1. Tell us about Shelllang Korea.

Shellang korea is about adding necessary beautiful sophistication to everyday life. After winning the 2021 Korea Souvenir Fair Contest, we are grateful to be loved by many people through the National Museum of Korea’s Museum Shop.

2. You have previously submitted mother-of-pearl stickers and a wireless charger.

I’m proud that through our wireless charger, “dalban,” many people have become interested in and appreciated Korea’s najeon crafts. I wondered if there was a way to deliver our product to more people at an accessible size and affordable price, so I did some research and came up with “Museum Paper: Light and Pattern of Najeon Chilgi.”

3. How did you come up with the various patterns?

We carefully selected the best patterns from Korea’s najeon chilgi, known for its beauty since the Goryeo Dynasty, and delicately reproduced 12 of them. And because the paper is specially designed for papercraft, it has a special beauty no matter what shape you fold it into. We hope people enjoy working with these while appreciating the value of our culture.

4. Have you had any challenges while creating?

It was very difficult to draw each delicate najeon pattern, akin to cutting and applying mother-of-pearl pieces. Creating design files suitable for foil printing, while preserving the beauty of the artwork, involved numerous revisions and deliberations. It was a real challenge, but with the help of Chungmuro’s printing craftsmen, who have more than 20–30 years of expertise, the work came out successfully.

5. What did you learn from the contest, and do you have any stories you’d like to share?

We’ve realized once again that it takes the help of a lot of people to successfully bring a product to life. I’m truly grateful to the judges, consultants, and the many staff members who contributed to our success.

6. Tell us about your future plans.

Our products are currently on display at the Korea Tourism Organization Singapore Center’s “Korea Plaza,” where we designed a hanbok-style set package that makes Korean culture more accessible. It will include instructions and QR codes for pictures and videos on folding the hanbok to clearly convey the nature and target of the product. We plan to introduce additional colors if our product is well-received and are preparing the “Museum Paper: The Beauty of Hangeul,” featuring beautiful Korean script.