I choose two reasons why 153 Pen have been widely loved by the public for such a long time.
1. First of all, really cheap price and excellent durability.
Monami 153 Pen is 300 won. If you consider that chewing gum is 500 won, you don’t need any other explanation regarding price competitiveness of the pen. FYI, the price at the time of release in 1963 was 15 won, and it was the same price as the newspaper and bus ticket at the time.
Furthermore, this 300 won pen is ridiculously strong.
The 153 Pen made up of only five components will not break even if dropped or dropped into water.
In addition, the pen tip has a “super-strong” durability compared to the pen tip of other ballpoint pens.
Once you buy the pen, you will use it until the ink runs out or it is lost.
2. Simple Design
If you look at the design, it is very basic and simple.
It consists of five components - a hexagonal body, a conical tip, a simple clip, an ink chamber, and a spring. Not only the components are simple,
but color of the pen is also limited to use only two colors.
Body is always white and the tip and the clip are used different colors according to each ink color.
This simple yet practical design has been kept as original since its release in 1963.
This pen has the most basic form, so I personally think it's pointless to argue against the design.
* There were no changes in design, but two parts have modified over the past 60 years.
One is the change of internal structure (move the male screw from the head to the body)
and the other change is the Monami logo printed on the pen.