Starbucks Korea mug: Discovery Series

What's on the mug

1. 1
   KOREA

   The word KOREA is printed in pale mint capitals across a large dark green circle in the middle of the Front. It is the only place name on the mug.

2. 2
   Woman in hanbok

   A woman stands holding a mask to her face, in a short yellow jacket with a red tie and a long blue skirt with pale stripes. That is the women's hanbok: a jeogori (jacket) over a chima (skirt). A pale teal vase with rows of circles stands at her feet.^[2]

3. 3
   Mask that looks like a Hahoe mask

   A yellow mask with black brows and a wide grin hangs top left, with a pink lower jaw drawn as a separate piece and dark cords hanging beside it. The separate chin and the grin look like a Hahoe mask, possibly the Yangban (nobleman) mask. The mug doesn't name it.^[3]

4. 4
   Gimbap with red chopsticks

   Four round slices with a black rim and white rice around coloured fillings sit below the KOREA circle, one held by a pair of red chopsticks. These are slices of gimbap, rice and fillings rolled in dried seaweed.^[4]

5. 5
   Rose of Sharon (mugunghwa)

   Three pink five-petalled flowers with red centres and dark teal leaves fill the top right of the Front. The pink petals with a red centre match the rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), South Korea's national flower. A tiny white cup with a green round logo is tucked between the leaves.^[1]

6. 6
   Players that look like a yunnori game

   Two people in hanbok sit beside a square board marked with dots, one on a yellow mat; the other tosses three short sticks into the air. This looks like yunnori, the Korean board game played by throwing four sticks, though the drawing shows three sticks and not the board's full pattern. The mug doesn't name it.^[5]

7. 7
   Peak with a crater lake, possibly Hallasan

   A dark teal mountain with a pale blue lake in a pink-rimmed crater sits to the right of the flowers, with a yellow patch on its flank. It may be Hallasan on Jeju, whose crater holds the Baengnokdam lake, especially beside the stone figure next to it (element 8); Baekdu Mountain also has a crater lake. The mug doesn't name it.^[6]

8. 8
   Stone figure that looks like a dol hareubang

   A tall grey-teal figure with a rounded hat and a carved face stands at the right edge of the Front, next to the handle. It looks like a dol hareubang, the volcanic-stone statue of Jeju Island. The mug doesn't name it.^[7]

9. 9
   Hanok buildings and gate Side view

   Two pink buildings with dark curved tiled roofs stand behind a low wall with a small roofed gate and two wooden doors; a small yellow animal statue on a dark base stands just right of the gate. The tiled, upturned roofs are in the traditional Korean hanok style. Whether a house, palace or temple is meant is not shown, and the mug doesn't name one.^[8]

10. 10
    Tiger Side view

    An orange tiger with dark stripes and pink-tinted legs walks to the left; it is the same tiger seen at the right edge of the Back photo. The tiger is an old figure in Korean folk belief, regarded as a guardian that drives away evil spirits, and a cartoon tiger, Hodori, was the mascot of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.^[9][14]

11. 11
    Taekwondo sparring Side view

    Two fighters in pale mint jackets, pink trousers and dark belts spar in front of a small crowd. The one on the left wears a dark blue chest guard and head guard; the one on the right wears red ones and throws a high kick. This is taekwondo sparring, Korea's national martial art.^[10]

12. 12
    STARBUCKS Back view

    STARBUCKS is printed in small black capitals running up the mug next to the handle on the Back.

13. 13
    Bird that looks like a magpie Back view

    A bird with a dark head, dark teal wings and tail and a pink-and-white body flies near the handle. It looks like a magpie, which Korea treats as a bird of good fortune. The mug doesn't name it.^[11]

14. 14
    Dish that looks like cabbage kimchi Back view

    A teal oval dish holds a curled red and orange head of leaves with yellow-white ribs. It looks like baechu-kimchi, kimchi made from a whole napa cabbage. The mug doesn't name it.^[12]

15. 15
    Gwanghwamun Back view

    A gate with a two-tier dark tiled roof sits on a pale mint wall with dark arched openings, above a pink platform and a wide flight of yellow steps, with walls running out to both sides, small teal figures at the foot of the steps and small figures with banners in front. The double roof, the arched gateway and the walls on either side match Gwanghwamun, the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. The mug doesn't name it.^[13]

16. 16
    City skyline over a river, possibly Seoul on the Han Back view

    Tall towers in teal, pink and red stand above a long orange bridge on piers, with a dark green bank at the left, a white boat on the water below and fireworks bursting overhead. A pink microphone with stars floats to the left. The scene may be Seoul along the Han River, but none of the towers or the bridge is drawn closely enough to name. The mug doesn't name it.

17. 17
    Orange round flowers and clouds Side view

    Three large orange round flowers with red-orange rings of petals sit in a cluster at the top left of the Side photo, with small pink and mint clouds beside them; the same flowers show at the top right of the Back photo. The drawing is too stylised to say which flower is meant.

The photos do not show the inside or the bottom of the mug. The handle is on the right in the Front photo and on the left in the Back photo; the Side photo shows the part of the wrap opposite the handle, and the narrow strip under the handle is only seen at an angle at the edges of those two photos.

Collector notes

• The checklist also lists a Been There Korea mug (been-there-korea) and Icon Korea mugs (icon-korea, icon-mini-korea). This one has KOREA in pale capitals on a large dark green circle on the Front, with a hand-drawn wrap of people, food and buildings around it.
• The box behind the mug in the Side photo reads STARBUCKS DISCOVERY SERIES. We have not found a Starbucks source describing the Korea edition, so we say nothing here about when or where it was sold.
• The Side photo shows the part of the wrap opposite the handle: the tiger, taekwondo sparring and hanok buildings. Listing photos that show only the Front miss these, so ask for a side view.

Other Korea mugs

Different series, different mugs. Check the series name before you buy.

About the Discovery Series

• Discovery Series vs Been There Series: the differences
• How to display and store a Starbucks mug collection
• Where the hidden cup is on each Discovery Series mug
• Starbucks Discovery Series mugs list