GUEST POST: Top 5 Most Wanted Korean Toys

In the world of Korean toy collecting, there is a hierarchy or a most desired list. What’s that you say? "I didn’t even know there were Korean toy collectors let alone desirable Korean toys!" Well, desirability does depend entirely on personal taste, but rest assured, South Korean manufacturers have made some really bright and fantastical plastic eye-candy over the years.

Yeah, that’s right. We’re talking plastic. Macho robo-plastic. Many hardcore toy collectors can only get excited over die cast stuff, and that usually means the Japanese made toys, but I think the plastic stuff that came out of South Korea during the ‘pali-pali’ (rush-rush or hurry-hurry) development period from the 70’s to the early 90’s tells far more stories and is infinitely more revealing.

Archaeologists love finding toys from bygone civilizations because the toys can reveal much. The more advanced and technological the toy, the more advanced the society and culture. When it comes to toys from the 'pali-pali era', we’re looking at an old culture embracing the new by leaping into the industrial era. You’re also glimpsing South Korea’s first efforts at embracing the technological. Heck, might sound like bunk to read this, but you gotta remember that Samsung is now the worlds biggest electronic consumer goods maker after knocking Sony from that spot in 2006. South Korea’s economic miracle is mirrored in its animation industry and the history of Korean animation is mirrored in its toys. Okay, don’t wanna bore you too much.

For now, let’s focus on some of the most desirable toys ever made in South Korea. Feel free to disagree and argue the merits of one over another if you want.

TOP 5 MOST WANTED KOREAN TOYS:

5. Superman Knock-Off. Coming in at number 5 on the list, I place the great knock-off of Superman made by the Hyundai Tongsan Company. Now, Hyundai Tongsan were great in that they made the most lavish and oversized boxes for what were often, somewhat larger than normal toys--these guys here come in at around 45cm in height. Hyundai Tongsan, with their stolen image of either Duey or Luey (the green hatted one), made bootlegs of just about anything South Korean kids were watching which really adds to their desirability. Heck, I’d rather have a badboy bootleg than some sterile approved toy merchandise any day.

Superman and Atom

There were three characters in this series (Atom, Ultraman and Superman) and the Ultraman is still to be found on the shelves of some Moombangoo (toy store/stationary stores) in the outer provinces. The thing that makes them so desirable is that they were the same body mould with different heads/color scheme applied to each figure. This meant that things didn’t fit--so Atom (or Astroboy if you wish) has feet, a huge round melon head and a bulging groin! The superman is arguably the rarest because for some reason the plastic quality on the Supermen was very poor and they crumble to bits in the box.

4. Taekwon V 90: jumbo sized with all the extras. This toy is really quite desirable and has lured a few collectors of Japanese toys over just because of the many parts that it came with. I sold a few of these a few years back for around U.S. $300 each but I’d bet they would fetch quite a bit more now as I recently parted with this smaller version pictured here for the same price.

Robot Taekwon V 90

Taekwon V is arguably the most important Korean cartoon character ever created and while this robot is a latter version from around 1990, anything to do with the Taekwon V series of films is incredibly collectable and desirable within South Korea.

King of the Kings

3. King of the Kings. One of only 4 Jumbo Machinders known to have ever been made in South Korea (yes, there is a variant of this guy and then there’s the Go Lion). What makes this guy desirable is that he has Taekwon V styled horns/helmet slapped onto a Japanese styled God Sigma robot character toy. Current estimates value him at around $600 U.S. – that’s about $10 per centimeter in height.2. Super Taekwon V (pink box). Whew, hold your breath here, because you won’t believe what the last one of these was listed at on Korean ebay--a staggering 5 million Won --approximately 5K U.S.! Yep, granted the toy collecting community screamed that the seller was ‘pabo’ (fool), and other colorful phrases denoting he was living in a dreamland, but these have definitely sold before for around the 2 million won mark. Why? Once again it goes back to being a Taekwon V toy. Anything Taekwon V or Wooroemae in South Korea is collectable and with this, you’re looking at one of the first official toys of Taekwon V ever made. Taekwon V mania was absolutely huge in the late 70’s in South Korea and the mania continues to this day.Unfortunately, I’ve lost the picture of the pink box Super Taekwon V toy. This Super Taekwon V toy is from the same era and approaching the same price now. This picture is from recent gallery display in London/New York hosted by the Korea Society.

1. Korean made Jumbo Machinder circa 1975-76. The great lost treasure--heck, it’s so rare I wouldn’t dare even suggest a price. Nobody has seen one of these since the 1970’s.It stands at 65cm tall and is really a knock off Grandizer character, but heck, only one hardcore Taekwon V fan in Seoul claims to have owned one of these as a kid--he showed me a picture of him and his Taekwon V bicycle from when he was about 8 years old in Seoul in 76 and he then explained that he owned this jumbo toy as a child as well. I heard another Korean toy collector sigh under his breath after viewing the picture of said collector with original Taekwon V bicycle, words to the effect of ‘he was spoilt.’

Guest Post by: Alex Powell

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Midodok: I would like to thank Alex for contributing the very first guest post here on Korea & Animation. Alex is an avid collector of Korean animation memorabilia and really knows his stuff! He is also a frequent commenter here who often leaves very insightful contributions in the comments section (check them out!).