Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ms.catbc]

How do you all feel about Korean Stationary?!

[Skippy]

Cheap - good.
Design - crappy.

God I will kill for some basic stationary, some nice notebooks that do not have a silly fake character or a photo scene with some badly translated English. A pocket notepad that has one color. A pencil sharpener that is not designed like bloody train or house. Do all pencils have to have hello kitty. I mean where is that manly stationary or plain functionary stationary.

[ms.catbc]

Let me re-word my question

For those of you who have gone back to your home country for good or just to visit...did you miss being able to buy cute stationary at a cheap price or were you relieved that you could buy your regular black anonymous notebook.

for those of you with kids...do you appreciate that there is more choice to offer your children when buying their school supplies?

I have noticed that, in Canada, stationary is expensive and fairly boring.

What about all the paper shops in Insadong?

[ms.catbc]

any more thoughts? anyone?

[lille]

sheesh, that skippy character sounds like a real curmudgeon. i think the stationary here is hilarious. it's great for writing letters home, and i love how many silly and arbitrary purposes some of the notebooks seem to have. to-do list books with flip-page animations inside, "housekeeping" budget books with weekly expenditure slots in over-the-top pastel shades smeared over every page, pages of stickers of world cuisine that you assemble ingredient by ingredient onto sticker tables? that stuff is gold. i'll never tire of it.

[schwa]

Stationery goods in Korea are a serious good deal.
Choice, quality, & price.

[neandergirl]

While I occassionally miss the cheaper prices, I don't miss the cheap quality (not in everything but I was often frustrated by poor quality pens/ink). I appreciate being able to buy stationary that isn't cartoonish or overly decorative.

Can't speak for everywhere in Canada/North America but in our neck of the woods the schools prefer plain "boring" notebooks and supplies justifying it by saying it's less disruptive in class when all students have the same material. My kids aren't in school yet, but being limited to Hilroy hasn't bothered my neices and nephews, and the 'funny/cute' stuff I sent is generally only found at the back of their closets.

[lille]

I loved those Hilroy cahiers. The plain covers and muted colours looked great under endless ballpoint pen doodles. One regret about the excessive frills of the books here - no doodle room. The horror.

[flakfizer]

[tzechuk]

There would be a lot less walking into each other, or fighting for seats on the subway, or people crowding all the major shopping malls/supermarkets during weekends and major holidays.

It'd be quite blissful, I should imagine.

[ms.catbc]

what about hanji? handmade paper?

[ChilgokBlackHole]

[tzechuk]

[orangepostit]

There is funny stationary, stuff with engrish written all over it, cute stuff and gorgeous stuff.

I love that I can pick up a nice, hardcovered, tabbed notebook and have it cost 5000 won.

I love the selection.

I love how many funny, cute and pretty things I can find in the right stationary stores (you do need to hit up the big ones to find the nice stuff).

[chris_J2]