ilkwang lighting
The Last Bulb Maker Standing (Now Making Everything Else Too)
Ilkwang Lighting has been making incandescent bulbs by hand in Daegu since 1962 — and today it's the only company in Korea still doing it. For decades that was the whole story: a small, stubborn factory keeping an old craft alive while the rest of the world switched to LED. Then in 2016 the brand launched a design arm called ILKW, and everything changed. Suddenly the same team that spent 60 years perfecting the warm glow of a filament was designing lamps for a completely new generation. What people love about Ilkwang is that nothing about it feels manufactured-for-trend — the retro warmth is real, backed by six decades of actually making light. It's heritage with a sense of humor.
Meet the Lineup: From Classic Bulbs to Cult-Favorite Lamps
The IK collection spans portable, table, floor, pendant, wall and ceiling lights, all designed to pair with Ilkwang's own bulbs. But the name everyone actually knows is SNOWMAN — a rounded, stacked-sphere lamp that looks exactly like its name suggests, in soft buttery colors like White, Butter, Ice Blue, Peach and Tangerine. It comes in a full family of sizes: the compact SNOWMAN8 portable, the cordless SNOWMAN15 SOLID, the tabletop SNOWMAN22, and the larger SNOWMAN70 pendant. Each one uses Japanese-made polycarbonate resin, molded in a single piece for a soft, shadow-free glow.
How a Snowman Took Over Korean Interiors
SNOWMAN debuted at the Seoul Living Design Fair in 2021 and, almost overnight, became one of the most talked-about home objects among Korea's 20- and 30-somethings — the kind of lamp that shows up in every "my room tour" video. It's since gone properly global: the series is now stocked in MoMA Design Stores in New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong, and in 2025 Ilkwang brought a 14-piece SNOWMAN collection to Euroluce at Milan's Salone del Mobile — one of the biggest stages in world design.
Why in Seoul
Seoul is the only city with a full ILKW showroom where you can actually handle every color and size before deciding — something photos never quite capture, since the shades' warmth changes completely once lit. New colorways and limited editions also launch here first, months before they reach international retailers.
Price Range
- Incandescent bulbs: roughly ₩5,000–15,000 (about $4–11)
- SNOWMAN8 portable: ₩34,000–45,000 (about $25–33)
- SNOWMAN15 SOLID portable: ₩110,000 (about $80)
- SNOWMAN22 table lamp: ₩250,000 (about $185)
- SNOWMAN70 pendant: ₩320,000 (about $235)
Where to Buy in Seoul
ILKW Showroom — 2-1, Toegye-ro 4-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
Hours: 11:00–19:00 (closed Mondays) · Tel: 02-318-1079
This is the brand's flagship space where the full SNOWMAN and IK lineup is on display. Pieces are also sold on the official online store and through Korean design retailers like 29CM.
Website: https://ilkwdesign.com/
Instagram: @ilkwdesign
Photo: @ilkwdesign