Oxford (toy company)
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 | |
| Industry | toy |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1961 (Dongjin Ind. Corp.) |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Construction set |
| Website | http://oxfordtoy.co.kr/ |
Oxford Co., Ltd. (Korean: 옥스포드) is a South Korean toy company, based in Busan, that makes interlocking brick toys.
History[edit]
The company was first founded in 1961 as Dongjin Ind. Corp.[1]
In 1971, toy sales company Daegoo Lucky toy corp was established.[1]
In 1972, toy sales company Busan Lucky toy corp was established.[1]
In 1984, toy manufacturer PAPA toy Ind. Corp. was established.[1]
In 1992, PAPA was renamed to Oxford co., ltd.[1]
In mid-2010s Oxford produces account for about 15% of the Korean brick toys market.[2]
Toy blocks[edit]
The company's small sized blocks are compatible with Lego brand bricks,[3] and the company makes blocks in larger sizes for younger children.
Oxford manufactures Kre-O bricks on behalf of Hasbro.
Clones[edit]
Oxford sets are commonly copied by Chinese toy companies Sluban and Woma, sometimes with slight changes.
Themes[edit]
Unlike the internationally known Lego sets, Oxford sets contain themes such as military or related to specific (mostly Korean) history.[3] About half of the Oxford sets themes have been described as focusing on "war and danger".[4]
The company produces small block sets in several themes including:[5]
- generic themes including: military, transport, town, fire, police and spy. Military sets include those of modern equipment used by Korean Army.[6][7]
- Korean history and cultural heritage sets: Ancient Three Kingdoms with focus on the Gwanggaeto the Great era, modern 19th century era as well as sets representing events in modern 20th and 21st century Korean history. Specific sets include events and items such as Korean turtle ship, 19th century assassination of Itō Hirobumi or the Korean DMZ[3][8][2]
- licensed themed sets such as: Mr. Sunshine,[8] Krispy Kreme,[3] Hello Kitty[3], Disney[citation needed], Robocar Poli[citation needed], Pororo[9]. Doraemon[10] and MapleStory[11].
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "History". Oxford Company. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
- ^ a b 조선비즈 (2021-03-22). "레고에 맞서 역사 블록으로 특화… 영화 '명량' 이후 거북선 판매 늘어". 조선비즈 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ a b c d e "Building the history of Korea". Byteside. 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ Joinau, Benjamin (December 2022). "Boys Will Be Boys - A Critical Semiotic Analysis of the Oxford Block Toys -". 문화콘텐츠연구 (in Korean) (26): 27–69. ISSN 2287-2256.
- ^ "소블록". Oxford Company. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
- ^ Bizwire, Korea (2022-01-17). "Brick Models of Korean Military Arms to be Released". Be Korea-savvy. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ 강종구 (2013-07-16). 연합뉴스 (in Korean) https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20130716042900065. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b Grzelczyk, Virginie (2022-10-02). "The Politics of Toys: What Potential for Inter-Korean Reconciliation?". Asian Studies Review. 46 (4): 668–684. doi:10.1080/10357823.2021.2016612. ISSN 1035-7823.
- ^ "** Welcome to OXFORD LAND !!! **". www.oxfordtoy.co.kr. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ "** Welcome to OXFORD LAND !!! **". www.oxfordtoy.co.kr. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ "** Welcome to OXFORD LAND !!! **". www.oxfordtoy.co.kr. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
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