Portable mp3 players are becoming rare as smartphones are gaining popularity around the world. Once South Korea’s leading music player manufacturer, iriver is trying a different “cute” approach to maintain their market.

Pocket Puppy is just like its name, a pocket-sized mp3 player in the shape of a puppy. Although it’s only big as a person’s palm, the Pocket Puppy will interact with the user similar to a robotic dog.

The basic controls are done using the dog’s 4-direction tail but the player will react with puppy-like barks and growls when petted or its belly is rubbed. Its large LED display is also used to display interesting expressions whenever a user interacts with it.

iriver hopes that the Pocket Puppy player can appeal to consumer’s emotions with its cute form-factor and with its unique user interface.

via iriver

DCELL is a design studio that specializes in accessories that resembles something from nature. Their unique direction is what parts them from other studios creating similar accessories.

With their slogan: “We deliver nature into everyday life by design”, the studio currently offers 4 products: a bookmark, coaster, memo pad, and a smartphone stand each with nature inspired designs.

Their products may not be for everyone’s taste but they are certainly unique and eye-catching than other objects you might regularly encounter.

You can purchase and see more of DCELL’s products from their website.

Since 1982, Kukje Gallery in Seoul has been the gateway to Korea for international contemporary artists. In April, a new Kukje art center was constructed in the historic neighborhood of Sogyeok.

A work by SO-IL design studio, the art center building is draped in “metal fabric” that produces its unique outer shape and adds a special tactile feel. While it may seem cold, the mesh around the building effectively diffuses sharp edges around the building and gives an organic feel to the art center.

Alongside many historical old and new buildings, the contemporary architecture with the steel mesh around the building creates both modern and warm appearance tying the old and the new development in the urban neighborhood together.

via SO-IL and Kukje Gallery

A drink that most, if not all, South Koreans know and love is the Banana Flavored milk. One of the best sellers in stores, the flavored milk can be considered as Korea’s national beverage.

Photo via Binggrae

Created in 1974 by Binggrae when many South Koreans were suffering from malnutrition, Banana Flavored Milk (aka Banana milk) became a hit as many preferred the sweetened milk over plain milk. The fact that Banana was a fruit for the upperclass at the time, and the interesting design that imitated the traditional jar known as “Hanggari” also greatly helped in boosting its sales.

Photo via Playwares: Shampoo

At its first introduction, the milk did not have any trace of Banana and only after the new food product law in 2010, Binggrae began to use Banana for its flavor. Even though there are barely any traces of Banana in the milk, and despite the emergence of many similar beverages, the sweet nostalgic flavor that basically has not changed over time has kept Banana milk in the top shelves with fans playfully calling it as the “Grenade Milk” or “Fat Banana”.

Keeping up with its popularity, Banana milk is always promoted by top celebrities, which include top idols such as Girl’s Generation, popular actor Lee Min-ho, and other famous comedians and actors.

Banana milk is slowly becoming available worldwide in a somewhat ordinary packaging as shown above, and the milk is said to be particularly popular with people from Japan. If you happen to visit Korea or come across these flavored milk, it shouldn’t hurt to try them out and discover why it is so incredibly popular.

via Binggrae and Binggrae Blog

If you’ve been looking for an all-in-one solution for a card case and an iPhone case, check out South Korean design agency KON’s iPUP for iPhone 4 & 4S.

Often, a multi-purpose smartphone case can be bulky and unattractive but KON’s (Knock of Neverland) iPUP presents itself as a cute puppy always guarding not just your precious phone but your various cards as well.

You can adopt an iPUP in 5 different colors ($30) at KON Store.

If you are a fan of 35mm analog cameras, you’ll love this digital back concept by Hyun Jin Park in which the design fits perfectly inside the film holder of a 35mm analog camera.

While “Digital camera back” that allows analog cameras to function as digital camera is common for medium format cameras, I’m sure many photo enthusiasts and professionals would love something like this for 35mm films as well.

Of course, an alternative would be to buy a new digital camera but with a wide range of manual lenses that only works exclusively with certain analog cameras, it’s certain that that there will be demands for this sort of device.

via Yanko

The new prehistory museum at Jeongok is a magnificent work of architecture where modern contemporary design tries to blend in with the natural landscape.

Many museums tend to have brilliant unique designs not only to attract visitors but also in order to create a respectful accommodating space for their collections. The new prehistory museum at Jeongok seems to be a great example of this.

Jeongok is a major archeological location in South Korea and with its curvy landscape, the fluid and artificial appearance of both the exterior and the interior of the museum create both tension and harmony with the environment surrounding it.

With the largest prehistory collection in Korea, Jeongok prehistory museum is expected to open in April 25th.

via designboom

Google Creative Lab’s Creative Director Ji Lee’s 3D Chess board adds a unique twist to your regular chess game by adding an additional physical dimension to the game.

While it won’t affect any of the game’s original rules, it is likely to create a certain unique experience to the players while they look down at the board and observe how their pieces are arranged upon the 3D terrain.

Wish there were more renderings or photos of this unique design.

See more of his works at Please Enjoy via @ableparris

Akicookie (pseudonym) is a character designer and illustrator in Korea in which her illustration works have certain cute uniqueness in them.

Character design industry is fairly large in South Korea where there are a lot of talented graphic artists creating illustrations for things such as simple stationaries to popular online games. Akicookie’s designs have certain uniqueness to them where she uses slight deformation of forms and colors to illustrate many of her characters.

See more of her works from hiandbye

Wish there was a real-time measuring system that can automatically measure while you are drawing with your hand? Designer Giha Woo provides a solution.

Giha Woo’s concept design, the ‘Constrained Ball’ is a freehand drawing aid that helps the user draw perfect straight lines. But as a bonus, the device also measures the length of the line you are creating with its wheel. Not sure how effective it will be but certainly seems like a useful design in the absence of a ruler.

Find out more from Giha Woo