Toy Land, Toy Land: A visit to Ipark Gundam Base
No matter how old I get or where I am in the world, there is a certain magic in the air of a toy store. The bright lights and even brighter displays are by nature designed to entice you into spending as much time and money as possible before leaving.
Call me sold.
I am no stranger to the Toys ‘r Us’ and Disney Stores of the world. There are many toys that are enjoyed by people internationally – I’m looking at you, Pokemon – but I wanted to see toys that had a more regional popularity. A visit to Gundam Base in iPark Mall quickly taught me that I am living in the toy capital of the world. My regional toys are the toys that become globally popular.
Gundam Base is a hobby shop mostly dedicated models of the toy robot mechs known as Gundams. For those who might not know, Gundam is a science fiction franchise created by Tomino Yoshiyuki in the late 1970s. Each iteration of Gundam features a differing plot but the base story line of fighting evil (usually military-related) forces with kick-ass, giant fighting robots remains unchanging.
The quality of these toys is extremely impressive – as is the price tag on some of them. One giant Gundam kept in a display case near the front cost 300,000₩ (~$250). And you would still have to put it together yourself! I lack the patience to do some of the beautiful work some hobbyists can do with building and painting models, but nonetheless I enjoyed looking at the displays. Having gone through a Gundam phase as a teenager I was pleasantly surprised to see some robots I recognized from the few series’ that ran through my childhood. A child of the 90s, I grew up with G Gundam and Gundam Wing, but it seemed that there were models from the oldest conception of the franchise until now.
A $250 Gundam model. Can you get insurance on these things?
Gundam Base is not limited to figures from the Gundam series. Even someone with only the basic knowledge of Japanese animation would recognize most of the figures filling the numerous glass cases. Dragon Ball Z characters, long loved since their debut in comic book form in the late 80s, shared a case with the more modern but just as loved cast of Naruto. There was an entire aisle dedicated to models of various forms of Yokai Watch’s mascot, Jibanyan. I’m not sure what Jibanyan is or what he’s all about, but kids here LOVE him.
Not wanting to leave empty-handed, but also not wanting to break the bank, I settled into the back corner of the shop to play the coin machines. I’m not sure what you call them in English (capsule machines? Toy vending machine?) because I’ve only ever called them by their Japanese name – gachapon – but in Korean they’re called 뽑기 (bbohp gi, meaning to choose). Gundam Base had two types of these machines: ones you could pay for with regular coins and ones you had to exchange money for special coins to operate. I opted for the regular machine while a friend went all out for the special coins. Each Gundam Base coin cost 1,000₩ and each machine took about 3 coins per roll. The normal machines cost between 2-3,000₩ to use, so I’m not sure what the distinction is between the two machines. Both had toys of the same quality. While my friend went for a collection of cute cat toys from the special machines, I focused my attention (and paycheck) on collecting the entire set of Harry Potter figures. They were too cute to resist.
In the end, I left with a full set and an empty wallet.
With our hands full of capsule balls, we called it a day at Gundam Base. I should not have been surprised, having grown up in America with Pokemon, Digimon, Dragon Ball, and Sailor Moon, to find that Japan dominates the toy market in Korea as well. The beloved Korean characters that I know of – Dooly and Pororo and Friends – seem catered to a much younger audience. Kindergarten students love these characters. Perhaps with the popularity of Japanese animation franchises, Korean animation aimed for a different market? Whatever the reason, toy shops in Korea are a fascination place.
And a place where it is very easy to blow your money.
