Whose packaging strategies are more evil?: J-Pop vs. K-Pop

I'm quite a content J-Pop and K-Pop fan, but I do have one beef: if you want to be a law abiding fan, it drains quite a bit of money. And that's not just shelling out money for the CDs themselves-- both genres have a way of making you pay for the exact same content twice, or for splurging on CDs with just a few songs on them. K-Pop in particular has spectacular packing where you get a lot of bang for your buck even on mini albums, but still, if you get completely hooked in, you're going to be saying goodbye to a lot of bucks to invest in merch.
But who is the most evil? Let's take a look:

J-POP

Why it rules: Say hello to your brand new photo album! J-Pop CDs aren't as photobook loaded as K-Pop albums (idols tend to release their longer photobooks separately), but you'll still find plenty of amazing photos in your brand new J-Pop album. If you're a Johnny's Entertainment fan, that's an extra special treat given the agencies tight rules on photographs of their celebs. Another selling point? J-Pop albums tend to be quite long in length, and you can probably get 16 songs out of your average J-Pop album rather than just the standard 10-12.

Why it is evil: One word: singles. Japanese artists do the classic tactic of releasing a single with B-sides, so if you don't invest in the single, you may end up not getting ahold of those songs any other way (and that includes Hallyu stars, too: even if you have SHINee's Boys Meet U, you may have missed out on tracks like "Sunny Day Hero" if you didn't get the singles). Then again, the artist in question may be pure evil and include the B sides on their next album anyways, so you just went ahead and paid for the exact same songs multiple times if you then buy the album. The other downside? You better believe that they will release Version As and Version Bs with different covers and oftentimes different content. If you're the "collect them all type"... good luck, my friend.

K-POP

Why it rules: The Korean music industry gives you plenty of reason to invest in albums, starting with the shape of the packaging itself. Very few albums are actually CD sized, but instead adapt to the shape and design of the photobook. In the case of TVXQ's SuriSuri release above, you get a playing card deck filled with 10 years worth of photos from HoMin's career! K-Pop albums can generally come with bonus DVDs, a photocard of a random member, postcards, and even sometimes up to 60+ pages worth of photos and lyrics! Mini-albums/single albums also offer photobooks in most cases to make splurging for 3 to 5 songs worth it. Most K-Pop artists are also kind and don't screw you over by putting the same songs on the mini on their full-length albums (but it has happened before in the past, looking at you, miss A, with all of I Don't Need a Man pretty much showing up on Hush). 

Why it is evil: Different versions of the CD per member, like with Big Bang's Still Alive having a different cover for each member, and a special member photobook inside. Repackaging. Having to shell out more money for almost the exact same songs just because they've added 1 to 2 new songs and changed the photobook (SM Entertainment, FU!) Version A and Version B... and Version C? Those sneaky times when you're so used to K-Pop packaging being so amazing so you buy a CD expecting it to be just as amazing and you wind up with a skinny little photobook that weighs like nothing because the industry has to keep you on your toes sometimes. Having your favorite artist releasing multiple mini albums/repackages in a year, forcing you to throw around money as if it's pouring from the sky (I'm glaring in the general direction of 2013, SHINee!). Oh yeah, and then there's the occasional special edition repackage that pops up with even more bonuses (bonuses are nice, spending money isn't). 

On an international level, K-Pop has a different environment from in Korea. We tend to be specially loyal to a token number of groups, but in general support quite a few of them. For me, there's only a handful of groups I don't like out of the huge pool. So when I go in a K-Pop store, I want EVERYTHING. I hardcore want the SHINee, TVXQ, and Big Bang stuff, but I also want all the U-KISS, NU'EST, Teen Top, B1A4, 2PM... maybe I should just stop.

Winner? Honestly, there's nothing like buying a J-Pop single and then having all the songs on the album appear on the next album without their being a special B side. I mean, getting the additional photos is nice and all, but... come on, at least give us exclusive B sides for investing our money! K-Pop repackages are also completely sinister, but you're pretty much guaranteed to get at least two new songs out of it, as well as a new photobook, so it's forgivable provided they deliver up the goods. Version A and Version B for both industries is just... no.

Final story: If you're an Asian music fan who actually likes to own the products... yeah, just don't get too attached to your money, okay? The industry will happily take it from you