Made by hand, in two places.
Eric Lee and his mother, Mrs. Lee Youngsook, founded The Korean In Me in San Mateo because the hanbok they wanted to wear at their own family’s milestones did not exist on the American market. What they could find was either costume-grade or sourced without the eye their family had carried for generations. So they started sourcing themselves.
Every piece in the collection passes through two pairs of hands. Mrs. Lee’s, in Seoul, where the hanbok is commissioned, inspected, and approved by a master she has trusted since before Eric was born. Eric’s, in San Mateo, where the piece is fitted, finished, and delivered to clients across fourteen Bay Area cities, or shipped to clients farther afield. Nothing reaches a customer until both pairs of hands have seen the piece on the body it was made for.
The hanbok our family wanted. So we made it.
The Seoul atelier is run by a master Mrs. Lee has trusted since before Eric was born. Every commission begins there, in a fitting room where the hanbok is measured against the customer’s body specifications and produced over three to six weeks.
When the piece arrives in San Mateo, Eric inspects every seam, every embroidery thread, every line of the silhouette. If anything is wrong, the piece goes back. If everything is right, Eric drives to the customer for the final fitting across our fourteen-city Bay Area service area. For clients farther afield, Eric runs the fitting by video. Either way, the piece arrives fitted to the body that will wear it.
Every piece is made to order. Nothing is held in inventory. Every conversation is a consultation.