From the journal.
Recipes, culture, hanbok, and the meaning behind Korean traditions. Written by Eric and Mrs. Lee Youngsook, posted as we cook and source.
The Five Saekdong Colors: What the Striped Sleeves Mean
The stripes are a cosmology, not a rainbow The striped sleeves on a Korean child's hanbok are called saekdong (색동), which means…
Korean CultureThe Three Korean Bows: Sebae, Jeol, and Daejeol Explained
Three bows, not one Korean has more than one word for bowing, and the words are not interchangeable. The bow a child gives on New…
Korean-American LifeDol Invitation Wording: Bilingual Samples
The bilingual invitation problem A dol invitation has to speak to two audiences at once. On one side, Korean grandparents and…
RecipesMiyeok-guk on Birthdays: The Korean Birthday Soup Tradition
The soup a Korean eats on their birthday Miyeok-guk (미역국) is a soup of miyeok, the sea vegetable known in English as wakame…
Korean-American LifeDol Photography: The Ten Shots to Make Sure Your Photographer Captures
Brief the photographer before the day The dol (돌) is a Korean first birthday, and most of what makes it photograph beautifully…
Korean-American LifeChristian Korean Families and Chudo Yebae
What chudo yebae is Chudo yebae (추도예배) is a Christian memorial service Korean Protestant families hold in place of the…
Korean CultureThe Deep Bow (큰절): A Tutorial for Brides and Grooms
The bow is the axis of the whole ceremony The deep bow (큰절, daejeol) is the physical center of the paebaek (폐백). The jujubes, the…
Korean-American LifeSebae for Kids: Teaching Your Child the Korean New Year Bow
What sebae is Sebae (세배) is the deep bow Korean children and adults perform to elders on Seollal (설날), the Korean lunar new year…
Korean CultureThe Pyebaek-sang Decoded: Nine Offerings, One Table
Why nine Nine is the number of completeness in Korean cosmology, inherited from Chinese Confucian numerology. Nine offerings on…
Bay AreaThe Bay Area Korean Grocery Store Guide for Ceremony Food
The Bay Area has strong Korean grocery infrastructure Santa Clara County alone has about 42,000 Korean residents. San Mateo, San…
Korean CultureThe Heonsu Toast: What to Say to Your Korean Parent on Their Milestone Birthday
What heonsu is Heonsu (헌수) is the ceremonial toast at a Korean milestone birthday (hwangap, gohi, palsun). Each family member…
Korean-American LifePaebaek at a Western Wedding: How to Fit Both
The situation most Korean American couples land in The Western wedding industry does not know how to advise on paebaek. Most…
Korean-American LifeThe Non-Korean Parent's Guide to Your Child's Dol
What a dol actually is Dol (돌) is the Korean first birthday celebration. Historically it was a survival milestone in centuries…
Korean CultureHwangap vs Gohi vs Palsun: Which Milestone Birthday to Celebrate Big
The register moved with life expectancy Historically, the big Korean milestone birthday was hwangap (환갑) at sixty. It marked the…
Bay AreaChuseok in California: A Bay Area Guide for Korean American Families
Chuseok is not Korean Thanksgiving Chuseok (추석) is the Korean autumn harvest holiday, held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar…
Korean CultureThe Charye Table Setup: Seven Confucian Placement Rules
The charye table is a diagram, not a decoration Charye (차례) is the Korean ancestor rite performed on Chuseok and Seollal. The…
Korean CultureModern Doljabi Items: What Korean American Families Choose in 2026
Doljabi is the moment the family remembers Doljabi (돌잡이) is the moment inside a Korean dol where the one year old, seated on a…
Bay AreaBay Area Dol Venues: Where to Hold Your Child's First Birthday
The dol venue decides the whole day The Korean first birthday (dol, 돌) can happen anywhere with a room roughly twelve by fourteen…
Korean-American LifeHow to Plan a Paebaek in the Bay Area
The paebaek is small, formal, and the most Korean part of the day Paebaek (폐백) is the short private ceremony inside a Korean…
Hanbok GuidesThree Honest Ways to Buy Hanbok Stateside
Three honest paths If you live in the United States and you want a modern hanbok, you have three real choices. The first is a…
Hanbok GuidesA Paebaek in the Bay Area
The Bay Area Korean wedding format Most Korean weddings in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and across the Bay Area follow a…
Hanbok GuidesThe Knot at the Goreum
What a norigae is A norigae (노리개) is a small hand-knotted ornament tied at the goreum (the front tie of a hanbok jeogori). It has…
Hanbok GuidesThe Hanbok Most Women Own First
What a cheollik is A cheollik (철릭) is a one-piece hanbok dress. The top half reads as a jeogori (the traditional jacket); the…
No posts match this category yet.
The studio newsletter.
A short note when a new piece arrives, a recipe is published, or a workshop opens. We send no more than once a month.