[en] A summary of recent experimental efforts on nuclei in very close vicinity to the doubly magic ¹³²Sn and perspectives for further progress in the very near future, are presented. A special attention is given to the selected key developments in this mass region via three avenues of production and investigation of exotic nuclei: β decay at the ISOL facilities, prompt γ-rays in spontaneous fission probed using large Ge arrays, and μ-second isomers produced in the fragmentation and in-flight separation of energetic uranium beams or in fission using recoil separators. (author)