SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Maybe another word should be added to the proverb “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. And the word would be “short” or “belligerent” given a study that has examined the correlation between play and growth. Researchers have found that when pigs are offered play tools, [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Sales of toys and functional foods are surging in South Korea as children stay home longer and people pay more attention to their health due to a prolonged new coronavirus scare, industry sources said Wednesday. Online shopping site Auction said its sales of toys for toddlers and children skyrocketed [...]
SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) – Geeks or otaku, a Japanese term for describing people with obsessive interests in particular fields, have emerged as major consumer groups in South Korea amid the prolonged economic slump, more likely to open up their wallets for their hobbies and passions. The retail industry has seen double-digit sales growth thanks [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – While auctions have become more accessible to the general public with their growing popularity online, men in their 30s have emerged as big spenders driving the growth of Korea’s online auction market. According to the latest data from Seoul Auction Blue, a local online auction firm, 30-something men currently [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – Action figures, radio-controlled cars, drones, board games, paper toys, videogames… you name it. The Kidult & Hobby Expo 2017 kicked off at Seoul’s COEX Thursday for a four-day run, featuring activities and playthings for children and adults, or “kidults.” Apart from the exhibition, the expo is also offering consulting [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Sonokong, one of Korea’s oldest toymakers, has sold a majority stake in its operations to Mattel, an American toy manufacturer best known for its Barbie dolls. Sonokong Chairman Choi Sin-gyu sold 11.99 percent of his shares to a Mattel affiliate, Mattel Marketing Holdings, for 13.9 billion won ($12.9 million), [...]
MOKPO, South Korea, Sept. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – A 37-year-old man in Mokpo has opened a café with some 1,000 action figures on display. Owner Park Young-wook’s impressive collection is valued at approximately 300 million won ($271,444), and it spans all the way from superheroes like Superman and Batman to real-life toy figures of celebrities [...]
DAEJEON, Aug. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Watching a grown man or woman playing with toys still isn’t a common sight, but if recent trends continue, it might soon well be. The so-called ‘kidult’ (kid + adult) market is rapidly expanding in Korea. With a current value of 700 billion won ($610 million), the market is [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of males purchasing indoor toys in 2016 rose more than 40 percent from a year ago, industry data showed Monday, suggesting that more fathers are choosing to play with their children at home. According to the country’s largest open market website Gmarket, male customers buying indoor toys, [...]
SEOUL, July 19 (Korea Bizwire) – Kidult or adultescent – newly coined portmanteaus that refer to adults who are interested in culture generally targeted to younger youths – have become popular marketing strategies for many retail industries. Food manufacturing companies are seeing the most benefit from targeting those with young minds. Italian confectionery company Ferrero’s Kinder [...]