Dino Brown + Blue Hoodie Ryan + Rilakkuma Lifestyle explores Seoul, South Korea!

I graduated, and now I’m officially an MD! Feeling so relieved, and now I have a whole month to relax before starting my intern year!

So after our vacation in Hawaii, we made a quick stop in Seoul, South Korea!

Didn’t snap any Rilakkuma photos in Seoul, but we did get to meet some other cute bears!! Well, one is a lion without a mane, but still hehe.

Rilakkuma Lifestyle in Seoul - LINE Friends Store and Cafe - Myeongdong 명동

First stop: the LINE Friends Flagship Store and Cafe in Myeongdong! Quick pose with mega Brown and Sally!

Rilakkuma Lifestyle in Seoul - LINE Friends Cafe - Garosugil 가로수 길

Yummy Brown-themed lemon roll cake from the LINE Friends Flagship Store and Cafe in Garosu-gil! This LINE Friends Store had an entire floor just for photo zones!

Rilakkuma Lifestyle in Seoul - LINE Friends Cafe - Garosugil 가로수 길 - Dino Brown

Picked up a super cute Dino Brown from the Jungle Brown Line! He is so fluffy and soft in his green dinosaur suit! My favorite detail is that his footprints kind of look like three-eyed smiley faces hehe. Hope he enjoys being with all the Rilakkumas here ;)

Rilakkuma Lifestyle in Seoul - KAKAO Friends Store - Dongdaemun 동대문

Relaxing with Ryan the lion, at the KAKAO Friends Store in Dongdaemun Design Plaza!

Rilakkuma Lifestyle in Seoul - KAKAO Friends Store and Cafe - Hongdae 홍대

Tasted a delicious Ryan macaron and picked up a blue hoodie Ryan plush from the KAKAO Friends Store and Cafe in Hongdae!

Rilakkuma Lifestyle in Seoul - SKINFOOD Concept Store - Garosugil - 가로수 길

We also visited the SKINFOOD Concept Store in Garosu-gil, where they had a wonderful cafe and rooftop garden! I got a tasty chocolate latte (hot chocolate) with a super cute marshmallow bear! I am not sure what this yummy marshmallow bear has to do with the SKINFOOD brand (cosmetics, skincare, etc.), but it was a very cute cafe!

Rilakkuma Lifestyle in Seoul - SKINFOOD Concept Store - Garosugil - 가로수 길

SKINFOOD marshmallow bear melting into the hot chocolate!

We were staying in the Hongdae area, and we actually ran into a store that sold authentic San-X Rilakkuma plush and goods! They even stocked rare, limited edition items like the pizzaiolo Rilakkuma from the Umeda 7th Anniversary Series! Unfortunately, they were WAY expensive, but it was good anyway to see a familiar bear’s face in Korea hehehe.

Overall, I had an amazing time in Seoul eating, shopping, sightseeing, exploring, and of course, spending time with my classmates before we graduate and move onto the next chapters in our lives!

Next stop, Los Angeles, CA!

Have you been to any character cafes before? I wish there were some here in Florida!!

Rilakkuma Factory #2 & Korilakkuma’s Strawberry Flower Plush!

Happy (belated) Mothers’ Day!

Catching up on my backlog, and sharing one very charming set that I think is very appropriate for Mothers’ Day: Rilakkuma Factory #2 and Korilakkuma’s Strawberry Flower Plush!

Rilakkuma Factory 2015 - リラックマファクトリー - Korilakkuma Strawberry Flower - コリラックマのストロベリーフラワー - リラックマ ぬいぐるみ - together

This time, Korilakkuma is larger than Rilakkuma!

Though not obviously thematically aligned, this sweet pair was released on the same day in September 2015.

At first, I felt that pairing them together created a narrative that Rilakkuma is toiling at the office/factory while Korilakkuma gets to enjoy her strawberry garden haha, but delving further, I think these two are paired perfectly together to paint two contrasting outlooks on adulthood.

This 2015 Rilakkuma Factory line is the second iteration of the popular Rilakkuma Factory series aimed towards office workers released a year prior in 2014. The theme for this Rilakkuma’s series was American Vintage—does this series remind you of the American vintage aesthetic?

Rilakkuma Factory 2015 - リラックマファクトリー - Korilakkuma Strawberry Flower - コリラックマのストロベリーフラワー - リラックマ ぬいぐるみ - factory full

Since he’s the second edition of Rilakkuma Factory, I call him “Fac-two-ry”.

Rilakkuma Factory 2015 - リラックマファクトリー - Korilakkuma Strawberry Flower - コリラックマのストロベリーフラワー - リラックマ ぬいぐるみ - bowtie detail

Looking dapper in his monogrammed corduroy bowtie! And look at how fluffy his fur is!

Rilakkuma Factory 2015 - リラックマファクトリー - Korilakkuma Strawberry Flower - コリラックマのストロベリーフラワー - リラックマ ぬいぐるみ - tag art rilakkuma

Per Rilakkuma Factory tradition, tag art instructions on how to use this Rilakkuma plush paperweight. It’s no joke, he really is a formidable paperweight!

As the Rilakkuma Factory series tagline boasts, “Let’s enjoy your life with Rilakkuma!”, this Rilakkuma promotes work as fun and playful! The design is described as function in simplicity, a good reflection of the ideal employee and outlook on work as pleasure. And even in his cute plush form, this Rilakkuma is still very functional as a paperweight.

Then, this Strawberry Flower Korilakkuma series riffs on the ~responsible adult~ theme of Rilakkuma Factory by stating boldly, “I like cute things even when I grow up (大人になってもかわいいものが好き)” on the series page, which gives a contrasting flowery and fun approach to the responsibilities of adulthood. Very fitting for Korilakkuma, who probably loves bright pinks and flowers at any age! No alternative function here, just a beautiful Korilakkuma plush to look and play with.

Rilakkuma Factory 2015 - リラックマファクトリー - Korilakkuma Strawberry Flower - コリラックマのストロベリーフラワー - リラックマ ぬいぐるみ - korilakkuma full

This Strawberry Flower Korilakkuma stands tall next to Rilakkuma Factory, but she’s still standard size for a collectible Korilakkuma plush (about 21 cm).

Rilakkuma Factory 2015 - リラックマファクトリー - Korilakkuma Strawberry Flower - コリラックマのストロベリーフラワー - リラックマ ぬいぐるみ - pattern bear detail

Korilakkuma holds a plush bear with a pink floral pattern, very reminiscent of the small striped bear from the Kobe Rilakkuma Store Opening Plush Set (Stripes Stripes Everyday Series).

Rilakkuma Factory 2015 - リラックマファクトリー - Korilakkuma Strawberry Flower - コリラックマのストロベリーフラワー - リラックマ ぬいぐるみ - flower detail

A lovely deep fuchsia flower detail on her ear!

Rilakkuma Factory 2015 - リラックマファクトリー - Korilakkuma Strawberry Flower - コリラックマのストロベリーフラワー - リラックマ ぬいぐるみ - stole detail

And a fluffy stole in a strawberry flower pattern (like the smaller bear) with a delicate pink satin bow detail—very fancy!

Rilakkuma Factory 2015 - リラックマファクトリー - Korilakkuma Strawberry Flower - コリラックマのストロベリーフラワー - リラックマ ぬいぐるみ - tag art korilakkuma

Tag art featuring Korilakkuma frolicking among the strawberry field, no work to be done around here!

Overall, a very complementary matching set that is quite appropriate for adult Rilakkuma fans—bravo, San-X! What did you think of this unique pairing?

Photos from Seoul, coming soon!

Did you do anything special for Mothers’ Day?