Stationery brands showcase tactile experiences at SISOFAIR 2026 in Seoul

The 37th SISOFAIR was held from October 22 to 24 at COEX Hall B in Samseong-dong, Seoul, where long-standing brands like Peace Korea and Morris offered hands-on writing experiences to counter the rise of digital office environments.

The 37th SISOFAIR 2026 was held from October 22 to 24 at COEX Hall B in Samseong-dong, Seoul, hosted by the Korea Stationery Industry Cooperative. First held in 1987, this event is now in its 37th year, aiming to develop sales channels, promote exports, and distribute new products within the domestic stationery and office supply industry.

The organizers sought to revitalize the domestic stationery manufacturing industry and connect with overseas buyers by combining B2B buyer consultations with B2C consumer experiences. As mobile devices and paperless office environments become more widespread, participating companies designed exhibition spaces that allowed visitors to directly verify the functions of physical products and the features of new releases.

Within the exhibition hall, stationery brands with long histories introduced their flagship products and manufacturing technologies. Peace Korea, known for its Peace staplers, decorated its booth with the blue and yellow colors symbolizing the brand and featured a large electronic display highlighting "SINCE 1959." The company also included a demonstration of its representative "No.33" stapler production on-site. Amid the spread of digital office environments, the booth was configured to emphasize product durability, basic functions, and a long manufacturing history.

While the number of participating companies has decreased compared to its peak, familiar brands such as Morris, Formtec, and Sejong Mall (Hagoromo chalk) filled the exhibition space.

Contrary to assessments that the need for paper and pens has diminished due to the proliferation of mobile devices, the experience booths revealed significant interest from visitors in handwriting and physical tools. The Morris booth saw a steady stream of visitors participating in programs to manually mix ink colors and assemble writing instruments. Sejong Mall recreated a lecture environment using chalk and blackboards, allowing visitors to experience the unique smooth writing feel of chalk. Separate from the convenience of digital tablets or mobile note-taking apps, the core of these booths was the experience of comparing the writing feel of different products by writing directly with ink or moving chalk.

In one corner of the exhibition, innovative products that applied new functions and designs to existing physical tools drew attention. Wippy Wippy presented a paper blackboard that can be written on and erased multiple times through special paper surface processing. K JUMP exhibited wire jump ropes and functional jump ropes. These products represent a segmentation of utility by combining technology and design with existing daily necessities. Efforts to expand the scope of stationery into daily consumer goods were also visible at the Heroes Entertainment booth, which integrated characters and intellectual property (IP) into stationery, and at the Formtec Market, where sticker and label papers were displayed like a market.

An official from a participating company stated, "As publishing and office environments rapidly digitize, the scale of B2B orders for traditional stationery is on a downward trend every year, but writing instruments and precision office supplies in specific professional fields maintain a fixed demand base." The official added, "In response to this change in demand, we are actively seeking differentiation in materials and brand renewals, as consumers in their 20s and 30s are increasingly looking for analog tools to write by hand due to fatigue from using digital devices."

From the perspective of startups and early-stage companies, this exhibition served as an opportunity to examine the sustainability of manufacturing-based businesses, which differ from platform models pursuing rapid high growth. The exhibits of participating companies, which have long emphasized basic functions and durability, provided reference cases for early-stage companies in the stationery and daily necessities sectors. This is because, rather than short-term product planning based on trends, there is a need to allocate initial resources to verifying original utility and durability.

Furthermore, for startups that find it difficult to equip large-scale mass production facilities, such offline industry exhibitions can serve as a testing ground to seek B2B sales channels while directly confirming consumer reactions and opinions. Rather than excessive outward expansion, a 'small but solid survival strategy'—securing unique technology or design patents in niche areas and reaching the break-even point early—presents a realistic alternative for early startup teams.

Regarding exhibition operations, the smaller booth scales and limited influx of visitors compared to past large-scale general consumer goods exhibitions remained a point of regret. Although analog tastes, such as retro trends, diary decorating, and handwriting, have emerged as consumption trends centered around Gen Z, the exhibition failed to sufficiently connect these to the exhibition configuration and promotion. Due to a lack of planned spaces to induce visits from young consumers and a lack of marketing utilizing online word-of-mouth, the event showed limitations in broadening the audience beyond traditional stationery distribution industry professionals.

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