Shopofkorea guides
Najeon Hand Mirrors and a Butterfly Ssanghap Sent as Gifts to a Friend in the US
Official product names are shown in Korean. Product pages are in Korean; prices are in South Korean won (KRW).
I have a friend who lives in the United States. We spent a few years together in Korea before my friend went back, and as the end of the year drew near I found myself wanting to send something with a distinctly Korean feel. The question was what to send. Snacks and cosmetics are easy enough to find over there, and the usual souvenirs seemed like the kind of thing that would go straight into a drawer the moment they arrived.
At first I searched for things like "gift for a friend in the US" and "Korean gift for a friend abroad." A lot of lightweight items came up — keychains, ballpoint pens — but this time I wanted to give something that would be used and kept for a long time. Then I remembered how my friend, when still in Korea, had once stood in front of a najeon (mother-of-pearl inlay) jewelry box and couldn't bring themselves to walk away. So I changed my search terms to "najeon hand mirror gift" and "butterfly ssanghap jewelry box."
No Blue Available, So Purple It Was
The first thing that caught my eye was a ssanghap (double-lidded box) with a butterfly pattern. I wanted to buy it in blue, but it was out of stock. I left an inquiry and received a reply saying there were no plans to make it again for the time being.
I hesitated a little that night, knowing my friend likes blue. But when I looked at the photos again, the shimmer of the najeon came through beautifully even against the purple background. In the end I settled on the 한지와 자개-쌍합 당초나비(보라) — a double-lidded jewelry box made by cutting najeon onto hanji (Korean mulberry paper) and applying multiple coats of lacquer, with a flannel-lined interior. Because it comes as two boxes, I thought it would be perfect for separating rings from earrings. The butterfly and dangcho (scrolling vine) motifs are said to carry wishes for happiness and harmony, which made it feel just right to send to a friend far away.
Mirrors in Several Different Patterns
Sending just the ssanghap felt a little sparse. My friend is the type who always looks out for the people around them — whenever I send something, my friend invariably shares it with family or colleagues. So I chose several najeon hand mirrors, each with a different pattern, with the idea that my friend could keep one and give the rest to whoever seemed right.
The 자개 주머니 거울-검나비 (Najeon Pocket Mirror — Black Butterfly) is roughly 6 cm wide and 6.5 cm tall, small enough to slip into an inner bag pocket. The black butterfly stands out clearly against the najeon surface.
The 자개손거울大-흰호랑나비 (Najeon Hand Mirror Large — White Tiger Butterfly) is a little bigger — about 7 cm by 7.5 cm — and features a white tiger butterfly together with flowers. The opal-like iridescence as the light hits it at different angles was visible even on screen.
And then there was the 자개손거울-매화와나비 (Najeon Hand Mirror — Plum Blossom and Butterfly). I tucked in a note explaining that for Koreans, the plum blossom is the flower that blooms at the very end of winter. Friends in the US tend to appreciate that kind of one-line explanation more than you might expect.
My friend loves writing letters by hand, so I added a 상감자동필함-은선팔각학 (Sanggam Jadong Pen Case — Silver-Wire Octagonal Crane), a pen case made on a wooden base inlaid with najeon, chilbo (cloisonné enamel), and silver wire, engraved with two cranes and an octagonal pattern. It is just over 22 cm long, a good size for keeping pens tidy on a desk. The crane is said to symbolize longevity and nobility, so it was not lacking as a mature, sophisticated gift either.
No Pre-Wrapping, but Plenty of Wrapping Paper
When I placed the order I left one request: please don't wrap the items, but do include the wrapping paper and ribbon — and add a little extra wrapping paper. If everything is already wrapped up, it's hard for my friend to choose which mirror to give to which person. I thought it would be better to open the box, look at each pattern one by one, and then wrap each piece to suit the recipient. I was also worried throughout about the fact that it was going overseas and mirrors can break.
I included some letter paper with a Korean feel as well. If letter paper feels like too much, a single postcard works just as well. Next time I'm thinking of trying the 한국의 아침 엽서 시리즈 - 사랑(하나) (Korean Morning Postcard Series — Love (One)). It features the Korean word '사랑' (love) and a heart on hanji-textured paper, so even a friend who can't read Korean will understand the meaning right away.
The Day the Box Arrived
The box arrived close to the end of a month. My friend called me on a video call, and had already spread the wrapping paper out on the desk.
My friend lined the mirrors up side by side and traced each one with a finger — the 흰호랑나비 (White Tiger Butterfly), the 검나비 (Black Butterfly), the 매화와나비 (Plum Blossom and Butterfly) — asking over and over, "Is this really made from a shell?" The lid of the pen case was opened and closed several times, and the crane's wings were studied for a long while. As for the ssanghap, my friend said it was too precious to put anything in yet and just set it on one side of the desk. I apologized for it not being blue, and my friend laughed and said the purple matched the room better anyway.
My friend said the 흰호랑나비 (White Tiger Butterfly) mirror had been claimed as a personal one. The rest were going to be wrapped one by one and given to people to be grateful to at the end of the year — and only then did my friend realize that was why I had asked for extra wrapping paper. Toward the end of the call, one of the letter envelopes was taken out, unfolded, and my friend said the reply would be written on that.
When you're trying to figure out what to send to the US, it's easy to feel like you need to send one big, expensive thing. But having done it this way, I found that pairing one item the friend will keep and look at for a long time with a few small things to share with the people around them is far more comfortable for the person receiving it. And not getting the color you wanted turned out not to be such a big disappointment after all.
This account is based on an actual purchase; individuals and organizations have been anonymized and some scenes have been reconstructed.