, "As more people move to streaming to listen to music, physical CDs are being increasingly recognized as collectors' items or memorabilia, at least in the idol music market,” he told Yonhap News Agency.

However, repackaged albums haven’t disappeared entirely, with several recent releases demonstrating how the format continues to evolve. In 2025, ATEEZ released GOLDEN HOUR: Part.3 ‘In Your Fantasy Edition’, an expanded version of their original five-track EP. Released on 11 July, the 15-track edition added 10 tracks, including a solo song for each member, alongside the new title track “In Your Fantasy”. Rather than simply adding a handful of bonus songs, the release substantially expanded the original project, offering a different way to revisit its musical direction.

In 2026, CORTIS took a digital-first approach with GREENGREEN_playextended, released on 24 August as an extension of their second EP, GREENGREEN. The release added two new tracks, “PACK IT UP” and “MONEYMONEYMONEY”, demonstrating how the repackage format can extend a project without necessarily requiring a conventional physical album reissue. More recently, KOZ Entertainment’s BOYNEXTDOOR released HOME: DELUXE on 28 September 2026. The repackage revisits the group’s first studio album, HOME, adding five new songs to its original tracklist. In an industry increasingly shaped by pre-release singles, multiple album formats and digital distribution, these releases show that repackaged albums remain an option for extending an existing project, even as the format continues to change.

Although many aspects of K-pop have drastically changed, even in the last five or six years, there’s still a market and a purpose for repackaged albums that bridge the gap between a group’s current era and the next. There’s no unanimous decision on whether they’re still beloved by fans or not, but there have been online conversations these past few years that suggest it’s at least one niche aspect of the industry that’s been sorely missed on a larger scale. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see an unexpected resurgence somewhere along the way.