SK Telecom distributes Magikarp promo cards to mark Pokémon's 30th anniversary

SK Telecom will distribute Magikarp promo cards to all 110,000 participants in the Pokémon Run Online Challenge organized by Pokémon Korea.

Starting Tuesday, SK Telecom will hand out the Pokémon 30th anniversary Magikarp promo cards at 520 T World stores across the country and at T Factory. All 110,000 participants who completed a 1-kilometer running mission during the Pokémon Run Online Challenge held in June are eligible. To prevent crowding, SK Telecom will operate an online reservation system so visitors can pick up their cards without confusion.

According to SK Telecom, the challenge was held online so Pokémon fans across the country could celebrate the franchise's 30th anniversary together. It drew about 110,000 participants, and the running app Runday, through which the challenge was conducted, also saw 100,000 users join. The company said the event's popularity was evident from the flood of running verification posts shared on social media from locations across the country.

SK Telecom will use its nationwide T World store network to distribute the Magikarp promo cards. Eligible recipients will receive a text message with a link through which they can designate a pickup location — either one of the 520 T World stores or T Factory in Seongsu-dong, Seoul — and reserve a visit date.

To spread out visitor traffic, SK Telecom will accept reservations from Tuesday through Aug. 31, a period of roughly two months. Only the registered applicant may collect the reward, and a valid ID is required.

SK Telecom has also dressed all 520 T World stores and T Factory in a Pokémon theme, aiming to make the moment customers receive their Magikarp promo card a memorable one. Store exteriors are decorated with Magikarp and Gyarados characters to serve as photo backdrops, and the company will hold events giving away Pokémon prizes including keyrings, parasols and portable fans.

T Factory will also open a dedicated "Pokémon Mini Forest" space through Aug. 31, featuring sculptures of Pikachu and other iconic characters where visitors can explore the Pokémon world. The space is open to all visitors, not just reward recipients. SK Telecom customers can use a free luggage storage service at the venue and receive one complimentary drink at the T Factory lounge, with the benefit extending to one accompanying guest.

"We have prepared not only a convenient way for reward recipients to collect their promo cards, but also the joy of encountering Pokémon throughout T World stores," said Koo Hyeon-cheol, head of SK Telecom's sales and marketing division. "We will continue to run promotions that offer customers a fresh kind of fun, turning T World into a space people want to visit."