The shoes complete a gentleman's look. The line of a man's suit flows from the jacket and ends with flawlessly clean, polished shoes. Shoes are important because they determine one's first impression and complete one's look, but there's more. Those who have repaired or polished shoes for customers over many years say they can figure out a person's personality just by looking at their shoes.
Shoe polish helps white-collar workers maintain the shine and neatness of their shoes, which show their character and their attitude toward fashion. In Korea, there is a company that has become a household name for shoe polish over the past 48 years. It is the Malpyo Industries Company -- mal means horse in Korean -- that manufactures Malpyo shoe polish.
Malpyo Industries originally started in 1955 as Taeyangsa, a trading company. At that time, the company was providing military supplies to army bases. Chung Doo-hwa, the late founder of the company, heard complaints from soldiers about the poor quality of shoe polish they used and decided to make a decent shoe polish for himself. However, immediately following the Korean War (1950-1953), there weren't enough goods in the markets here. So Chung adopted the necessary technology from abroad and introduced the first Malpyo shoe polish in 1967.
The name Malpyo comes from former Posco Chairman Park Tae-joon, who helped the company import shoe polish manufacturing technology. Park reportedly decided to adopt the brand Malpyo because horse leather shoes were considered the best at the time. In a few years, Malpyo took over Korea's market. Since then, Malpyo has been strongly associated with shoe polish.
Chung was known as a man of conviction and he was even considered stubborn. Chung had a business philosophy in which he wanted to concentrate on improving the quality of his product, rather than marketing his products using advertising or promotions. Except in the first few years after the company released its first line of shoe polish, it did not advertise any of its products.
Malpyo Industries invested in research and development and diversified into manufacturing various types of waxes. The company now produces an extensive lineup of products. In 1974, the company moved its factory to Namyangju, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province), and started making waxes for homes, automobiles and office buildings. The company introduced cream-based polishes in the 1980s and they eventually received the government's KS Mark, a quality certification.
As the Malpyo brand became famous, the company changed its name to Malpyo Industries in 1992. It is not an exaggeration to say that every Korean household has at least one Malpyo product in it. There are now over 10 types of Malpyo polishes being manufactured and over 1.5 million units are sold every month.
Malpyo introduced the Aromax line of shoe polish in 2000. A floral scent was added to reduce the typical petrochemical odor. Compared to other products, it is more resistant to water and is less susceptible to the heat or the cold.
The company set up a joint venture in Dandong, China, in 1995 and tried to expand its export markets. Now, its products are available in many countries, including the U.S., Japan, Mongolia and Vietnam.
By Limb Jae-un
Photos: Jeon Han
Korea.net Staff Writers
jun2@korea.kr
Shoe polish helps white-collar workers maintain the shine and neatness of their shoes, which show their character and their attitude toward fashion. In Korea, there is a company that has become a household name for shoe polish over the past 48 years. It is the Malpyo Industries Company -- mal means horse in Korean -- that manufactures Malpyo shoe polish.
Malpyo Industries originally started in 1955 as Taeyangsa, a trading company. At that time, the company was providing military supplies to army bases. Chung Doo-hwa, the late founder of the company, heard complaints from soldiers about the poor quality of shoe polish they used and decided to make a decent shoe polish for himself. However, immediately following the Korean War (1950-1953), there weren't enough goods in the markets here. So Chung adopted the necessary technology from abroad and introduced the first Malpyo shoe polish in 1967.
Malpyo has become a household name for shoe polish since its launch in 1967.
The name Malpyo comes from former Posco Chairman Park Tae-joon, who helped the company import shoe polish manufacturing technology. Park reportedly decided to adopt the brand Malpyo because horse leather shoes were considered the best at the time. In a few years, Malpyo took over Korea's market. Since then, Malpyo has been strongly associated with shoe polish.
Chung was known as a man of conviction and he was even considered stubborn. Chung had a business philosophy in which he wanted to concentrate on improving the quality of his product, rather than marketing his products using advertising or promotions. Except in the first few years after the company released its first line of shoe polish, it did not advertise any of its products.
Malpyo Industries invested in research and development and diversified into manufacturing various types of waxes. The company now produces an extensive lineup of products. In 1974, the company moved its factory to Namyangju, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province), and started making waxes for homes, automobiles and office buildings. The company introduced cream-based polishes in the 1980s and they eventually received the government's KS Mark, a quality certification.
Malpyo Industries also sells a cream-based shoe polish it developed in the 1980s.
As the Malpyo brand became famous, the company changed its name to Malpyo Industries in 1992. It is not an exaggeration to say that every Korean household has at least one Malpyo product in it. There are now over 10 types of Malpyo polishes being manufactured and over 1.5 million units are sold every month.
Malpyo introduced the Aromax line of shoe polish in 2000. A floral scent was added to reduce the typical petrochemical odor. Compared to other products, it is more resistant to water and is less susceptible to the heat or the cold.
Aromax shoe polish is resistant to heat and cold.
The company set up a joint venture in Dandong, China, in 1995 and tried to expand its export markets. Now, its products are available in many countries, including the U.S., Japan, Mongolia and Vietnam.
By Limb Jae-un
Photos: Jeon Han
Korea.net Staff Writers
jun2@korea.kr
