These Are The Toys All ’90s Korean Kids Desperately Wanted For Christmas
Toys from the ’90s are full of charm. Their basic technology, graphics, and aesthetics bring forth waves of nostalgia, not to mention a whole lot of fun. But what were South Korean kids playing with in the ’90s? Let’s find out.
1. Lego
The Lego craze is still well and alive today due to figure collectors and Lego movies, but back in the ’90s, it was all about building castles and coming up with fitting stories. Lego Castle, fitted with knights, magicians, dragons, and trap doors, was one of the most popular sets.
2. Pencil Cases with Games
How do you make math class shorter? Playing mini games in your pencil case while pretending to look for something! There were ultra mini versions of baseball, soccer, and other sports-related games, as well as ones derived from popular TV shows.
3. Gundam Figures
Gundam was the defining TV-series for the robot-related cartoons. Though it began in the ’70s, the Gundam figure craze peaked in the ’90s. Kids who got tired of Lego jumped ship to these bad boys and some of them are no doubt still there!
4. “Sticky Man”
No one really knew what the exact name of this toy was, but it was just something kids threw at the wall for fun and played with! 😂
5. Tamagotchi
The Neopets generation don’t really know what it’s like to raise a digital animal! Tamagotchis were pets to many who were not allowed to have real life pets. They came with real send of responsibility, guilt, and fulfillment!
6. Gonggi
All you needed were five small pebbles to play the intense game of gonggi over lunchtime. You had to throw one pebble up in the air and catch it before it lands on the floor, while scooping others off the floor. Gonggi tournaments got seriously intense!
7. Mini Car
Bakusō Kyōdai Let’s & Go!! was a popular cartoon in the ’90s. The story revolved around a highly competitive and cutthroat mini car racing universe. The cartoon inspired ’90s kids to go get themselves their very own mini car. Magnum Saber, the mini car of the protagonists, was one of the most popular.
8. Origami Papers
On rainy days when gonggi was tired out and no one could go outside, ’90s kid had origami papers to pass the time with. These small square papers were perfect for making origami cranes. Some ’90s kids would fill jars full of these and gift them to their sweethearts.
9. Slam Dunk Mangas
Takehiko Inoue’s high-school basketball manga Slam Dunk was one of the most popular mangas in Korea in the ’90s. Sakuragi Hanamichi, or Kang Baekho, as he was known to Korean readers, his friends, and rivals inspired a basketball craze among teens. Action figures, posters, pencil cases, and lunch boxes were all covered with Slam Dunk characters. Give the ’90s Korean kid in your life a box set of these, and they’ll be done reading it before the new year!
10. The Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird
Another animated series that could be considered a ’90s version of Transformers, children would scramble in front of their televisions any time it was airing. The series also had action figures for their characters such as Takara Yuusha, Death Eagle, and Death Tiger
11. Tops
Tops were huge back in the ’90s. Rougher and edgier than the delicate tops of today, tournaments on asphalt streets or back alleys got serious, with prized tops on the line.
