Healing fantasy is back… Published a paper book and even opened a pop-up store.

Millie’s Study ‘Lost and Found’ pop-up store opens
A bookmark corner containing messages in books, and even sales of limited edition goods.
E-book-paper book-pop-up pipeline… IP-centric business expansion

“The lost item has returned. With me from those days.”

On the 26th, ‘Dongjam Stationery’ opened in the uncommerce store on the 6th floor of The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul. Upon entering, the book cover illustration is reconstructed in the form of a panoramic banner, arousing the curiosity of visitors.

This stationery store is a ‘Lost and Found’ pop-up store prepared by Millie’s Study, Korea’s largest reading platform. In line with the stationery concept, the pop-up store created a cute atmosphere with a combination of sky blue and pink.

‘Lost and Found is Back’ is a healing fantasy novel by author Kim Hye-jeong and is the first paper book published through Millie’s Library publishing platform ‘Milliroad’. It is a time travel novel that tells the story of the protagonist growing up through a journey to find things he lost in the past. It ranked first in Millie’s Library’s overall best work and had 100,000 readers.

This is the first time that Millie’s Study has opened a pop-up store using its original intellectual property rights (IP). It was decorated as a place that appeared in ‘The Return of Lost and Found’, allowing readers to feel the space they imagined while reading the book in reality.

Dongjam Stationery, the main design of the pop-up store, is a place where the main character visits to find lost items. In the physical books of ‘Lost and Found are back’ displayed throughout the book, messages such as ‘A friendly handshake to my then self’ and ‘I am waiting for you in the future’ are engraved on speech bubble-shaped bookmarks.

Inside the pop-up store, the space is structured to connect the places and time in the story, so as you move along the route, you can feel a different emotion from the one you felt in the book.

The space that caught my eye the most was where sentences in books were turned into bookmarks. Visitors can take bookmarks with various sentences written on them, such as ‘Maybe I was a better kid back then than I knew’ and ‘I will survive and live with myself.’

Visitors read the bookmark phrases one by one, took pictures of the impressive bookmarks, or took three or four of them home. If you could time travel, you could write down what you wanted to say to your childhood self and stick it up, but even though it was early in the day, there were already sticky notes containing various stories.

Limited edition goods are displayed in the center of the pop-up store. Millie’s Study collaborated with the stationery brand ‘Motmot’ to turn the main character Hyewon’s lost items – diary, bag, and pencil case – into goods. The bag was reminiscent of the pockets on her shoes from her school days, and had several yellow labels with sentences from books engraved on them.

A tassel-shaped key ring made of multiple layers of fabric with sentences from the book engraved on it and a sticker pack consisting of illustrations from the book also attracted attention. Scratch lottery tickets given when purchasing a product also become a medium that connects books and the real world.

Millie’s Library believes that the e-book market will grow in size due to the growth of the subscription economy and changes in reading methods. Through this pop-up store, the plan is to launch a new business using Millie’s Library’s own IP and diversify the portfolio by introducing a scalable business.

Kim Tae-hyung, head of Millie’s Library’s publishing business division, said, “Millie’s original, which was first introduced through Millie Road, gained popularity, so we planned this pop-up store to provide readers with a more diverse experience.” He added, “The IP discovered by Millie’s Library can be used in various ways. “We will expand our business in earnest to provide new enjoyment and strengthen brand loyalty at the same time,” he said.

The ‘Lost and Found’ pop-up store, located at the Uncommerce Store on the 6th floor of The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul, will operate from today until the 19th of next month.

Yoo Ji-hee, Hankyung.com reporter [email protected]