Donglim Knot Workshop in Bukchon: four generations of Korean knotting, bracelet classes from 12,000 won
Donglim Knot Workshop on Bukchon-ro 12-gil in Seoul shows traditional knotwork such as norigae pendants and yuso tassels in a hanok gallery and runs short classes in which visitors make a knotted bracelet or necklace. Groups of one to four can walk in without booking.
Norigae and tassels in a hanok gallery
According to its website, the workshop opened in April 2004 with support from the Seoul city government. Its hanok gallery displays decorative knotwork, including norigae, belts, pouches, fan tassels and yuso tassels, along with threads and cords.
Antique pieces and reproductions sit alongside contemporary creations. The Seoul Tourism Organization describes it as a knotting workshop passed down for four generations.
A craft traced to the royal court
The website says director Shim Young-mi learned knotting from her husband’s great-aunt, who made knots at the Joseon royal court, and from her father-in-law, who inherited the skill. In 2009 the Labor Ministry designated her a knotting skills transmitter, No. 09-03.
She made the cords for the national seal in 2007 and recreated the yuso tassels for King Taejo’s portrait at Gyeonggijeon in Jeonju in 2008. In 2025 the family held an exhibition titled “Four Generations of a Family Craft, Knots.”
Classes from 20 minutes
The class page lists a dragonfly-knot phone strap or bracelet at 12,000 won each, taking 20 to 30 minutes, and a necklace or chrysanthemum-knot bracelet at 15,000 won each, taking 30 to 50 minutes. Korean nationals under 18 pay 10,000 and 12,000 won.
One to four people are taken in order of arrival, without reservations; groups of five or more must book. A May 28 notice said prices would rise from June 1; the figures above are those now on the website and on the Seoul Tourism page, last edited Sept. 29.
Getting there and hours
The address is 10 Bukchon-ro 12-gil, Jongno-gu. The Seoul Tourism Organization gives the distance from Exit 2 of Anguk Station on Line 3 as 571 meters. The website suggests a 10-minute walk toward Gahoe-dong, or village bus No. 2 from outside the exit to the Donmi Pharmacy stop.
It opens Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closes Mondays. Phone: 02-3673-2778. Official sources give no parking information.
Notes for overseas visitors
The website is available in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese, and the workshop takes questions by email at maedeup@hanmail.net. Because small groups simply walk in, a Korean mobile number is not needed for a class.
Foreign-card payment, tax refunds, overseas shipping, English service in the shop and prices of finished pieces are not confirmed in official sources.
STORE INFO
LOCATION
Source Donglim Knot Workshop official website Checked 2026.10.16 08:40
Hanok stays nearby
Bukchon Bingwan by RakkojaeBukchon, Seoul · 11 min walk from Anguk Station
SieunjaeJongno, Seoul · 5 min walk from Jongno 3-ga Station
Sources & context
2026-10-15T23:46:17.709Z
Donglim Knot Workshop official website ↗Donglim · day class page ↗shimyoungmi.com ↗shimyoungmi.com ↗Seoul Tourism Organization · Donglim Knot Workshop ↗Seoul Tourism Organization · Donglim Knot Workshop (English) ↗Wikimedia Commons · SJ Yang / CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 ↗Wikimedia Commons · Daderot / public domain ↗Wikimedia Commons · Adbar / CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗Photo credit
SJ Yang (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 2.0Knotted ornaments laid out on a round tray (2005; a general photo of Korean knotting, not Donglim products). SJ Yang / CC BY-SA 2.0. Proportionally downscaled.
Photo credit
고려 (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY 4.0A three-piece norigae with hairpins and a silver ornamental knife in a museum case (2020; location not stated on the file page). Not from Donglim’s collection. 고려 / CC BY 4.0.
Photo credit
Daderot (Wikimedia Commons) · Public domainA 15th-century Joseon flask with a cord and tassel at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Florida (2017). Not a Donglim work. Daderot / public domain.
Photo credit
Adbar (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 3.0Hanok houses along Bukchon-ro 12-gil, the lane where the workshop stands (April 2013). Adbar / CC BY-SA 3.0. Proportionally downscaled.