Today I have a really fun Korean indie accessory brand to share with you~ 봄곰 Bomgom! If you like toys, random fun items, and have a playful style this brand is one you should definitely check out!  If this brand looks familiar to you it is because it is very popular with K-pop stars currently and makes appearances in many live performances music videos etc!

“My inspiration comes from toys from my childhood which I grew up with and became a part of me,  making me the person I am today. They were a friend to me and something that I felt the need to protect. When I grew out of some of the toys I felt I was losing energy and a part of my dreams as a child, in hopes to have them always close by and dream,  now you can always be with your toy ” ~ 봄곰

The brand name means “Spring Bear” and the lead designer is referred to online as 봄냥 Bomnyang (Miss Bear)

Bomgom has been selling accessories to the public since 2010!

After my original article a few months ago I was given the opportunity to meet with one of the 2 founders of  Bomgom and have a small interview with her to find out a bit more about her brand~ I was super excited because online they do not have a whole ton of info and I really just love meeting with creative people + business owners! Nara was equally excited as always!

Bomgom was founded by two friends, Kim Eun-jin and Lee Young-jin in 2012 originally as a small broach brand to make extra money for fun.  The first idea they had was to make accessories as inexpensively as possible and turn them for a profit, so they came up with the very clever idea of using free sample fabric squares from the wholesale markets here in Korea and crafting them into unique one of a kind pieces!  These pins became fairly popular and soon the newly founded store A-land took notice and put in orders to carry the pins at their original shop.

That same year A-land became very popular and quickly opened several locations around Korea,  Bomgom’s line came with them into every location~ this allowed them to expand the brand and think of new and more exciting products that they could uniquely craft for low cost~ that is when they came up with the idea to buy toy pieces & figures in bulk and use them to make special key chains and pins! All the pieces are hand crafted and designed by the 8 in house designers, so you will hardly ever see any exact duplicate pieces in BOMGOM~ each one is a little unique!

BOMGOM 봄곰 Motto:   Make your life a fun experience

The most popular item for Bomgom in terms of sales are the keyrings featuring the plastic bear Popobe……

…however celebrities seem to really love the key rings featuring actual my little pony dolls or larger plush figures hanging from them!!

Bomgom 봄곰 is unisex~ both boys and girls in Korea enjoy wearing the fun accessories.

my favorite one in the pile!  Rainbow stars, ice cream, pastel chunky chain~ what is not to love?

Piles of BOMGOM goodies at the brand’s DOOTA shop in Dongdaemun!! 

Cute character bracelets!

Due to the nature of these pieces being handmade, each one is a little unique and you never know what you will find!

are you feeling nostalgic yet? ♥

Perfect key chain for the fast food addict hehe

Super cool robot and lego headbands!

봄곰  cellphone straps for any inner-child ♥

It feels like wearing things I found at the bottom of my toy chest, I love that!

Nerdy Kewpie and nautical playmobile!

How to spot REAL BOMGOM Keychains while shopping in Korea!

Bomgom is often duplicated here in Korea since it is a fun idea and the parts are all toys~ however, while the fakes may be just slightly cheaper vs the real pieces, they are not made nearly as well! They use cheaper toys with ugly paint misprints usually, thin metal, and the pieces are not securely drilled into place on the keychain.  Bomgom’s owner informed us that they spend a lot of time to find the best possible way to drill and use toys in pieces they design, they want to make pieces that will hold together as best as possible.

♥ ♥ ♥

One way they have decided to finally combat with the rip-offs is by laser etching on the clip rings they use as well as incorporating a metal etched name tag on all new designs.  봄곰 is a bit expensive (around 20,000-50,000 per piece) so make sure you buy the real deal by looking for these things I have noted in the images above!

아이유 (I.U.), 설리(SULEE), and 소녀시대 (SNSD Girls generation) have been spotted in Bomgom goodies among others!

Helping Bomgom’s  growing popularity is the fact that current Korean K-pop is going through a wave of unique and colorful styles that worked perfectly with 봄곰~ celebs are often spotted in the brand (or similar imitations) in performances so shoppers flocked to buy their own pieces!  The brand is growing more and more every year and recently opened a shop location in the very popular Doota shopping center + has secured placement as various popular stores throughout Korea ~ even in shops like Joyrich abroad!

Most recent spotting was this month~ Right away I noticed Bomgom‘s handiwork on K-pop star Hyuna‘s necklace in her new single “Ice Cream“

봄곰 loves to use cute my little pony dolls with plastic light bulbs on larger designs! Love them!!

At some of the shop locations you can find flip books with other celeb and drama spottings for this brand as well!  Do you know of one or recognized something? Share below and I will add it to the post!

Feature in Korea Vogue Girl  of 봄곰 being used as a necklace and as a plush clip for your hat!  Oh recognize that rope and baby hand in the red photo? It is BPB another Korean indie brand I have featured here on the blog!

BOMGOM ~ DOOTA LOCATION VISIT

If you are visiting Korea or looking for the best place to buy Bomgom products, the main shop location at the popular Doota shopping center in Dongdaemun is where you need to go!  Bomgom is available in small numbers at several shop locations mainly around Seoul, but the main Doota shop has the very best selection and all the newest designs!

Bomgom’s shop is located in the DOOTA  building – B1 Floor booth #122 in Dongdaemun.

I will post directions to Doota and Dongdaemun in general in another dedicated post!

The shop itself is just a small corner booth like all the other brands here at Doota, but it is crammed FULL with goodies!  I had such a hard time picking my favorite and saw so many new toys worked into the designs here.

Bomgom broach and necklace showcased on a colorful knit sweater!

 phone straps and lots of fun quirky toys all around the booth!

BOMGOM  봄곰  HAUL

Where to buy 봄곰 Bomgom?

Bomgom is one of those smaller brands that has spread all around Korea, so I always seem to run into it at random while shopping since a wide range of shops carry it now. A few of the places it can be found depending on the current inventory are..

A-Land in 강남 , 홍대, and 명동 | 10×10 store in 대학로 | 교보문구 Kyobo Bookstore | DOOTA – B1 Floor booth #122 (BEST Location) | Kosney in Edae | Online at Lotte Magmile shop

Like I said above, I am sure many other places carry it~ but since bomgom does not have a proper listing I am just going by what is online!  If you spot it anyplace else worth adding please do let me know ♥

If you live overseas you can buy Bomgom at Joyrich in Tokyo, Osaka, Taiwan, and LA.

HUGE thank you to co-founder Kim Eun-jin for taking the time to sit down with us for some coffee and a lovely chat! Nara and I wish BOMGOM great success, we hope they continue to grow and are looking forward to what they have planned in the future as the expand the line.    Also thank yo for the gifts, because we freaking LOVE goodies ♥ especially amazingly awesome cute ones!!

Do you own any Bomgom goodies? What would you want if you could have anything from Bomgom? Where would you put it or how would you use it? ♥  I think the concept of keeping your precious toys close is really wonderful, whenever I see these pieces I do always smile! They seem to easily make any bag or backpack very cheerful and interesting for sure ^^

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