Shopofkorea guides
Gifts for Foreign Guests: Najeon Hand Mirrors and a Fan Chosen Two Days Before the Meeting
Official product names are shown in Korean. Product pages are in Korean; prices are in South Korean won (KRW).
The day I was supposed to meet my foreign guests was only two days away. I had made the appointment long in advance, yet I kept putting off deciding what to bring. I didn't want to show up empty-handed, but I also didn't want something that looked like it had been grabbed off any random shelf. I wanted it to be the kind of thing they would pull out later and immediately think of as something they received from someone they met in Korea.
At first I typed "gifts for foreigners" into the search bar, but that was far too broad. I narrowed it to "Korean traditional souvenirs," then alternated between "najeon hand mirror gift" and "traditional fan gift." I had two worries. Because the guests would have to carry everything home, nothing big or heavy would do. And then there was time. No matter how well I chose, it would be pointless if the items didn't arrive before the meeting. By the end I was even searching "gifts for foreigners fast delivery."
One for Each Person — Najeon the Size of a Palm
The first thing that caught my eye was the najeon mirror. Even in photos, the color shifted wherever light touched it. The decoration is najeon (mother-of-pearl inlay), made by grinding thin slices of shell and adhering them to create patterns, so the opal-like shimmer comes alive depending on the angle. At roughly 7 cm wide and 7.5 cm tall, it slips easily into a pocket or pouch, and the country of origin is the Republic of Korea.
I wanted to give each guest a different pattern, so I chose 2. One was 자개손거울大-흰호랑나비 (large najeon hand mirror — white tiger butterfly). The white butterfly and floral motif is said to carry meanings of good fortune, harmony, and the spirit of spring, so I thought it would be a lovely thing to hand over at a first meeting.
The other was 자개손거울-매화와나비 (najeon hand mirror — plum blossom and butterfly). The plum blossom and butterfly are also said to signify good things and beauty in Korean traditional patterns, and the soft luster of the mother-of-pearl suited them in a calm, understated way.
Something to Open Together at the Table
The mirrors were each person's own keepsake, but I also wanted something we could spread out on the table together and talk about. Conversation tends to stall easily when you're meeting for the first time. That's why I chose 오죽선-단오도 (ojuk-seon — Dano scene fan; ojuk means black bamboo). It is a folding fan with ribs woven from brown bamboo, made 100% by hand, decorated with a figure painting depicting Dano customs, and finished with a seon-chu (fan tassel) ornament. I thought that once it was unfolded, the conversation would naturally drift toward "What kind of day is Dano?"
I also indulged in one more item: 족자小-산수도(가을) (small jokja — landscape painting, autumn; jokja is a traditional hanging scroll). It is a traditional hanging scroll with an autumn landscape painted in ink wash with light color on a hanji (Korean traditional paper) ground, finished with a scroll rod and decorative knot. At 89.5 cm tall and 25.6 cm wide, it has a real presence when unrolled, yet when rolled up it fits into a bag without much trouble. Because the painting has a lot of open space, I thought even someone seeing it for the first time could look at it comfortably.
The Timing Was What Made Me Most Anxious
As soon as I placed the order I left an inquiry: "I need to hand these over in person on that day, so even if it's difficult, could you please ship them today?" Fortunately they dispatched everything that same day, and the box arrived the day before the meeting. The mirrors and the fan are things that can crack or bend easily, so I was on edge right up until I opened the box, but the packing was thorough and every item arrived without a single mark. If your schedule is tight, I'd say writing your situation down right when you place the order, the way I did, makes the wait much easier on your nerves.
The Day I Handed Them Over
Once we were seated, I set the mirrors, the fan, and the scroll side by side on the table. As I handed a mirror to each person and said "This was made in Korea," both of them placed the mirror in their palm and spent a long moment silently studying the pattern. When one of them tilted her wrist slightly, the mother-of-pearl color shifted, and she showed it to the person beside her with a smile. Because the patterns were different, they compared notes — "Yours has a white butterfly, mine has flowers" — and swapped mirrors back and forth.
When I unfolded the fan, questions came pouring out. What are the people in the painting doing? What occasion is this? I explained Dano as best I could, and even with my halting description the conversation never stopped. I unrolled the scroll briefly so we could look at it together, then rolled it back up and handed it over — and they were already talking about where they would hang it at home.
Looking back, the small mirrors became a personal memento for each guest, while the fan and the scroll gave us something to talk about right there at the table. If a similar occasion comes up again, I'd like to add a card with a short handwritten note. 전통 한복카드-연인(여) (traditional hanbok card — couple, female version; hanbok is Korean traditional dress) is a greeting card with a hanbok motif, and I thought it would be nice to place on top of a gift when handing it over.
This account is based on an actual purchase experience; individuals and organizations have been anonymized and some scenes have been reconstructed.