Physical albums are considered one of the most crucial aspects of the K-pop industry. From unique album packaging to collectible photocards, posters, and stickers, a K-pop album isn’t just about the CD anymore – it’s an immersive experience that solidifies an artist’s branding while enhancing the fan experience. But if there’s one company that’s always stayed ahead of the curve in creative album rollouts, it’s SM Entertainment. Stemming from second-gen groups like TVXQ and Girls’ Generation, the label has pioneered some of the most widely used album designs to date and continues to push the boundaries of innovation and creativity.

When K-pop was first established in the 1990s, physical albums usually followed the format used in the Western music industry: jewel cases. These usually consist of a hard plastic case with the album artwork on the front cover, a booklet inside – typically with the song lyrics – the CD, and more artwork featured on the back of the case with the tracklist. Some first-gen artists with jewel-case albums included Shinhwa, BoA, Fin.K.L, H.O.T., and S.E.S. – but each group had its own aesthetic and concept that the designs followed. H.O.T. was bold and leaned heavily on cyberpunk aesthetics, while S.E.S.’s designs were influenced by ‘90s J-pop and early Y2K styling. Some of them, especially from SM, would even include extra promotional materials, such as small sticker sheets or posters – indicating how pivotal the company would become in modern physical album packaging. But back then, it was mostly a minimalist approach.

In the 2000s, however, things gradually shifted into more unconventional designs, beginning with both SM and YG Entertainment. The first inklings of this new era included BIGBANG and TVXQ, who pioneered larger packaging with oversized DVD cases and elaborate design covers. It wasn’t long before G-Dragon’s Heartbreaker broke the mold and became famous for its clear plastic outer box, featuring a 3D mold of his face on the front. Meanwhile, SM pioneered the concept of variant albums by releasing localized repackaged versions in countries like Taiwan and China – this was especially seen with TVXQ and Super Junior, but it didn’t end there. 

After popularizing official photocard inclusions with Girls’ Generation’s 2010 album, Oh! – which incentivized hardcore fans to buy multiple copies of the album – SM took it even further with Super Junior in 2010. With the group’s fifth studio album, Mr. Simple, the company created individual album covers for each member, meaning if fans wanted to collect them all, they would have to buy 10 copies for all 10 members. This is the era when capitalism in K-pop took on a whole new meaning.

The individual member variants would continue in 2013 with Girls’ Generation’s I Got A Boy album, which featured nine versions for each member and a 10th variant for the entire group. Each version was tailored to the individual members’ personalities and style, while still maintaining a cohesive aesthetic throughout. According to SM, this was “testing the limits with the genre and music color” and, subsequently, seeing how fans would respond. In the end, the release was a success, selling over 300,000 copies in South Korea alone and peaking at No. 1 on the Gaon Music Chart. Of course, this can be attributed to the music itself, but the album rollout definitely made for an interesting collectible piece.

There was another SM album in 2013 that garnered a lot of buzz, and that is f(x)’s Pink Tape. While the musical content is regarded as one of the greatest albums in K-pop through a diverse and experimental tracklist, its album packaging is also considered one of the most creative pieces of K-pop physical media. The outer packaging, both front and back, is designed like a VHS tape to emphasize the album’s retro concept, featuring the five members on the front cover to make it feel like they’re starring in a film called Pink Tape. Above the members, there are five film genres with checkboxes next to them: action, romance, SF (science fiction), horror, and cult – but only romance and cult are checked off. Inside, there’s also a photobook that matches the VHS aesthetic, while the CD’s design is meant to resemble a miniature film reel.

Since the album’s concept revolves around love, SM Entertainment stated that they wanted to “offer a special experience as if to watch a romance flick where fans can enjoy the unique colors of f(x).” And the reason “cult” is checked off is because of the group’s “cult following,” despite their music being so different from other K-pop girl groups at the time. Pink Tape’s visual design became so popular that it even won the Communication Design Award at the 2014 Red Dot Design Awards. This was an early example of a company executing a method-style of album packaging – one that doesn’t just showcase the concept, but becomes and transforms it.

From then on, more K-pop companies were challenged to step up their game in the physical album space to compete with the creativity SM was putting out. In 2013, EXO’s XOXO album was shaped like a notebook, with an actual notebook spine, and in 2015, the group’s EXODUS album featured more individual member covers that formed their logo when lined up side by side. And in 2016, SM released a limited edition of cassette tapes for SHINee’s 1 of 1 album to maintain the authenticity of its ‘90s theme and musical content. These designs become intrinsically tied to groups’ branding and visual identity, making certain albums instantly recognizable.

In recent years, albums have evolved even more with SMini albums, a pocket-sized version of K-pop albums that double as keychains. Instead of physical CDs, these mini albums include NFC-enabled smart cards to scan with your phone and download the Smart Music Card app to download the digital album. Considering all forms of media have become more digital and less analog over the years, this is a convenient way for fans to own a copy without it taking up too much space. The concept of SMini is also in line with the trinket craze that’s been prevalent throughout social media, making it an easy accessory to add to bags and even clothes.

SM has also released specific “keyring” versions of albums like NCT Wish’s Steady, Seulgi’s Accidentally On Purpose, and Hearts2Hearts Lemon Tang. Visually, these are different from SMinis because they’re not just mini versions of the album cover – they’re specifically designed shapes and objects that encapsulate an album’s theme and concept, but can also be used as keychains. For NCT Wish’s Steady, it’s a green star (an important and recurring element of the group’s identity) that emphasizes their cute and soft nature. For Seulgi’s Accidentally On Purpose, it’s a black car that somewhat resembles the Batmobile, but most likely represents her new, edgy style of that era. Like SMini, these keyrings are also digital albums that include a QR code to download the songs on your phone. At this point, you would think they’d already thought of everything, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

If there’s one thing SM Entertainment loves to do, it’s embrace the nature of music and album packaging. For aespa’s latest studio album, LEMONADE, the company released a “Can” version, which is literally an album shaped like a can of soda or lemonade. Aside from the QR code for the digital album, the can version also includes a 20-page photobook, sticker, magnet, and one of four possible photocards. Of course, this version costs more – $35.99 compared to the photobook version of $29.99 or the jewel case for $19.99 – but because it’s seen and treated as a collectible item, the pricing reflects that.

It’s this kind of originality, imagination, and reinvention that propels the K-pop industry, and SM in particular, as leading figures in physical album rollouts, and it’s clear there’s a lot of love for the art behind the scenes. While jewel cases, photobooks, and digipaks are more convenient, there’s nothing like a thoroughly well-designed and unconventional album design to keep fans guessing and add a little more fun to their album-collecting experience.