Monami

nami Co., Ltd

Company type	Public
Founded	1960
Founder	Song Samseok
Headquarters	Yong-In Si 1 , South Korea
Key people	Song Ha gyoung, CEO2
Products	Office supplies
Subsidiaries	4
Website	monami.com

Monami Co., Ltd (KRX: 005360) is a Korean maker of stationery, printer supplies, office supplies, pens and other writing instruments as well as artist materials.³ Founded in 1960,⁴ it continues to hold considerable market share in its home market, South Korea.⁵ The name of the company, sometimes written as MonAmi, derives from "Mon ami" ("My friend" in French) and alludes to the philosophy of the company to serve its clients as a friend.⁶ Recently Monami has made many limited editions. Some of the edition motivated by the Korean poem.

A symbol of daily post-war life in Korea, Monami's basic pen has continuously been on sale since its inception in 1963⁷ and is recognizable by nearly everyone in Korea.⁸ In 2009 this pen was noted by the government-run Korea Design Foundation as a design that has significantly influenced daily life in Korea.⁷ 3.3 billion have been sold, and the figures are still rising.⁹

The pen's designation can be explained by the fact that the 153 was only the third product the company produced and that it originally sold for 15 won,¹⁰ the price of a newspaper or a bus ride at the time.¹¹

While the quality and price of this remarkable pen have risen,¹² the design remains unchanged.

The gold-plated version of Monami 153 is also available.¹³

Monami has factories at Ansan, South Korea, and Rayong, Thailand.⁴