Here’s a look at the new Seoulmonz blind-boxed wood figures (4.75”) from Korean toy brands Artopalo and KornSoul featuring eight colorful characters designs on a simple platform-style human shape. The character designs are inspired from Korean myth as well as contemporary culture, with a particular focus on the classical elements and the natural world. Hit the jump for photos of all eight Seoulmonz : Haechi Boy, Ice Ghost, Golden Bat, Giga Zilla, Fire Ghost, Blossom, Bellekenstein, & Tiger Man. For fun on the go, the figures come with an attachment to convert them into key chain toys.
From the fun character designs to the simplicity of the nearly flat wood form, Seoulmonz is
an impressive new series sitting between the world of design objects and art toys. While not completely novel, the approach definitely feels refreshing in a sea of ‘me-too’ blind-boxed offerings.
Seoulmonz was just released in Korea. While the artists behind this project, Sang Mok Ha (ArtoPalo) and Designer1EC (KornSoul) work on finding international resellers, your best bet to purchase these is probably through the KornSoul bigcartel site which offers them for $8 (+ s/h) each . There are also some amazing pictures of the toys on the designer1ec online store – but the shopping cart there is in Korean rather than English.
