Inside Seoul's Mechanical Keyboard Expo 2025: It's hard not to walk away feeling enlightened
Ever wonder why anyone would travel overseas for a Keyboard Expo? To answer that, I travelled to Korea and immersed myself in Seoul's Mechanical Keyboard Expo 2025.
Note: This feature was first published on 27 May 2025.
How popular can a keyboard expo be? Surprisingly, thousands actually turned up for this expo, with some even flying in specially from regional countries just to attend these events. Yours truly was also one of the many overseas participants who travelled many hours, not just to soak in the Korean culture but to check out what the custom keyboard scene has to offer.
Of the many events, I chose Seoul Mechanical Keyboard Expo (SMKX) because KLC Playground (KLC) works closely with one of my favourite custom keyboard brands, SingaKBD. KLC also works closely with various artisan makers around the world, making this a pretty attractive event. With a good mix of vendors and designers participating, this expo allowed me to experience most of what the hobby has to offer.
SingaKBD Kohaku SMKX 2025 edition - They had 50 raffle slot chances each day at the show. (Image: KLC Playground)
Keyboard Meetups - It's not just about gadget shopping
Apart from checking out the latest the keyboard scene has to offer, there were also event-specific swag, such as the SMKX 2025 GMK keycaps and lucky draw chances to raffle for the fabled SingaKBD SMKX 2025 Kohaku, which comes in a beautiful Champagne colourway. Unfortunately, after three consecutive days of trying my luck, I didn't manage to nab a raffle spot despite the 50 slots up for grabs each day.
Long queues started to form even before the official opening time.
SMKX, organised by KLC Playground, was held at Setec, an exhibition space located in the Gangnam area. The enthusiast keyboard scene is very much alive and thriving, with streams of enthusiasts lining up even before the official opening time, eager to be among the first to enter the expo.
Entry bands were custom-printed with your own personal QR code for entry and other activities.
Entry is granted using a custom wristband printed with your unique QR code. This can be used to claim a set of novelty keycaps (for those with the blue ticket) and to submit your entry for the various daily lucky draws.
The event is divided into various zones, featuring keyboard vendors from both local and regional arenas, including countries such as China and Malaysia. Apart from keyboards, the expo also hosted artisan makers from around the world.
Enter Chinatown - zFrontier China Pavilion
Taking up a sizeable floor space and being extremely crowded, like literally all through the show, this little section felt very much like walking through Chinatown. zFrontier’s booth features roughly 20 prominent Chinese keyboard brands and manufacturers. Most Chinese companies came to showcase their latest keyboards and related peripherals, providing visitors with a chance to check out the new boards and accessories that would be released later this year.
Lots of people were in line to check out the latest boards and accessories from China.
Wuque Studios showcased the upcoming Nama, a 75% keyboard featuring nice curvy lines and a large mechanical knob with gears used to decorate its centre. What really stood out was the experience of turning the knob; it felt smooth while providing a small tactile bump that indicated an increment.
Upcoming 75% project by Wuque Studio, the Nama.
Owlabs who popularise the use of foams in keyboards giving boards that low and deep satisfying sound was showing off an upcoming split keyboard from their sister brand QK. The QK Alice Duo features two keyboard clusters connected to a controller module that utilises LEDs to provide various visual indicators. The LEDs on the module indicate the mode of operation (wired vs. wireless) as well as provide visual feedback as you type on the boards, displaying data being received through the keyboard clusters.
QK Alice Duo in Yellow, although I think the Black with glitter looks pretty as well.
Some of the major keycap manufacturers from China were seen handing out keycap samples to visitors. Tutkeys, MWKeys, and Keyreative were some of the brands showcasing their keycap manufacturing prowess through attractive designs, themes, and colours to aid custom keyboard enthusiasts in creating the perfect personalised expression through their boards.
Keyreative ABS keycaps come in a wide variety of colours.
Switch maker Gateron was also present to showcase their latest keyboard switches, as well as their waterproof Hall Effect PCB, so one would not have to worry if they accidentally spilt their drinks on the board.
Hall Effect Switches are gaining popularity, with Gateron showcasing their latest model at the expo.
While communication at many of the other booths and event spaces was conducted in Korean, it was great to be able to communicate with the Chinese vendors in Mandarin, which allowed me to understand their products and upcoming projects better.
Artisans Galore
Something I noticed about KLC is its strong focus on artisan makers, with a sizable area dedicated to showcasing a large number of local and international artisans who display their handmade keycaps. Their presence gave visitors a treat, allowing some of them to get their hands on hard-to-come-by custom keycaps, as these are usually handmade in small batches.
Artisan makers from the United States include Rubrehose, Hello Caps, Prime Caps, Level Caps and Alheckz. I found the caps to have a more quirky and funky style with a stronger Western influence.
Rubrehose from America has participated in projects with KLC, SingaKBD and TGR.
From Korea, we saw Dellakey, Namong Art, Sandum Art, Toycap Studio and Luv Whistle. These makers delivered artisans that were cuter and I believe have greater appeal to the female market.
Sandun Art Keycaps from Korea.
