"Closing Order Window"... Trump’s Surprise Gift 'Lee President's Pen' Made by Young People in Mullae-dong

[Financial News]  "Due to the overwhelming number of orders in a short time, we are unable to process them and are closing the order window."

The company that closed its order window due to a flood of orders is 'Jenaile', which makes handcrafted fountain pens.

Jenaile posted a notice on their website about closing the 'order window' because of the scene at the Korea-U.S. summit on the 25th (local time) where President Donald Trump of the United States received the pen used by President Lee Jae-myung as a surprise gift.


The Presidential Office explained in a written statement right after the summit that “the pen gifted to President Trump was not prepared as a gift but was made for President Lee Jae-myung to use for signing during official events.”

This pen, which became an unintended gift, was used by President Lee during the guestbook signing ceremony. President Trump showed interest by saying “nice pen,” and asked questions like “Is this your pen?”, “The thickness is very beautiful,” “It's really nice. Was it made in your country?” 

When President Trump asked, “Are you taking it with you?”, President Lee gestured with both hands as if handing over the pen, conveying the intention of gifting it.

President Lee then said, “It was made in Korea,” and added, “It will be useful for the somewhat difficult signatures you make, Mr. President.”  President Trump replied, “I won’t actually use it, but I will cherish it as an honorable gift.”

The company that made this pen is Jenaile. Located in Mullae-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, this company was founded by young people who used to make furniture. They carve wooden logs by hand to feel the texture of the wood, insert a brass tube inside, and set the pen nib. It is already well-known among fountain pen enthusiasts.

The Presidential Office asked Jenaile to make a pen case that could hold a Monami name pen sold in the market.

They carved a pen case from rosewood, drilled a hole, and inserted the name pen. The top of the pen cap was engraved with a Taegeuk pattern, and the top of the pen body was engraved with a phoenix pattern in brass.  All processes were done by hand, and it reportedly took nearly two months to complete the production.

Jenaile's pen was used by former President Moon Jae-in before President Lee. During his term, former President Moon gave Jenaile’s products as gifts to leaders of the five ruling and opposition parties and artists who were victims of the blacklist.

BTS also received Jenaile’s fountain pen as a gift along with diplomatic passports when they were appointed as special envoys for future generations and culture at the Blue House before accompanying former President Moon to the 76th UN General Assembly in 2021.

President Trump also signed the guestbook with Jenaile’s fountain pen during his visit to Korea in 2019.

Inquiries like “I want to buy one too” are pouring into Jenaile. The free bulletin board on the website is filled with posts expressing purchase intentions or inquiries.

However, it is impossible to purchase even if one wants to. The current situation is that the volume of orders is too large to produce.
Jenaile introduced itself as "a small workshop that can produce only about a dozen pieces a day at most." This is why they closed the order window.


Jenaile also responded to inquiries about purchasing 'President Lee Jae-myung's pen' by saying, "It is a custom-made product and is difficult to sell, with no plans to do so," and apologized, saying, "We are truly sorry."

Regarding the timing of possible orders, they also said, "It seems difficult to predict separately. We don't have a system or personnel to guide you immediately, so we might proceed by releasing the sold-out status when orders become possible."

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter