Shopofkorea guides
Choosing a Gold Geobukseon and Gold Crown Frame as Gifts for an Overseas Buyer
Official product names are shown in Korean. Product pages are in Korean; prices are in South Korean won (KRW).
An overseas buyer was scheduled to visit our company at the start of the year. We had been doing business with them for several years, and this time the meeting was set to involve talks about a new contract, so everyone was on edge. The team divided up the meeting materials, and the gifts became my responsibility.
At first I had no idea where to start. When people talk about gifts for buyers, red ginseng or neckties are usually the first things that come up. But what I wanted was something that would stay in the recipient's office for a long time — something that, every time they saw it, would bring to mind "that company from Korea." I had one more wish: I wanted to include the company logo and a short greeting message alongside it.
The first thing I typed into the search bar was "geobukseon" (turtle ship). When bringing up Korea with foreign guests, Admiral Yi Sun-sin and the turtle ship are always the easiest place to start. I adjusted my search terms a few times and looked through the results about three times, and in between I also searched for "Baekje geumgwan" (Baekje gold crown) and "geumgwan" (gold crown). If the turtle ship had a story to tell, the gold crown was the kind of object that conveyed the atmosphere of an ancient royal court the moment you saw it, without any explanation needed.
I also spent a long time looking at najeonchilgi (mother-of-pearl lacquerware) jewelry boxes. The iridescent sheen of the mother-of-pearl was truly beautiful. However, a jewelry box depends heavily on personal taste, and it felt slightly out of place as something the other party would keep on display in their office. I also compared it against things like mother-of-pearl business card holders, but for a main gift to present at a meeting ahead of a contract signing, they seemed too modest.
The first thing I settled on was the 금거북선中(13G) (Gold Geobukseon Medium, 13G — a gold-finished decorative turtle ship model). It is a decorative piece that recreates the turtle ship model through metalwork and a gold-plating finish, and since it comes complete with a glass case and stand as a display piece, it can be placed directly on a desk or display cabinet. Above all, it carries the story of "the ship that defended the nation," so the words to say when presenting it come naturally.
The piece I chose to pair with it was the 액자-금제관식(王)실물 (Framed Gold Crown Ornament (王) — a framed reproduction of a gold royal crown and crown ornament). It is a cultural heritage reproduction based on the form of the Baekje gold crown and crown ornaments, and thanks to the three-dimensional quality characteristic of metalwork, the golden brilliance remains vivid even within the frame. It was also easy to explain the symbol of "王 (king)" at the center. The turtle ship on the desk and the gold crown frame on the wall — I also liked the fact that the two pieces would not overlap in the same space.
On the day I placed the order, I immediately sent an email to the online shop. I wrote that these were gifts for an overseas buyer and that I wanted to include some text, and I attached the logo file and a file with the message for each item. The logo file had actually been converted for me by the design team, but it wouldn't open on my own computer, so I added a note asking them to check it. Fortunately, the shop was able to open the file and confirmed the layout of the text and logo.
Looking back, there was one thing I regretted. When I sent multiple logo files, I hadn't written in the email which file was for which product. If you're placing a similar order, it's more convenient for everyone if you include the product name in the file name. It's also worth asking in advance whether text or a logo can be added, as this may vary by product — it saves you worry later.
The day the items arrived at the office, I placed them side by side on my desk. I picked up the turtle ship, set it back down, turned it over, and checked the underside. Only after holding the logo proof up next to the gold crown frame was I able to open the meeting materials. Since both items contain glass and a frame, I kept them in their original boxes until the day of the meeting.
After the meeting ended and before we moved on to dinner, I brought out the gifts in the meeting room. I started with the turtle ship. When I mentioned that it was a ship that had defended the nation at sea hundreds of years ago, the buyer leaned toward the case and asked whether this was a ship that had actually existed. That one question kept the conversation going for quite a while. When I showed them the gold crown frame, I pointed out the character "王" and explained that it was a piece of ancient royal regalia, and they laughed and asked whether it would be all right to hang a royal ornament in their own office. When they noticed the logo and message at the bottom, they immediately took out their phone and took a photo.
A few weeks later, during a video call, I could see the gold turtle ship on the shelf behind them on screen. That was the moment I thought, "I'm glad I chose those."
As a side note, I had considered getting something small separately for the working-level staff who came along, but I let it go this time. For next time, I have been looking at the 명함집-청자상감운학문 (Business Card Holder — Celadon Sanggam Crane and Cloud Pattern — a metal business card holder featuring the color of Goryeo celadon with a crane-and-cloud inlay pattern) to prepare alongside the main gift. It seemed like something that would not feel out of place as an accompaniment to a larger gift.
If you are thinking about what to give a buyer, it becomes much easier to choose if you first ask yourself whether the object will carry a story with it once it is placed in the other person's office.
This account is based on an actual purchasing experience; individuals and organizations have been anonymized and some scenes have been reconstructed.