Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
Designer makes artifact-inspired gifts to help revive Korea's forgotten traditions
Hailey Han, founder and CEO of design brand Mimidar / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Traditional cultural products sold in museum stores were once considered tacky and old-fashioned, but now attract great interest from Korea's younger generations.
Ancient artifacts and designs have provided inspiration for a range of brand collaborations with Korean museums. According to the National Museum Foundation of Korea, the sales of museum merchandise tripled from 3.8 billion won ($2.9 million) in 2020 to 11.7 billion won in 2022. The number of visits to the National Museum Goods online shop topped 840,000 last year.
These design objects transform the purely decorative into something practical, enticing consumers to splurge.
A prime example from the National Museum of Korea is the Goryeo celadon-inspired phone cases that sold over 50,000 pieces. They were designed by Mimidar, a design brand that infuses traditional Korean culture with various modern-day items.
Hailey Han, founder and CEO of Mimidar, has always seen value in traditional design. Having studied Metal Art & Design in college, she dreamed of starting her own company.
She hit upon the idea of incorporating traditional design into everyday products such as umbrellas, phone cases and handkerchiefs, but wasn't sure when to start. The turning point came when she traveled to Japan in 2017 after graduating from college.
“When I was traveling around Osaka, I visited several specialty shops and was surprised to see tradition linked to everyday items. It was unlike in Korea where traditional souvenirs are sold in popular tourist spots like Insa-dong or Myeong-dong for foreigners,” she said during an interview with The Korea Times at her office in Seoul, Wednesday.
An “Irworobongdo”-inspired pencil case / Courtesy of Mimidar
After the trip, she designed and launched an “Irworobongdo”-inspired pencil case on a crowdfunding platform. Irworobongdo, literally means the “Painting of the Sun, Moon and Five Peaks,” and is a panel placed behind the king's royal throne during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910). The sun and moon symbolize the king and the queen's dutiful governance. The five peaks denote a mythical place.
“I initially turned to crowdfunding to test market demand. The product was a success, and that gave me the confidence to start my own business,” she said.
In 2019, Han founded Mimidar and later pitched her product line to national museums. Each year, national museums solicit product design ideas from the public for a cultural and creative design competition.
Adding a modern touch to ancient paintings and craft makes Mimidar items cool and chic for the younger generation to use, according to Han.
“The strength of our brand is in the storytelling. We tell stories behind each product. For instance, the Goryeo celadon started from blue pottery made of soil instead of expensive jade. The crane and cloud design symbolize longevity and auspiciousness” she explained.
The Goryeo celadon-inspired phone and earphone cases / Courtesy of Mimidar
“Generally, when a company makes a new product, it first decides on the items they want to make and then looks up for the best design. However, we do it the opposite way. We first decide on a central theme or a motif and then select items based on a good product story.”
Han mentioned that she also thinks about how to make a product visually appealing and trendy. Lastly, she focuses on the practicality of a product.
When asked where she gets her ideas, Han said she is inspired by everyday objects and places that are common to us. “I love traveling, going to museums and reading books about traditional arts and crafts, but I try to pay attention to familiar things that can be easy to overlook,” she said.
“For example, the 'dancheong' umbrella was inspired by the eaves of Gyeongbok Palace. Dancheong is the use of Korean-style decorative colorful patterns on wooden buildings and other wooden items to convey beauty and dignity,” she said.
Han thanked BTS member RM for renewing interest in the brand. He showed off his Goryeo celadon-inspired phone case in a selfie posted on Instagram in March 2021 and his fans contacted Mimidar to place their orders.
“Thanks to RM, we received a lot of requests from customers overseas. We launched an English website for our online shop in 2021, earlier than planned to meet strong demand,” she said. Shipping is currently available to nearly 20 countries, including the U.S., Japan, France, Germany, Qatar, Indonesia and Thailand.
A man holds the “dancheong” umbrella. Courtesy of Mimidar
Han said she takes pride in connecting generations. “I can feel that younger generations really like traditional Korean culture as most of the buyers are people in their 20s and 30s. However, they buy our items as gifts for their parents or grandparents,” she said.
The CEO said she aims to revive the value of Korea's traditional design that has been somewhat overlooked. Han shared her ambitions for the future.
“We are looking to distribute our products via Amazon in July or August. This would extend our customer outreach. The first batch of products that we plan to launch includes the Irworobongdo pencil case and Goryeo celadon handkerchief,” she said.
“My ultimate goal is to popularize Korean culture, not just traditions, in the future. We will continue to make a lot of cultural products infused with traditional designs and weave compelling narratives into them. We also plan to collaborate with other brands to develop products that are more accessible.”