And not forgetting our friends from Singapore uchu.club and Janky Caps took up a pretty large booth space. Janky Caps is known for its custom keycaps inspired by topography while uchu.club is known for her mayo-themed accessories and keycaps.
Janky Caps is an artisan maker from Singapore. Seen here, the Patina Copper Infinite Topo ‘slaps’.
The Uchu Club Mayora keycaps are quite cute.
Premium Boards and Components
Before the entry of cost-friendly quality keyboards, the custom keyboard scene was somewhat more bespoke. Designers would spend time marrying design, acoustic engineering, and cultural considerations into highly personalised, custom boards that are often in limited availability. Be prepared to invest some serious cash in these boards and accessories, as they often undergo lengthy research and development, as well as extensive prototyping.
While this may not be something appreciated by the general public, the market is expected to continue growing as more people are exposed to the custom keyboard scene, thanks to the low barrier of entry made possible by mass-produced, high-quality boards from Chinese manufacturers.
At SMKX 2025, some of these bespoke brands showcased their upcoming projects, as well as products commonly sought after by keyboard enthusiasts.
SingaKBD and TGR
Two highly sought-after custom keyboard brands gained significant fame during the COVID period, which saw a surge in engagement in the hobby. SingaKBD with their Unikorn and TGR with the Jane V2, of which the Jane V2 was being flipped in the secondary market for up to USD $8K during the peak of the hobby.
Not counting the resale market, these boards are only available to those who have been able to get one through a raffle or via specially commissioned projects. TGR gained recognition for their infamous Jane V2 CE, which featured a Toblerone weight. TGR was featuring the Jane V3 Rubrehose edition, a collaborative project run by KLC in partnership with both TGR and artisan maker Rubrehose.
TGR X Rubrehose - Jane V3 is the latest iteration of the TGR Jane series and will be launched as part of this special collaboration project.
SingaKBD was featuring the Rubrehaku, the Rubrehose edition of their infamous Kohaku 65% keyboard that usually features a beautiful koi on the back weight, but instead of the koi, the Rubrehose edition features various characters by Rubrehose. Both Rubrehose versions of the TGR Jane and SingaKBD Kohaku are only available upon purchasing the Rubrehose GMK set.
SingaKBD X Rubrehose - Rubrehaku spots a blocker on the top right of the board in the shape of a heart.
GMK
GMK was also showcasing their sample kits, allowing visitors to have a better idea of the colours GMK can manufacture if they wanted to run projects. For the uninitiated, GMK is the gold standard for keycaps in the hobby. Being able to produce keycaps in various colours and patterns, designers can create themed keycap sets for greater personalisation of keyboards. The ABS plastic blend unique to GMK also allows boards to deliver brighter sounds when used for typing. While looking and sounding good, GMK keycaps command a premium that can cost more than a prebuilt keyboard.
GMK is popular among hobbists for quality, colours and sound.
Electro Capacitive (aka Topre) by Cipulot
Apart from keyboards using the standard MX Mechanical Switches, Cipulot, the designer of Electro Capacitive PCBs, was on hand to showcase his prototypes. Designed for use in various premium custom keyboards, his PCBs enable custom keyboards to be converted to support Electro Capacitive functionality. The Electro Capacitive (EC) switch utilises rubber domes to provide a unique tactile feel, enjoyed by many who have used Topre boards (such as one we reviewed a long time ago using those switches). We should also see more access to EC kits through DynaCap, allowing more people to enjoy EC on their favourite boards. Before such solutions, Electro Capacitive boards were only built by Topre, a Japanese firm.
Electro Capacitive PCBs by Cipulot.
SMKX 2025 - My Thoughts
The KLC Booth was full of great custom keyboard deals. (Image: KLC Playground)
SMKX was definitely a great event for keyboard enthusiasts and those keen to learn more and immerse themselves within the custom keyboard hobby. Unfortunately, it seems some brands, such as Geon and KBDfans, did not participate in this event. While there are some great deals on custom keyboard parts and accessories on the show floor, these deals and offers might not appeal to the mass majority who are exploring what custom keyboards have to offer.
Although custom keyboards are a niche arena in the computer hardware, such meet-ups or expos are much appreciated as they do tend to dive deeper into the hobby to showcase the best of the scene. It's not just about buying a new keyboard, but about like-minded people sharing their passion for creating and personalising a piece of hardware.
Attending this event made me appreciate the finer aspects of what a show should be about and what tech shows in Singapore should be about - sharing new ideas and showcasing new innovations - as opposed to walking into a sales event where everyone is just trying to get the best deals for products that they probably already know about. I really do hope events in the scale of SMKX can take off in Singapore too, where it's more hobby-driven than one that is primarily sales-driven with bland promoters who've no vested interest other than to make a quick buck.
With upcoming meets in various parts of Southeast Asia (such as MYMK in Malaysia, VNMK in Vietnam and more), I am looking forward to what the keyboard community will have to offer next in the near future. Perhaps, one day, Singapore will also host such events where the community can come together to interact and share their passion for custom keyboards on a similar scale.
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.