Traditional Wallets, Luck Pouches & Nubi Pencil Cases: How to Choose

Traditional wallets, luck pouches, and nubi pencil cases are gathered in Shop of Korea's Wallets/Pouches/Pencil Cases category. It's a menu where you can browse textile accessories for carrying small personal items in one place. It runs from coin wallets to pouches for wrapping gifts.

Even when the same nubi fabric is used, what goes inside differs from item to item. You might set out looking only for a wallet and then discover a useful accessory in the pencil case section. Viewing differently named items side by side on one shelf opens up one more way to organize the inside of a bag.

When choosing a wallet, look at both what it will hold and its decoration

누비자수띠지갑[자주색] (nubi embroidered-band wallet in purple) is a wallet made from nubi fabric with embroidery added. Traditional maedeup (Korean decorative knotting) and butterfly ornaments are included as well. It measures 18.5 cm across. The purple ground and its decorations work together, making it a good match for someone who wants to add a traditional flourish to an everyday wallet.

View product — product page in Korean

View product — product page in Korean

Nubi (누비) is a technique in which cotton batting is inserted between an outer layer and a lining and then stitched together. The close, dense stitching brings out both the shape and the pattern. Adding embroidery or maedeup on top of that means even a practical accessory gains the pleasure of ornamentation.

If you keep coins separately, 누비색동띠 동전지갑-황색 (nubi saekdong-band coin wallet in yellow) is likely to catch your eye. It measures 11 cm wide by 8 cm tall and has a zipper. It is a product that combines nubi fabric with silk, embroidery, and maedeup decoration.

The purple wallet and the yellow coin wallet differ not only in color but also in size. Starting by thinking about whether you need a small wallet to take out separately inside a bag makes it easy to tell the two apart. If you are looking for something to organize a bankbook, there is also the 비단배색통장지갑 (silk two-tone bankbook wallet). It is a product that uses silk and metal ornaments, and even within the same wallet menu, what each item is meant to hold is divided up like this.

Luck pouches hold small objects and good wishes alike

매듭주머니小 [진분홍] (maedeup pouch, small, in deep pink) is a bok-jumeoni (luck pouch)-style accessory that closes by pulling a drawstring. It has a flower-shaped maedeup attached and is made from a silk-feel fabric. It measures 10 cm wide by 15.5 cm tall. It suits use as a pouch for storing small items or for presenting a gift.

View product — product page in Korean

The bok-jumeoni (복주머니, luck pouch) was an accessory exchanged at the New Year and on special occasions to wish the recipient good fortune and luck. The maedeup decoration also carries wishes for good fortune and auspiciousness. Placing a small gift inside a pouch and handing it over adds a message of celebration to the fabric that wraps the item.

There is also a product that translates the pouch shape into an everyday wallet. The 수공예 색동복주머니 손지갑 (handcrafted saekdong bok-jumeoni hand wallet) adds maedeup, tassels, and mother-of-pearl and shell ornaments to silk. It is a product in which a skilled hanbok craftsperson has reinterpreted the saekdong (multicolored striped fabric) and bok-jumeoni format in a new way. It suits someone who wants to keep the look of a traditional pouch close at hand as a wallet.

Placing a small pouch for wrapping gifts alongside a hand wallet meant for personal use makes the difference clear. Even though both share the name bok-jumeoni, whether you want to wrap something to give away or to carry your own belongings determines which product draws your attention.

Nubi pencil cases can hold small everyday items too

The pencil case menu is the place to look for something to organize writing instruments. The 전통무늬 단색 누비 필통 (traditional-pattern solid-color nubi pencil case) features an embroidered pattern and a traditional maedeup on the handle. It is a product finished by hand in a workshop. The shape and color of the maedeup are dispatched at random, so it is better to know this in advance rather than expecting the exact decoration shown in the photos.

The ways a pencil case gets used are more varied than its name suggests. One buyer of the 전통무늬 누비 필통 적색 필기구 수납 (traditional-pattern nubi pencil case in red, writing-instrument storage) wrote: "It's great for tossing in all sorts of things like a razor, lip balm, dental floss, and a ballpoint pen." That is an example of carrying both writing instruments and small everyday items together in one place. Reviews of the 전통무늬 단색 누비 필통-녹색 (traditional-pattern solid-color nubi pencil case in green) also include accounts of using it for pens, mascara, and lipstick.

Reading the reviews, you come to realize that a pencil case can also be used as a small accessory pouch. Someone planning to put pens inside will naturally think first about the length of their writing instruments. Someone wanting to carry cosmetics or everyday items can start by gathering the things they always have with them. Rather than applying the usage described in a review to every pencil case, it is better to first match the size of the product you like with what you plan to put inside.

Browse the full menu, then narrow it down to coin wallets

If you have not yet decided what form you need, the right order is to start by browsing the Wallets/Pouches/Pencil Cases category. You can move between nubi wallets, maedeup pouches, and pencil cases and view items with similar uses together. Within the same traditional textile accessories, you can see at a glance how color, decoration, and intended contents differ.

If you have made up your mind that you want a small wallet for coins, you can move on to the coin wallet keyword shop. Coin wallets are gathered together there, making it easy to narrow down from a broad menu to a single type of item that caught your eye.

Korean accessories for carrying small personal items can all be found together in the Wallets/Pouches/Pencil Cases menu. Think about whether you want to keep coins separately, wrap a gift, or gather pens and everyday items. After that, you can add whichever style of decoration appeals to you from among nubi, saekdong, and maedeup.