Kim Sung Kyu: 10 Stories 1st Full Album (Normal Edition) Review

February 26, 2018 marks Infinite's Sung Kyu's first comeback in almost 3 years! He released his first full album, 10 Stories, with a Normal Version and a Big Size Limited Version. I previously blogged about the differences between both versions here, and my next post will be my unboxing of the limited version.

The Normal Version is quite large compared to Sung Kyu's previous albums. This version has dimensions 7.125" by 10.3125" x 0.375". The album is in the format of a photobook with the covers made of a matte cardstock.

The back cover contains the tracklist.

While it's not advertised in the product description, I believe the photo from the first 2 pages is also random, with 4 total designs.

This image is also included later on in the photobook.

The photobook also contains a 2-page spread with the tracklist and song credits of all 10 songs. I'm so happy that Sung Kyu once again worked with his idol Kim Jong Wan from the band Nell for all the tracks. Even more, I'm so proud that Sung Kyu worked on almost all of these songs, 8 out of 10 tracks.

The photobook contains roughly 72 pages, with photos from 4 photoshoots. I find this album especially close to home because the "True Love" music video along with many of these photos were shot in Hong Kong. Above our photos from 2 of the photoshoots.

Here is a photo from another photoshoot. I like how the formatting is different for every page, making each 2-page spread more unique and interesting.

Here is a photo from the last photoshoot.

Each song has 1 page dedicated for the lyrics. I like how they're titled "1/10", "2/10",...indicating the track number out of 10 stories.

It's interesting how the photos have a fraction nearby, indicating the the photo this is out of the 53 photos included in the photobook. Under the above photo is "27/53".

Towards the end is a page dedicated to the album credits.

The last 2 pages contains Sung Kyu's Thanks To message.

Slipped inside the photobook are both the photocard and postcard.

Both the Normal and Limited versions contain 1 random photocard out of 5 designs. 3 of the photocards are from the above photoshoot, which aren't included in either version photobooks. The photocard has a glossy finish and is the same size as photocards from 24 Hours and Top Seed (including the roundness of the corners).

Here is the backside of the photocard. It's always so hard trying to read Sung Kyu's writing!

Only the Normal Version contains a postcard. There are a total of 3 postcard designs. The dimensions are 4.125" by 5.8125".

Here is the backside of the postcard. The postcard is translucent, and is made of a glossy plastic material.

The very last page contains the CD, slipped in a folder. The back cover is made of a thicker cardstock than the front cover. Be careful, the CD can still slip out, like it did for me while I first opened the album.

Here is how the CD looks like placed properly in its casing.

Here is how the CD looks like.

Overall, I'm really happy with the quality and quantity of Sung Kyu's 10 Stories Normal Version album. The photobook contains so many beautiful photos, the inclusions are a nice bonus, and the tracks showcase Sung Kyu's voice and passion for music.

Kim Sung Kyu: 10 Stories 1st Full Album Ordering and Version Comparison

Sung Kyu has come back as a soloist after almost 3 years, with his first full album 10 Stories on February 26th, 2018! There are 2 versions: the Normal Version and the Big Size Limited Version. I'm so proud that the limited version was sold out very quickly during pre-orders; I hope Sung Kyu knows just how successful he his, no matter his original thoughts while debuting with Another Me.

Ordering From YesAsia

I was hesitant on where to order both versions, and the limited version was selling out so quickly during the pre-order period. I was worried that Ktown4u would ask for additional shipping fees again. In the end, I pre-ordered from YesAsia because even though they're usually ridiculously more expensive, this time the albums totaled to about the same price as other sellers after shipping. The normal version was $27.99 USD and the limited version was $46.99 USD, and there was free shipping with tracking for orders over $39 USD. My package shipped on February 28th and arrived on March 10th.

My albums arrived wrapped in one layer of bubblewrap inside a cardboard box. The albums themselves are quite solid, so I thought my albums would arrive in practically perfect condition. I was naive, especially when the last time I ordered from YesAsia my albums arrived too damaged that I had to exchange them. This time, they stacked the two albums together, with no protection in between. The edge of the front cover of the normal version pushed out a rivet from the limited version, clearly damaging both albums.

Here you can see how the album was damaged inside the factory seal. I was so disappointed for both albums to arrived unnecessarily damaged due to poor packaging, and especially because the limited version is now sold out.

Luckily I was able to reapply the rivet and paper disk, though I had to rip the disk a bit to make it work. I'm still upset that both albums were damaged due to poor packaging, but I'm glad that all the pieces are now intact.

Version Comparison
I will create separate review posts for each version, however I wanted to offer a general comparison of the two versions here as well.

First of all, both versions are quite large! The normal version on the left has dimensions 7.125" by 10.3125" x 0.375" while the limited version on the right has dimensions 9" by 12.25" by 0.875".

Secondly, here is a breakdown of the goods included in each version:

Inclusions	Normal	Limited
Photocard (of 5 designs)	1	1
Postcard (of 3 designs)	1	0
Film Strip	0	1
Internal Poster	0	3

Each album comes with 1 photocard out of 5 designs.

The normal version also includes 1 postcard out of 3 designs.

The limited version includes a film strip and 3 internal, folded posters.

The CD-R is also different across the versions. The orange disc is from the normal version while the blue disc is from the limited version.

First press albums may also include 1 of 2 external posters, which I don't have.

I usually compare if photos from the inclusions or one version are in the other version. However because the inclusions and photobooks from both versions are so different, even in the photos are the same, I deem them to be unique enough that I would want both versions anyways.

Overall, I'm so happy to have gotten both versions of 10 Stories. Both versions are unique and contain different contents, therefore I can't choose between the two. I wish Sung Kyu much success and for future releases as a soloist!