The Shinabro No.680 is a South Korean manufactured stove with a 0.5 litre capacity- so just under 1 pint. The following is quite poignant to say the least and came to me from a South Korean stove enthusiast: ‘South Korea, which had been imitating Sweden in its manufacturing since the 1970s, began introducing new technologies and designs in the 1980s. Following the Korean War, South Korea began to grow through manufacturing in the 1960s, achieving advancements in industries such as metalworking and the automobile industry. The 1980s was a boom period for camping stoves, and some of the best camping stoves were produced during that time. However, when the government banned mountain cooking in the 1980s, all camping stove manufacturers went out of business. This was a great pity.’ The regulator control knob is a little misleading, as the 680 does not have a cleaning needle. The kero/paraffin jet fitted to the 680 is interchangeable with a jet from an Optimus 111. Extended spigot on the inner cap. The two lugs on the burner flange lock the silent cap in place. The 680 is also provided with a roarer option. The trivet is cleverly designed to incorporate the legs which fold out and lock into place when in use and fold neatly away, keeping within the perimeter of the trivet for easy storage when the stove is packed away in its tin. Windshield. The cap on the end of the pump rod unscrews and serves as the reserve cap. Knurling pattern on the fuel filler cap and integrated pressure release knob. Tank stampings… ‘M8201’ stamped in the centre on the bottom of the tank. As this is a 1980’s era stove, possibly an indication of a 1982 year of manufacture? More pictures to follow…
Shin Dong-woo (b. 1936 / d. 1994) was a famous South Korean cartoon artist who designed this wonderful cartoon graphic on the tin. This graphic was applied to the top (and bottom) of the tin so that whichever way round the tin was when carried by the handle, it was always viewable in the correct orientation. Tin translations: “A warm companion for outings! No. 1 in exports and domestic sales. A recommended Korean-made product.” “Exciting!” / “So much fun!” / “Thrilling!” “Oh ♥ … little by little!” “Performance guaranteed as an excellent product based on the Swedish Svea atmospheric experiment by the National Park Research Institute.” Pharael.
Most interesting. The Korean stove designs are great. Why would the government ban ‘mountain cooking’? Hard to grasp.
@Ed Winskill This is AI’s response: Forest protection and wildfire prevention became increasingly important as South Korea’s reforestation and outdoor recreation boomed in the 1970’s and 1980’s. As a result, National Park regulations were tightened considerably. South Korean paraffin (kerosene) stove manufacturing stopped in the 1980s mainly due to a government push to switch from oil-based fuels to cleaner natural gas (LNG imports began in 1986) to reduce severe air pollution ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. This rapid transition made kerosene heaters obsolete in homes, as new apartments adopted efficient, less-polluting LNG or district heating. Falling demand, combined with safety concerns (fire and CO risks), ended local production.
Oh I have been looking hard at a lot of Korean stoves. Never seen one in a lunch box before. The box looks extremely similar to American 1980's era lunch boxes we used to take our lunch mom made to school. Mine had star wars on it, and was made by Aladdin. I think the graphics on this one are really cool...would have snagged it if I saw something like it online.
@Pharael Excellent documented and pictured post, of a very nice and interesting stove, i have a great love of these South Korean stoves, the build quality is very good and they have some great features
@ROBBO55 Many thanks! @mr optimus Appreciate that, thank you. I have a number of S.Korean stoves, all different but great quality and engineering ingenuity in all of them.
A very nice stove. Lots of great features. An excellent folding support system with a stand. This is the first time I've seen a stove box that is embossed under the graphics. You've presented this great stove very nice ly.
@Knee Many thanks for that. Yes, the stove box is quite special and fortunately for me, the previous owner took great care of it whilst no doubt enjoying using the stove. Pharael.
Wonderful presentation of a wonderful stove. Wish we saw more of the Korean liquid fuel stoves on our shores!
I was stationed there in 1991, and I never saw any stoves in any of the shops for sale, but all of shops had a Kerosene heater. They made some of the coolest stoves I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing.
Very cool stove, and an equally interesting case! Having the reserve cap thread onto the end of the pump rod is such a clever, elegant design. Great presentation @Pharael
Interesting how the state by ukase could simply end kero camp stove production. What did hikers and campers use thereafter I wonder…
Very nice and I would like to have the silence burner, do you have any information about the burner? Does it screw anticlockwise?
@presscall Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. @DirtWhiskey Many thanks. I very much hope you will. They are really good stoves. @HunterStovie You are welcome. It’s pretty sad situation what occurred to say the least . At that point in the early 90’s, there would be no internal market for liquid stoves and obviously none for export either as all the stove manufacturers had by that time been long gone. @GibsonsRavinePark2 Appreciate that, thank you. They put preheaters (similar to your Geniol but obviously smaller) onto their high-end range stoves, had tank level indicators…etc etc - took the manufacturing of stoves to another level in the 80’s. @Ed Winskill Yes…It’s hard to imagine that within a year or so of their mandate, the Government of the day single-handedly wiped out 50 or so stove manufacturers. I believe there was a concerted effort by the Government for the population to switch over to lpg fuelled stoves. @JP2 Thank you! Yes, the burner on the 680 screws into the riser tube anticlockwise and the riser tube into the tank, clockwise. 680’s do come up for sale from time to time but for whatever reason, the tin is a little more difficult to find these days.
