Bangjja brass bowls and plates on a wooden table, with a bowl of bibimbap (general bangjja photo, not a Napcheong product)

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Napcheong in Insadong: bangjja brassware, three generations on

Published Oct 14, 2026

Napcheong, on a side street in Seoul’s Insadong, has sold bangjja brassware since 1986. Most pieces on its shelves were made by Lee Bong-ju, an honorary holder of the national Yugijang (brassware) heritage, and his eldest son Lee Hyung-geun, a holder in his own right. Hammered brass rice bowls, ritual vessels and instruments fill the shop.

Three generations of brassware

Napcheong opened at its current location on 21 October 1986. It is headed by Lee Hyung-man, the second son of master Lee Bong-ju. Lee Bong-ju was recognized as a holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 77, Yugijang, in 1983 and became an honorary holder in 2013. His eldest son, Lee Hyung-geun, became a holder in 2015.

A 2025 Maeil Shinmun article reported that Lee Bong-ju, at 99, was still working at the family workshop in Mungyeong, joined by his grandson Lee Ji-ho as a trainee. The shop is named after Napcheong in Jeongju, North Pyeongan Province, where bangjja brassware began; the website says people who moved south around the Korean War kept the craft alive.

Joseon-era brass bowls and spoons on display in the Korea Gallery of the Tokyo National Museum (museum objects, not Napcheong products)

How bangjja ware is made

Bangjja ware starts as an ingot of 78% copper and 22% tin, which is heated and shaped by hammering. The shop’s pieces come from Napcheong Yugi, the family’s production workshop.

Napcheong Yugi set up a factory in Guro-dong, Seoul, in 1957 and a second in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, in 2001. According to the website, about 50 craftspeople now make bangjja ware in Mungyeong and Anyang, and the workshop exports abroad.

A brassware artisan pouring molten metal from a crucible held in tongs onto a mould (metal pouring, not bangjja hammering)

What the shop sells

Napcheong divides its brassware into tableware, musical instruments, ritual vessels, wedding gifts, and household goods and art pieces, from dinner bowls to vessels for ancestral rites and brass instruments. The website does not list prices.

Several sets of lidded bangjja tableware (Korea Heritage Service photo; not identified as Napcheong)

Getting there and hours

The address is 5 Insadong 10-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. According to the shop’s directions, leave Anguk Station (Line 3) by exit 6 and follow Insadong-gil towards Jongno for about 50 m; the shop is behind Sudo Pharmacy on the left. The Seoul Tourism Organization gives the distance from exit 6 as 370 m.

The Seoul Tourism Organization lists the shop as open daily from 10:30 to 18:30, Korea Standard Time. Hours can be confirmed by phone at 02-736-5492.

Insadong-gil in March 2025 (Insadong-gil; the Napcheong shop is not in view)

For international visitors

The website is available in Korean, English and Chinese. There is a separate English-language phone line (+1-778-294-6109), and enquiries can also go to webmaster@napcheong.com.

English assistance in the shop, foreign card payment, tax refunds and overseas shipping are not confirmed in any official listing. Brassware is heavy, so several sets add significant luggage weight.

A red tray table set with lidded bangjja brass bowls (Korea Heritage Service photo; not identified as Napcheong)

STORE INFO

HoursDaily 10:30–18:30 KST

PriceNo published prices · ask in the shop

ItemsTableware · instruments · ritual vessels · wedding gifts · household goods and works

DirectionsAnguk exit 6 → Insadong-gil towards Jongno about 50 m, behind Sudo Pharmacy on the left

Contact02-736-5492 · English line +1-778-294-6109

NoteForeign cards, tax refund, overseas shipping and in-store English not confirmed

LOCATION

Napcheong Brassware서울 종로구 인사동10길 5 / 5 Insadong 10-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

3Anguk StationExit 6about 370 m walk

OPEN MAP ↗

Source Napcheong official website · shop page (archived 2026-04-20) Checked 2026.10.14 10:05

Hanok stays nearby

More hanok stays

Sources & context

2026-10-14T01:10:27.193Z

Napcheong official website · shop page (archived 2026-04-20) ↗Napcheong · greeting from the shop head (archived 2026-04-20) ↗Napcheong · what bangjja is (archived 2026-04-20) ↗Napcheong · history of the Napcheong workshop (archived 2026-04-20) ↗Napcheong · product categories (archived 2026-04-20) ↗Napcheong English website · contact (archived 2026-04-20) ↗Seoul Tourism Organization · Napcheong Brassware, updated September 29 ↗Korea Heritage Service · Yugijang (brassware) national intangible heritage ↗Cultural Heritage Administration · Yugijang holder recognition notice (2015) ↗Maeil Shinmun · three generations of bangjja makers (2025-08-20) ↗solanee (Pixabay) · photograph / CC0 1.0 ↗Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. · photograph / CC0 1.0 ↗Epicgenius · photograph / CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Photo credit

solanee (Pixabay) · CC0 1.0

Bangjja brass bowls and plates on a wooden table, with a bowl of bibimbap (general bangjja photo, not a Napcheong product). Photographed 2015-03-02. solanee (Pixabay) / CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). Proportionally downscaled from the 2592×1936px original to 2000px wide; no other edits. A general photo of bangjja brassware, not a Napcheong product or the shop