What started as routine diplomacy at the U.S.–South Korea summit on August 25 turned into a viral spectacle — and even moved the stock market — thanks to Donald Trump’s spontaneous praise for a pen.
During the White House meeting, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung used a handcrafted pen from Jennaile, a tiny workshop in Seoul, to sign the guestbook. The pen combined old and new: traditional Korean symbols on the outside, but a refill from Monami, South Korea’s best-known stationery brand.
Trump, watching the signature, interrupted to call the pen “nice” and “beautifully thick.” Lee joked it would be perfect for Trump’s famously bold autograph and then handed it to him as a gift. The exchange, caught on camera, quickly went viral on social media.
The fallout was immediate. Jennaile, which produces only about a dozen pens a day, was flooded with requests and had to suspend new orders, noting that the “Trump pen” was a one-off design. Meanwhile, Monami’s stock jumped 12.4% on August 27, closing at $2.09, as investors latched onto the sudden global spotlight.
Jennaile isn’t new to politics — it supplied pens for the 2018 inter-Korean summit and even crafted a set for BTS as part of a cultural diplomacy initiative. But Trump’s casual endorsement propelled the small workshop into international headlines in a way no marketing plan ever could.
In a world dominated by digital diplomacy, it wasn’t a high-tech gadget or a policy announcement that grabbed attention. It was an old-school tool — a pen — that turned a diplomatic handshake into a market-moving moment.
