South Koreans hunt for old LG air-conditioners after logos turn out to be pure gold
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
According to LG Electronics, a limited run of 10,000 Whisen air-conditioners bearing gold logos were sold in 2005.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM RINGRING_UNNI/YOUTUBE
Follow topic:
SEOUL – An old LG air-conditioner from more than two decades ago is suddenly the hottest commodity in South Korea right now, after a viral video showed that its brand logo is made of pure gold.
This long-forgotten detail resurfaced after YouTuber Ringring Unni, a retail jewellery shop owner in Seoul, uploaded a video on Dec 11 that shows her appraising the six-letter “Whisen” logo pieces removed from an LG Electronics air-con model released in 2005.
In the video, the customer who brought the logo letters for appraisal said: “The logo was attached to the front of the air-conditioner, and it was advertised at the time as being made of gold.”
After analysing the pieces, the YouTuber confirmed that they were indeed gold and offered an appraisal value of 713,000 won (S$625). All together, the six letters weighed just under one “don”, she told the client in the video.
A “don” is a South Korean unit of gold weight equivalent to 3.75g. According to the Korea Standard Gold Exchange, one don of gold was quoted at 890,000 won on Dec 17.
After the video went viral with more than one million views, another customer visited the jewellery shop on Dec 15 with another Whisen logo, which the YouTuber later featured in a follow-up video. In the second clip, the appraised value of the gold logo piece was 748,000 won.
According to LG Electronics, a limited run of 10,000 Whisen air-cons bearing gold logos were sold in 2005, celebrating the brand’s position as the world’s top-selling air-con brand.
Social media users have been buzzing over the video, prompting many to hunt for old Whisen air-cons.
“My grandmother’s air-conditioner is really old – I should check whether it’s Samsung or LG,” one user wrote on social media platform X.
“LG turned air-conditioners into a gold investment 20 years ago,” another user wrote. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
