![]() ![]() Importing and reinstalling them in the right way cost him nearly 10 billion won ($851,063). To bring all the machines he needed from Nagoya, 16 shipping containers had to be used. "But it was very, very, difficult to get things started at the beginning," the 49-year-old said in recalling those early days. Shin, who had forged a relationship of trust and confidence with Watanabe for more than 10 years, said he offered to take over the business since he had always been over the moon about the premium chalk, which he used while working as a cram school teacher. The chalk grabs students' attention with its various crisp, fluorescent colors, Shin explained.įounded originally as Nihon Chalk Seizosho (Japan Chalk Factory) in 1932 in Nagoya, Hagoromo Bungu (Hagoromo Stationery) had been in the same family for three generations when Takayasu Watanabe, grandson of the founder, decided in 2014 to close the business due to poor health and also the absence of a successor. Indeed, teachers around the world love the brand as the chalk writes smoothly without having to press hard on the blackboard, is clearly visible, erases well, does not leave dusty residue on the hands and holds up through lectures without breaking.Įven in an age when whiteboards and computers are ubiquitous in classrooms, Hagoromo chalk has seen its popularity grow thanks to the huge market in the internet lecturing field in South Korea. Since being posted on May 2, the clip has garnered almost 10 million views. Orders from countries all over the world skyrocketed after a video clip, titled "Chalk of Champions," was posted on YouTube with several mathematics professors praising how perfect Hagoromo chalk is - one even going so far as to say that its special ingredient must be "angel tears." (Shin Hyung Seok, CEO of Sejongmall, is holding red-colored chalks on July 15, 2019.) ![]() "Orders from China are so large that our deliveries are getting delayed, and it's not like we can upgrade the machines to produce more as they're the exact machines that were brought over from Japan," said Shin Hyeong Seok, the CEO of Sejongmall Co., which is now the sole producer of Hagoromo. In a factory located in Pocheon, a city that is about 50 kilometers away from Seoul, 15 employees now work tirelessly to produce the chalk with "Hagoromo" printed on the side of each piece. Often described as "The Rolls Royce of chalk," Hagoromo once faced extinction in 2015, but the brand managed to survive and continue its history after a former cram school teacher in South Korea took over the business, importing the manufacturing know-how and equipment from Japan.
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