Grade10 and Gana Art Launch ZZZ to Bring Trading Cards Into Seoul's Fine-Art World

Summary

Grade10 and Gana Art have formed ZZZ, a joint venture built to develop South Korea's trading card and collectibles ecosystemThe venture debuts during Seoul Art Week with THEMGOOD in Itaewon, headlined by a record-scale Van Gogh Pikachu installation and two rare complete setsThe launch arrives as South Korea's collectible-card-games market is projected to more than double by 2033

Grade10 and Gana Art have launched ZZZ, a joint venture aimed at placing trading cards inside South Korea's high-end art and collectibles world. The partnership makes its public debut with THEMGOOD, an exhibition opening in Itaewon during Seoul Art Week, that treats rare cards with the curatorial framing usually reserved for fine art.

The venture pairs two different kinds of expertise. Grade10, Asia's premier trading-card venture and a division of MemeStrategy, brings its footing in the card industry, while Gana Art contributes a curatorial perspective and an international cultural network. The stated aim is an integrated ecosystem spanning exhibitions and card festivals, collector-community programs, and trading services on and offline, built to serve a Korean collector base that both companies describe as increasingly sophisticated.

"ZZZ represents the next phase of Grade10's commitment to build durable collector infrastructure across Asia," said Ray Chan, Chief Executive Officer of MemeStrategy and Grade10, framing the venture as a bridge between Grade10's industry reach and Gana Art's cultural standing. The gallery, for its part, positions the effort as an extension of its curatorial mission. "Trading cards are a vibrant visual culture with global resonance, and South Korea has a discerning community ready to encounter this area in new ways," said Sierra Yun, Director of Marketing and Sales at Gana Art.

That ambition is anchored by the objects on show. THEMGOOD's centerpiece is a 500-card installation of "Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat" promos, each in PSA Gem Mint 10 condition, which Grade10 identifies as the world's largest display of the graded card by count. The promo originated in the Van Gogh Museum's 2023 collaboration with The Pokémon Company, marking the museum's 50th anniversary, and quickly became one of the era's most recognizable Pokémon cards. Alongside it sits a complete 50-card Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami set in PSA 10, shown publicly in South Korea for the first time and described as one of only three known complete sets worldwide, plus a complete 102-card 1996 first-edition Japanese Pokémon Base Set at the same top grade.

The timing tracks a fast-moving market. South Korea's collectible-card-games market is projected to grow from US$500 million USD in 2025 to US$1.28 billion USD by 2033, a compound annual growth rate of 12.5%, according to Straits Research, while Grand View Research separately calls trading cards the fastest-growing segment of the country's broader collectibles market. THEMGOOD also builds on Grade10 and Gana Art's recent work with Seoul Auction, which staged a high-end Pokémon-card exhibition and private sale in Seoul in July 2026, an early signal of the appetite ZZZ is now moving to serve.

THEMGOOD opens with an invitation-only reception in Itaewon on September 3 during Seoul Art Week, with a private showcase to follow later this year.

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