South Korea to Honor Faker With 140,000 Commemorative Stamp Sheets on October 23

Six World Titles, Two Stamp Sheets and a Rare Honor

South Korea will issue 140,000 commemorative stamp sheets honoring Lee Sang-hyeok, the League of Legends player known as Faker, on October 23. The release brings his six World Championship victories into an unusual form of national recognition: a postal tribute to a living esports competitor.

The collection has two sheet designs, each containing 10 stamps, with 70,000 sheets of each design planned. That amounts to 1.4 million stamps across the sheet issue. Korea Post will also release 40,000 commemorative albums, extending the collection beyond postage into a keepsake built around the career of the 30-year-old T1 player.

Faker is the first esports player in South Korea to receive an individual commemorative stamp issue. The recognition follows a commemorative coin from the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation and the Cheongnyong Medal, the highest class of the Order of Sport Merit, presented by President Lee Jae Myung in January.

Why a Living Player Qualified

South Korea generally does not issue commemorative stamps featuring living people, apart from presidential inauguration issues. Exceptions can be made for people recognized for contributions to national prestige, culture, the arts or sport. Faker's selection rests on that exception, rather than a general abandonment of the usual practice.

Korea Post chief Park In-hwan said Faker had raised South Korea's standing internationally and qualified for the honor. The selection process also received unusually strong support from the committee responsible for reviewing proposed commemorative issues.

Shin Jae-yong, head of Korea Post's stamp design office, said almost all of the 20 committee members supported the proposal. The committee includes historians, professors and specialists from other fields. Shin said he had wondered how familiar its members would be with professional gaming, making the strength of their support particularly meaningful to him.

That vote provides a concrete measure of recognition beyond the esports audience. Faker's achievements were accepted by a body whose task is to decide which people and events merit a place on the country's stamps.

Two Designs Trace Two Championship Eras

The first sheet, titled The Beginning of a Legend, follows Faker's early career from his professional debut and first world title in 2013 through 2016. It brings together early championship moments and imagery associated with the League of Legends characters Ahri and Yone.

The second sheet, titled A Myth Beyond Legend, focuses on championship moments from 2023 through 2025 and includes imagery featuring Galio and Sylas. Together, the sheets connect his arrival as a young champion with the later run of three consecutive world titles.

League of Legends players compete using playable characters called champions, each with different abilities. Including those characters alongside portraits and trophy celebrations ties the stamps to the game itself, rather than presenting Faker only as a public figure outside competition.

The two sheets are selective, not a complete annual record. Their focus on 2013 to 2016 and 2023 to 2025 gives the collection two distinct chapters, allowing the early victories and the later championship streak to carry the story.

How the Artwork Was Chosen

Korea Post began preparing the issue in spring 2026. Designers in its stamp design office submitted competing proposals internally, and Kim Mi-hwa's work was selected for the final collection.

The artwork uses black and red as its main colors, with portraits of Faker celebrating victories and receiving awards. Horn shapes refer to his nickname, the Unkillable Demon King. That detail translates an identity familiar to gaming fans into a visual feature that can work on a small printed stamp.

Shin said the designers sought to make the championship moments memorable and described the two sheets as having exceptionally forceful colors compared with previous issues. The design therefore combines recognizable sporting scenes with imagery drawn from Faker's public persona.

The character selections, championship photographs and contrasting periods also give the two sheets different content. Collectors seeking the complete set of 20 stamp designs will need both, rather than two copies of the same sheet.

What Collectors Can Buy

The release includes the two stamp sheets, commemorative albums and other related products. Korea Post describes the collection as comprising 10 product types, including the album. That product count is separate from the 20 individual stamp designs distributed across the two sheets.

The album edition is limited to 40,000 copies. It contains a specially designed Ahri envelope and four stamps selected at random from the 20 designs. The random selection means album buyers should not assume that every copy contains the same combination.

The envelope is described as a first day cover, a collectible envelope associated with the first day a stamp is issued. Its appeal is different from that of an unused sheet: it preserves the release as a postal occasion as well as a set of images.

Shin expects the albums to sell out quickly. He said inquiries began after photographs of stamp images briefly visible during exhibition preparations appeared online. That is evidence of early interest, but his prediction is not a confirmed sales result.

The randomized contents could encourage some collectors to buy several albums in pursuit of different combinations. With only four of the 20 designs included in each album, one purchase does not provide the full design set.

October 23 Sales and a Seoul Exhibition

The stamps and related products are scheduled to go on sale on October 23 through Korea Post's online store and post offices. Reports differ on the physical sales network: one describes availability nationwide, while another specifies designated post offices. Buyers should therefore check whether their intended branch will carry the issue.

