Shopofkorea guides
Gratitude Gift for a Departing CEO and Congratulations for a New One: A Najeon (Mother-of-Pearl) Desk Clock
Official product names are shown in Korean. Product pages are in Korean; prices are in South Korean won (KRW).
The leader who had guided our team for so long was stepping down, and a new CEO was taking over. Once the announcement was made, I was put in charge of arranging the team gifts. I thought it would be easy at first, but choosing turned out to be harder than expected. We needed to say thank you to one person and congratulations to the other. They would both receive their gifts on the same day, in the same office, so I worried it would feel awkward if one gift seemed too heavy and the other too light.
I took turns searching for "gratitude gift for a CEO" and "gift to congratulate a new CEO." For over a week I kept adding things to my cart and removing them. I looked at nail clippers, aprons, nubi (Korean quilted) pouches, and silk fans. They were all lovely, but I kept thinking they would just end up in a drawer. I didn't want nearly ten years of shared time to be tucked away in a drawer.
Then I tried searching for "clocks." A clock is something you keep on your desk and look at every day. For the person leaving, it could mean: please remember the time we spent together. For the person arriving, it could mean: we're cheering you on for the time ahead. I realized the same object could say something different to two different people.
That's how I settled on the 탁상용시계-십장생민화 (Sipjangsaeng Minhwa Desk Clock — a desk clock featuring a najeon, or mother-of-pearl, panel with a sipjangsaeng minhwa, a traditional folk painting of the ten symbols of longevity). Because the sipjangsaeng is a traditional gilsang, or auspicious, motif wishing for long life and good fortune, it felt right for someone who had worked hard for so long as well as for someone embarking on a new beginning. At 13.5 cm wide, 10.5 cm tall, and 1.5 cm thick, it fits neatly beside a monitor, and it comes in a hard case, which made it easy to present.
For the new CEO, I also spent a long time considering a business card holder. The 자개 유광명함함-대나무(적) (Najeon Glossy Business Card Holder — Bamboo (Red) — a card holder with a red lacquer base and a bamboo pattern inlaid in najeon) appealed to me because bamboo symbolizes diligence and growth, which felt meaningful for an inauguration gift. I was also drawn to the fact that it's something you reach for often. Even so, I felt it would be cleaner, as a team, to give both people gifts of the same character, so this time I matched them with the same clock. If an occasion comes up to give the new CEO something separately, this card holder will be the first thing I think of.
The inscription took the longest
What I spent even more time on than the clock itself was the inscription for the back. In the request field, I wrote a message for one person — their name alongside words of gratitude for their years of leadership — and for the other, their name alongside congratulations on their inauguration as CEO. At the bottom of both inscriptions, I added our team name. I wanted it to be clear that this was a gift from the team, not from any one individual.
A proof arrived that afternoon. There was a note explaining that the text width had been adjusted to fit the space. When I opened it, the lettering was smaller than I had imagined, but I actually liked the way it sat quietly on the back without covering the front. I replied right away asking them to go ahead. Having done it, I found that shorter is better for inscriptions. No matter how much you want to say, what stays with someone is a single line. Whether printing is possible and how much text can fit may vary by product, so it's worth asking before you place your order.
The schedule was tight as well. The handover ceremony was later that week, so the gifts absolutely had to arrive before then. I noted the date they needed to be received, and the sender matched the dispatch date accordingly; we also discussed in advance the option of same-day courier delivery in case anything ran late. Fortunately, everything arrived on time.
One on each desk
On the morning of the ceremony, I took the clocks out of the box and placed one on the departing CEO's desk and one on the new CEO's desk. I didn't make any special occasion of it.
The departing CEO picked up the clock, turned it over, and read that one line for a long time. "I'll take this home and put it in my study." It was the day they were clearing out their long-used desk, and that one box left not as luggage but as a gift.
The new CEO smiled and said, "I'll be looking at this every day." They traced the team name at the bottom of the back with a finger and asked, "This is your way of saying you're counting on me, isn't it?" That clock is still beside their monitor.
If you find yourself in charge of gifts for a leadership handover, giving both people the same object with different inscriptions worked well. There's no worry about anyone comparing who received the better gift, and you can still say exactly what each person needs to hear. Because it's something they check the time on every day, those words tend to stay with them for a long time.
This account is based on an actual purchase. Individuals and the organization have been anonymized, and some scenes have been reconstructed.