Toys for Men

[Anchor Lead]

More and more fathers are buying toys not for their children, but for themselves. As people began to recognize toys for adults as a legitimate hobby, related markets are dramatically growing as well.

[Pkg]

Models of cartoon characters that drove children wild in the 1970s and 80s fill this display case. The owner of these robots is a father in his mid-40s with a daughter in 8th grade. Driven to do what he had always wanted to do before it's too late, he has been collecting robot models for five years now.

[Soundbite] Oh Gwang-hun(Office Worker) : "I searched through the internet and offline shops to collect robots one by one."

This is a workshop where six middle-aged men have rented for plastic model assemblies. It was the internet and social media which drove these middle-aged men of different ages and jobs to come together.

They came to rediscover their childhood hobbies because they can relieve everyday stress with this activity and can now afford the luxury to pursue their favorite pastime.

[Soundbite] Kim Nam-sik(Designer) : "There was a gap of about 10 to 15 years due to our careers or studies. But we picked it up again since we can now afford the luxury."

As more men rediscover the joy of playing with their childhood toys, the related markets are expected to grow to roughly 890 million U.S. dollars this year.