Shopofkorea guides
A Sijodancheong Business Card Case Chosen as a Gift for a Foreign Colleague
Official product names are shown in Korean. Product pages are in Korean; prices are in South Korean won (KRW).
On the day our team finished a fairly long project, I wanted to give each of the three people who had worked hard alongside me something of their own. One of them was a foreign colleague. They had been working in Korea for several years, and a passing remark they once made had stayed with me — that they had rarely received Korean goods as a gift.
I had two concerns. One was that the gift shouldn't look too much like a tourist souvenir. A keychain or postcard of the kind you'd pick up at the airport felt a bit too lightweight for someone I see every day. The other was that I didn't want to give all three people the exact same thing. Lining up identical items makes it hard to tell whose is whose, and each person has a different kind of atmosphere about them.
So I looked for something that would actually be used on a desk, while also reading as distinctly Korean at a glance. I started by searching for '시조단청' (sijodancheong), then moved on to '삼족오' (samjogo) and '명함집세트' (myeonghamjip set) in turn. The next day I searched the '장생' (jangsaeng) pattern several more times to compare the designs. In the end I settled on three items that share the same format but differ in their motifs.
The one set aside for my foreign colleague was the 명함집세트-시조단청3종(지칼) (Myeonghamjip Set — Sijodancheong 3-piece with Jikal). Because dancheong patterns are combined with sijo verse text rendered as a design element, it reads unmistakably as a Korean object without needing any explanation. Mother-of-pearl inlay and metal are used together, so it feels substantial in the hand, and as the name suggests the set pairs a business card case with a jikal, making it something you'll genuinely reach for at your desk. The box is approximately 22.8 cm wide, so it slipped neatly into a drawer.
That colleague knows very well how often business cards are exchanged in Korea. They once told me that the first thing they learned when they arrived was to offer a card with both hands. I thought that if a Korean motif adorned the very case holding those cards, it would give them a small conversation piece every time they met someone from a client company.
For another colleague I chose the 명함집-매화나비3종(지칼) (Myeonghamjip — Maehwa Nabi 3-piece with Jikal). The format is the same, but the motifs are plum blossoms and butterflies. Plum blossom is a traditional motif said to represent restrained elegance and new beginnings, while the butterfly represents joy and harmony — which felt fitting for someone who had just taken on new responsibilities. Because mother-of-pearl lacquerwork (najeon) is used, it has a different texture from the sijodancheong piece.
The remaining colleague's share was done in the samjogo motif. Placing all three side by side, the format was the same but each felt distinct, so no one would feel as though they had simply received whatever was left over.
A Name on Just One, Small and in the Corner
Only the sijodancheong piece had a name added to it. When placing the order I wrote my colleague's name in the request field, and because I was worried that having it stamped on prominently might make it look like a certificate, I wrote: "Please put it cutely in the bottom-right corner." I also asked for the lettering to match the sample text shown in the product photos. When it arrived, the name was there — small and rounded. It was exactly the size I had hoped for. Whether name printing is available, and how much choice you have over placement, may vary by product, so it's worth asking the shop before you order.
The day I handed them out was an ordinary afternoon at the very start of summer. After a meeting ended I placed the box on my colleague's desk while they were away. They're the type who would feel embarrassed by a big fuss, so I simply said something like, "We all worked hard together, so I prepared one for each of you."
My colleague opened the box, slid a few business cards in and out, and then pressed a finger to their name in the corner. "Thank you." One short word, and then they put it in a drawer and turned back to their monitor.
Honestly, it felt a little anticlimactic. But a few days later, when we went to an external meeting together, I saw that colleague pull a business card from that very case. When the other party asked whether it was a Korean item, my colleague said, "My name is even on it," and showed them the corner. That brief thank-you hadn't been empty words after all.
When I was at a loss about what to give a foreign colleague, I found my answer by looking at things they touch every day. An object used in the office puts less pressure on the recipient, and a Korean motif is something that naturally catches the eye each time it's used. One thing worth adding: the sijodancheong set is classified as a fragile item, so if you're carrying it around to hand over in person, it's best to move the box carefully.
This account is based on an actual purchase; individuals and organizations have been anonymized and some scenes have been reconstructed.