Narrator: These wiggly little tubes will end up as sticks of Hagoromo chalk. You'd be forgiven if this writing utensil
doesn't make you emotional, but the world's mathematicians
might disagree with you. From a very personal point of view, I love that feeling. Narrator: It's been said
that the secret ingredient is angels' tears, and legend has it it's impossible to write
a false theorem with it. Business Insider was unable to
confirm or deny these claims. What is certain is that fans of this chalk swear by its smooth performance, consistency, and color range, which are unmatched by cheaper brands. You can buy a box of 12 white
pieces for $10.50 on Amazon, while Crayola's version
goes for as little as $0.62. These days, it's made in South Korea. But back in 2015, the chalk almost disappeared forever after the original Japanese company

announced it was shutting down. I did remember scavenging for chalk. Narrator: So, as other
companies' chalk sales decline, how is this expensive
chalk still selling out? And what keeps Hagoromo-heads
coming back for more? Álvaro: They sort of
melt on the blackboard. That's the feeling. As you go, it's just melting very, very gently, and it just writes a lot better. Narrator: Álvaro Lozano-Robledo is a professor of mathematics at UConn and would only ever use Hagoromo
chalk if he had his way. There was some video that I made about, it was like Gollum and my precious, you know, the One Ring, but it was me just looking at pieces of chalk that somebody left
behind or something. So I started making more and more videos that were just jokes about
mathematicians and chalk. Narrator: The lore that
surrounds this brand runs deep.

Narrator: But the real secret
to making Hagoromo chalk distinctly smooth,
pigmented, easy to erase, nearly dustless, and
therefore more expensive is its special formula
and production methods. It's these qualities that keep mathematicians
reaching for the brand. Making a stick of Hagoromo chalk starts in one of these industrial mixers. The main ingredient is calcium carbonate, which is a compound often
referred to as chalk. It makes up 70% to 80% of the recipe. Cheaper chalks will sometimes
be made with gypsum, a mineral used in plaster, as the base. Álvaro: With other types of chalk, the piece of chalk will break, pieces will fly,
but also a lot more dust is being created as you go along. This one, as I write, just a couple of dust specks flew away, but otherwise, everything
stayed on the board. Narrator: The last known
ingredient is kaolin.

a natural clay essential
for making porcelain. Adding this helps bind the ingredients. The rest of the Hagoromo
formula is confidential. All we know is its consistency. Narrator: It's these materials
that Shin Hyeong-seok says differentiate Hagoromo
from its competitors and bump up its price tag. At this point, white chalk is ready to
be shaped into sticks. But there's an extra
step for colorful chalk. Narrator: In South Korea,
Hagoromo's white chalk costs 200 won per stick. Regular colors cost 400 won, and the fluorescent line costs 600 won. Narrator: Typical fluorescent pigments contain harmful chemicals
like formaldehyde, but Hagoromo uses premium pigments without those substances. Hagoromo has seen the
demand for these colors grow as online lectures have
become more popular over the last few years. Narrator: Álvaro needs
a multitude of colors when he's teaching to
visualize complex ideas.

Álvaro: So, here I actually colored in the triangle in purple. So, I'm going to do that also here, so you see the triangle, that that triangle in purple is the same one that we had before. Narrator: And, just as importantly, he needs them to erase. Álvaro: If you use other brands or cheaper brands, like Crayola, if I wrote this in color, it would not come off for, like, a week. Narrator: Colorful chalks with more abrasive formulas tend to leave deposits on the board that muddy the clarity of whatever he wants to teach next. Álvaro: It was amazing the first time I tried with colored chalk with Hagoromo. It erases just like the white chalk does. Narrator: Once they're mixed, white and colorful chalk are treated the same way. This batch will be left to dry out in a maturation room for about a day and a half.

before it's ready to be rolled and shaped. Narrator: Much of the
equipment used in this process was specially developed or repurposed to make Hagoromo chalk, like the machine that kneads the dough before it can be molded into sticks. Narrator: Then these
freshly cut lumps are molded by a machine specially designed by Hagoromo's former
president, Watanabe Takayasu. Narrator: The machine forms thicker tubes than the average chalk manufacturer. Inside, the dough is compressed so the final texture is firm. Narrator: The extruded dough is then cut and left to air-dry for up to a day. Narrator: The sticks bake in the kiln at 70 to 80 degrees Celsius
for about eight hours. Narrator: The average stick of chalk would be ready to package
and ship at this point, but Hagoromo takes the extra step of branding and coating its chalk with another specially developed machine.

