Seoul Kyobo Books

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There's a lot of souvenirs to choose from for those of you visiting Korea.

Kyobo Books is one place that you might want to check out! The Gwanghwamun branch is the largest Kyobo store where you'll find all sorts of cute stationary and art.

Let's take a look at our 2019 visit to the Gwanghwamun Kyobo Books!

Visiting Seoul Kyobo Books (Gwanghwamun)

I went on a weekday afternoon as it's usually packed on weekends or weekday evenings. But even on a weekday afternoon, there were still a lot of people around!

You'll be surprised at the scale of the bookstore once you head in through the stairs from the outside.

You'll see books all around and some tables where you can sit down and read.

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There's stationary on sale in one corner.

The section isn't huge, but there are all sorts of inexpensive and cute stationary to be found here!

The stuff here is so charming and cute, I found myself picking up a few things haha.

Highly recommend visiting the Gwanghwamun Kyobo while you're in Korea!

From basic pens to art supplies, Kyobo has all the writing tools you'll ever need. Looking for a specific brand? Probably at Kyobo.

Kyobo also has cards and stickers. Usually bookstores will have maybe a small wall or half an aisle for such items, but the Gwanghwa Kyobo has a huge selection.

You're bound to find a card or sticker that suits your tastes at Kyobo

Wouldya just look at these cute knick knacks?

Not only do they have larger brands and mass produced items, but they also have individual designers' products as well, all fairly inexpensive.

In all honesty, a lot of these things are pretty useless. But whatever, they're so cute!

Notebooks, paper tape, pendants, etc. are all available at this stationary heaven.

If you are a fan of animated shows or cartoons, you're going to be able to find products of your favorite characters here.

Unlike other stationary stores in Korea, Kyobo just carries products of various brands rather than make products themselves.

That's why you'll see so many characters and designers' products here.

If you've been searching for Kakao Friends merch, Kyobo has some as well! An entire section is dedicated to the Kakao brand.

The quality and designs of these products are pretty top notch.

The more interesting and unique products from smaller design brands are what make the Kyobo experience so fun; you can really understand the modern Korean aesthetics from these products.

Unique designs that artwork that you won't be able to easily find elsewhere.

Who knew that paper tape, book covers, notebooks, etc. could be so darn cute?!

Not all of them are going to be super useful, but honestly all this is for the fun and for the cute designs. There are tons of products to at Kyobo so do check it out for yourself!

There's a reason why stationary takes up so much of your Korean shopping budget.

The letters and postcard corner. Literally any style or design you could ever want, it's all here!

These are stamps and ink pads! Some of the stamps are in Korean, which could make for a unique souvenir.

And so many cute notebooks! They might look expensive, but they're actually quite cheap! The quality is very nice as well, most people always grab a couple when they're in Kyobo.

MARYMOND is a Korean brand that was created to support and spread awareness of the atrocities that the Korean comfort women had to go through during the Japanese occupation and its wars.

All profits go to the surviving comfort women, so pick some stuff up and support a great cause.

The paper tapes are another thing that Kyobo does well. Every fathomable design is probably here

A lot more variety and quality compared to the tapes in DAISO or ARTBOX!

So many cute ones.

BT21 products are also stocked at the Gwanghwamun Kyobo. Unfortunately, there weren't any LINE character products :(

Not even the official BT21 store has as much stationary and small, cute merch like there are in Kyobo!

Kyobo is less like a stationary store and more like a hodgepodge of cute designs and interesting brands curated for your viewing and shopping pleasure.

All for reasonable prices as well!

Kyobo has a very different vibe from DAISO or ARTBOX.

The artsy products are not entirely useless, a lot of them can be used for multiple purposes at your desk or in the office!

Seoul Kyobo Books: Gwanghwamun Branch (Main)

• Address: Jongro 1, Jongro-gu, Seoul
• Hours : 09:30 - 22:30

The Gwangwamun store is the main and the biggest Kyobo Books in Seoul.

There are other branches in Dongdaemun, Yongsan, Ehwa Univ. Cheongnyangni, and Gangnam, but none of them are as big as the Gwanghwamun store. That's why you should stop by Gwanghwamun if you can!

You've now taken a sneak peak at Korea's largest stationary/bookstore. Why not stop by Kyobo for a fun-filled afternoon eye shopping and actual shopping cute stationary?

Until next time!