A special Faker exhibition has also opened at the Korea Postage Stamp Museum inside Seoul Central Post Office. Faker attended the opening and received the commemorative stamps in a presentation ceremony.

The exhibition includes stamps, player uniforms and other memorabilia, alongside videos of major career moments and an interactive gaming area. It gives visitors a way to connect the printed collection with the competition and equipment behind it.

Park In-hwan, chief of Korea Post, described the museum's intended role in attracting visitors and supporting stamp culture:

“We will continue working through special commemorative stamp exhibitions to develop the museum into a tourist attraction and a space for stamp culture that draws visitors from Korea and abroad,” said Park In-hwan, CEO of the Korea Post.

The stated ambition is broader than selling the issue. Korea Post wants the exhibition to bring both Korean and international visitors into a museum built around postal history and collecting.

The Career Behind the Recognition

Faker debuted professionally in 2013 and has remained with T1 throughout a career described as spanning 13 years. His record includes six League of Legends World Championships, 10 League of Legends Champions Korea titles and two Mid-Season Invitational titles.

These are separate competitions. The World Championship is the game's main global title event, the LCK is South Korea's domestic league, and the Mid-Season Invitational brings together leading teams from different regions. The figures show success at both domestic and international levels.

His three consecutive world titles from 2023 through 2025 account for half of his six world championships. That makes the second stamp sheet a record of sustained recent success, not simply a later addition to an early career tribute.

Faker also became the first inductee into the League of Legends Hall of Legends in 2024. Reports accompanying the stamp announcement credit him with Asian Games gold at Hangzhou in 2023 and a successful title defense at Aichi-Nagoya in 2026.

The main milestones leading to the issue are:

• 2013: Professional debut and first League of Legends World Championship title.
• 2023: Asian Games gold at Hangzhou and the start of three consecutive world titles.
• 2024: First induction into the League of Legends Hall of Legends.
• 2025: Third consecutive world title, bringing his total to six.
• January 2026: First esports recipient of the Cheongnyong Medal.
• Spring 2026: Korea Post begins preparing the commemorative stamps.
• October 23: Scheduled release of the stamp collection.

Faker Plans to Give the Stamps to His Grandmother

For Faker, the tribute has a personal destination before it becomes a collector's item. He said he planned to give the stamps first to his grandmother, who supported his ambition to become a professional esports player.

He said he had never imagined, when beginning his career, that his face would appear on a stamp. He expressed gratitude for the congratulations and said the recognition brought a strong sense of responsibility.

Faker also drew a connection between esports and stamps as ways of bringing people together. He hoped the issue would attract more interest in both and create opportunities for people to convey affection and care.

His response places the tribute in a different setting from the championship images. The collection celebrates public achievements, while his intended first gift acknowledges the family support behind the career.

Stamps Become Cultural Collectibles

The Faker issue follows Korea Post's use of BTS and Blackpink as stamp subjects. Shin described a change in the role of stamps: postal use has declined, while collectors in South Korea and abroad increasingly seek issues connected with Korean music, games and other cultural exports.

In that setting, a stamp remains a postal product but also becomes an official collectible. The Faker release illustrates the distinction through its limited albums, character artwork, randomized contents and accompanying museum exhibition.

An earlier announcement added Faker to an annual program described as containing 17 commemorative issues. Other themes included Jeju Island's oreum volcanic hills, the children's animation Princess Catch! Teenieping, the KBO League and independence activist Kim Gu. The range places competitive gaming alongside landscape, entertainment, sport and national history.

Korea Post is also discussing designs for a KPop Demon Hunters commemorative issue targeted for 2027. That proposal has passed the issuance review stage, and an accompanying exhibition is under consideration. Its final artwork and exhibition arrangements have not been announced.

For the Faker release, the central production figures and October 23 sales date are stated, but prices, purchase limits and the exhibition's closing date are not specified. Reports also describe an earlier Monday announcement and a later announcement on the 10th, identified elsewhere as Saturday, without establishing the date of the earlier notice. Those should not be treated as one announcement.

At a Glance

• Korea Post plans to release Faker's commemorative stamps on October 23.
• Two designs will each have 70,000 sheets of 10 stamps, totaling 140,000 sheets and 1.4 million stamps.
• A separate edition of 40,000 albums includes an Ahri envelope and four randomly selected stamp designs.
• Faker is South Korea's first esports player to receive an individual commemorative stamp issue.
• The artwork covers early championship moments and his three consecutive world titles from 2023 through 2025.
• A special exhibition at Seoul Central Post Office features memorabilia, career videos and an interactive gaming area.
• Sales are planned through Korea Post's online store and post offices, though reports differ on branch availability.
• Faker plans to give the stamps first to his grandmother.