Shopofkorea guides
Gifts for an Australian Homestay: Preparing with Yut-nori and Bookmarks
Official product names are shown in Korean. Product pages are in Korean; prices are in South Korean won (KRW).
There are moments, a few nights before departure, when you notice that the 'host-family gift' line at the bottom of your packing list is still blank. That was exactly the situation for a customer from Daejeon heading to Australia for a homestay. Late at night they hurriedly filled their cart and completed the purchase, only to remember the next morning that they had forgotten to request gift wrapping for the bookmarks.
The message they left went something like this: could the bookmarks be placed inside the packaging of the yut-nori set they had ordered together, since everything was meant as a homestay gift, and would it all arrive before their departure date? The shop replied that it would pack the bookmarks into the same box as the yut-nori and ensure delivery before the departure date.
That brief exchange captures almost every concern a person has when choosing homestay gifts. What to give a foreign family you are meeting for the first time so it does not feel awkward; whether it will be small and light enough to fit in a suitcase; and whether it will arrive in time.
Something to Sit Down and Play Together
The first few days after arrival, conversation does not flow easily. Having something to spread out on the living-room table changes the situation. That is probably why the centrepiece gift this customer chose was yut-nori (윷놀이, a traditional Korean board game).
전통 윷놀이세트 (Traditional Yut-nori Set) consists of wooden yut sticks, a paper game board, playing pieces, and an instruction sheet. The box measures roughly 15 cm wide by 9 cm tall and weighs about 100 g, so it adds almost no burden to your luggage. The rules become familiar after just one round together, making it a fitting way to sit across from your host couple after dinner and explain what Korean holiday gatherings look like.
Small Things to Tuck Inside the Box
Asking for the bookmarks to be placed inside the yut-nori box was a quite practical choice. Flat bookmarks left loose in luggage tend to get bent or lost, but once they are inside a sturdy box they all come out together when you open it.
![전통책갈피-훈민정음부채[대나무]](https://img.shopofkorea.com/shop/new/800/1296457331.jpg)
The items the customer chose were a fan-shaped bookmark and a curved-pattern bookmark. A product in the same vein is 전통책갈피-훈민정음부채[대나무] (Traditional Bookmark – Hunminjeongeum Fan [Bamboo]), which features the fan form with the Hunminjeongeum (훈민정음) typeface and a bamboo-grain finish, finished with a traditional maedeup (매듭, Korean decorative knotting) cord. It makes a natural conversation starter for explaining what kind of writing system Hangeul is.
The order also included a chilbo (칠보, Korean cloisonné enamel) bookmark. For those who want to explore more chilbo options, there is 여인전통한복4종 책갈피 (Women's Traditional Hanbok 4-Type Bookmark Set). It renders hanbok silhouettes and floral patterns on metal using the chilbo technique and comes with a maedeup cord, offering a compact introduction to Korean traditional dress and its colour palette.
If you have heard in advance that your host enjoys reading, 금장 책갈피-국보 10종세트 (Gold-Foil Bookmark – National Treasure 10-Piece Set) is also worth considering. It is a bookmark set based on Korean national treasures, and taking out one piece at a time to explain which artefact it depicts can be an enjoyable experience in itself.
A Single Piece to Stay on the Display Shelf
When a game set and stationery items feel a little light on their own, people often add a decorative object meant to be kept in the home. This customer also packed a bride-and-groom doll.
마블인형-신랑신부 (Marble Doll – Bride and Groom) is a resin figurine depicting a traditional Korean wedding couple: the groom in his samo (사모) and ceremonial robe, and the bride in her hwarot (활옷) and jokduri (족두리). It features colours in the obangsaek (오방색, the traditional five-directional colour system) palette with gold embroidery motifs and stands approximately 16 cm tall. For a couple's home, it is natural to present alongside a story about Korean wedding customs. However, at 425 g it is heavier than the other gifts and requires care against breakage, so it is safest to tuck it between layers of clothing in your suitcase.
If something that catches the eye every day is preferable to a decorative piece, there is 맛있는한식 메모자석 4p (Delicious Korean Food Memo Magnet 4-Piece Set). The magnets depict bibimbap, pajeon, samgyeopsal, and chimaek, so conversations about Korean food arise naturally in front of the refrigerator. It is an especially good fit if you are planning to cook a Korean meal yourself at some point during the homestay.
If your departure date is fixed, the most reliable approach is to note both the departure date and any packaging requests at the time of ordering. This customer remembered only after placing the order, but by leaving an inquiry right away they were able to have all the gifts combined into one box. That single box, lifted out from the bottom of the suitcase, ends up being the thing that opens the first conversation in an unfamiliar living room.
This account is based on an actual purchase; individuals and organisations have been anonymised and some details have been reconstructed.