Seoul City Hall Hanbok & Mother-of-Pearl Wish Stone Making Class - Tea Included

Make a mother-of-pearl wish stone
in a hanbok near City Hall Station

This is a roughly 2-hour traditional craft class held on the 4th floor of a building on Sejong-daero 16-gil in Jung-gu, Seoul. Put on a hanbok, enjoy traditional tea and sweets, then make your own wish stone with mother-of-pearl pieces to take home. Up to 10 participants join each class.

Wear a hanbok and enjoy tea and sweets

The class begins with putting on a hanbok, and you can take photos in it. While you enjoy traditional Korean tea and sweets, a certified craft instructor introduces the history of mother-of-pearl and the symbolism of traditional motifs such as cranes, pine trees and lotus flowers.

Choose a stone and design your wish

Pick a stone you like from a selection of natural stones, each with its own shape, texture and weight. Plan your layout with the instructor, choosing from traditional Korean motifs or creating a pattern with your own meaning.

Set the mother-of-pearl and finish your stone

Following the instructor's guidance, attach hand-cut mother-of-pearl pieces to your stone one by one. This step takes about 50 minutes and is done slowly and with focus. After coating and sealing, the stone shimmers gold, green, blue and white depending on the angle. Your finished stone is wrapped in a traditional Korean bojagi cloth.