Narrator: The stamped sticks are then clamped and dipped in a special coating that keeps the dust off your fingers. When they're used side by side, the difference between coated and uncoated chalk is immediately noticeable. Producer: Can you use some of that chalk on the board and show me why it's different? Álvaro: If I must. It's a little rougher to handle. I'm already getting more dust just on my hands just from using that piece of chalk just for one equation. Narrator: Álvaro is an official Hagoromo social-media ambassador. Álvaro: I started making videos on TikTok, and because writing with Hagoromo chalk is sort of a meme about mathematicians, I would make bits about chalk. And then at some point I said, Well, maybe I should contact them. And they said, Yes, you can be an ambassador. Narrator: It's a simple arrangement.

He posts about the brand online ... Álvaro: And then they send me, from time to time, they
send me a box of chalk. So I have a lot to go around,
and that makes me happy, so. Narrator: But a plentiful supply
was not always guaranteed. When the original owner,
Watanabe Takayasu, announced that he intended to shut down Hagoromo's only
factory in Japan in 2015, Alvaro and his fellow
mathematicians felt ... Devastated. And I just
started to, you know, ration what chalk I was going to use. Now I want to keep these
for research talks, and if I had to teach
undergrads some calculus, then, oh, well, I'm going to have to use the bad chalk for a while. Narrator: Some people
went as far as to buy lifetime supplies in
anticipation of the closure. I don't think anybody here
went so crazy about it to get

you know, a huge amount of boxes to last us through, like, the apocalypse. But you had your last supplies, and that was whatever you had that had to last you through, I don't know, the end
of your career, I guess. Emergency supplies of chalk in case the factory was going to close. Narrator: And it nearly did. Takayasu was ill and having a difficult
time finding a successor. Narrator: But the course of that side job led him to form a
relationship with Takayasu. Narrator: Hyeong-seok wasn't
exactly looking to take over, but that visit got him thinking. Narrator: Takayasu was moved by Hyeong-Seok's passion for the brand. But he originally discouraged
Hyeong-seok from taking over. Narrator: So Hyeong-seok
bought the company and the machines. Narrator: It took over six months and 16 shipping containers

to get everything from Japan to South Korea. Eventually, staying true to Takayasu's formula and production methods paid off. Álvaro: I can't tell the difference. I think it still feels great and much better than anything else that I've tried. Narrator: Chalk usage has been declining internationally for some time, but the unique challenge here is that Hagoromo can't keep up with demand. Narrator: It takes about three days to make a stick of Hagoromo chalk, and much of the process requires a human touch. Narrator: But any change is a risk when the brand's current success is thanks to honoring tradition. Narrator: If the 2015 transition is any indication, as long as Hyeong-seok can maintain the level of quality fans have come to expect, they will be grateful to get their hands on it. Álvaro: I love that feeling. I love the feeling myself as I'm drawing things

and how neatly I can write things down. How precise I can do my lines. How I know that it's not going to, as I draw, that it's not going to fade.

Why Hagoromo Chalk Is So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider

What you want to know about business. 

Visit our homepage for the top stories of the day: https://www.businessinsider.com 
Business Insider on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/businessinsider
Business Insider on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insiderbusiness
Business Insider on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/businessinsider
Business Insider on Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/discover/Business_Insider/5319643143
Business Insider on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessinsider

If you have a permissions or licensing request, please connect with our partners at PARS International who will be able to provide you with an accurate quote for the overall usage rights that you’re interested in. A representative from PARS will contact you shortly after filling out this request form: https://www.parsintl.com/publications/insider/


Why Hagoromo Chalk Is So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider

Scripts