Lee Jeong-eun, founder and CEO of the Korean luxury handicraft brand Cheyul, poses prior to an interview with The Korea Times at the brand's flagship store in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, May 21. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Lee Jeong-eun was in New York City when she saw the news footage of Sungnyemun engulfed in raging flames in 2008. The 600-year-old landmark, once the grand southern entrance to the city of Hanyang, now Seoul, had succumbed to arson overnight.

The shocking news from home struck Lee, then a 20-year-old on her first visit to the Big Apple, at a time when she was beginning to realize that Korean heritage had never found a place to shine within the U.S. metropolis' diverse cultural mosaic — whether in the world-class museums' East Asian galleries or along iconic Fifth Avenue, lined with flagship stores of luxury design houses from around the world.

"In the popular global mindset, Korea was still viewed through the lens of its turbulent modern history of colonization and war. Its cultural legacy and the resplendent crafts that have shaped it for millennia — from ‘ottchil' (lacquer art) to ‘chilbo' (silver enameling) — struggled to find a spotlight," she told The Korea Times during a recent interview.

The callous attack on Sungnyemun served as an added reminder that even within Korea, such heritage remained overlooked and disconnected from everyday life.

It was at that moment the young art history enthusiast knew what she wanted to do in life — revive the spirit of Korean craftsmanship in the commercial world, while giving it a 21st-century luxury twist.

Upon her return home, she co-founded the luxury handicraft brand Cheyul with her sister.

"For us, launching a new heritage-driven brand was the way to go," the CEO noted. "Our country's traditions needed to be more than something confined to museums. They needed a touch of modern redesign and revamp to gain a competitive edge in the commercial realm and resonate with today's lifestyles."

Through their premium artisanal handicrafts, the sisters sought to redefine the "Made in Korea" label.

Cheyul's lacquered watch box inlaid with chrysanthemum-and-ivy-patterned mother-of-pearl was gifted to former French President François Hollande. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Cheyul's lacquered console and cupboards inlaid with lattice patterned mother-of-pearl / Courtesy of Cheyul

Fast-forward 16 years, and Cheyul's products — from sleek lacquered hemp cabinets to understatedly elegant mother-of-pearl jewelry boxes — have become staple gifts for official state visits, weddings and other celebratory occasions.

Among the notable recipients of the brand's exquisite creations are U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault and the Korean actor couple Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin.

Artisanal collaboration

Lee, 36, who holds a bachelor's in Buddhist art and a master's in design management, likens Cheyul's uniquely decentralized production process to those of global powerhouses like Hermès, which places the romance of the human touch front and center.

The company's in-house team first designs their original line of furniture, jewelry and tableware. Production is then carried out step-by-step by around 30 artisans, trained apprentices and craftspeople in a network of highly specialized ateliers across the country — each focusing on areas such as "somokjang" (wood furniture making), mother-of-pearl inlay, lacquering technique and silver enameling.

Depending on the scale and intricacy of each product, it can take anywhere from two weeks to six months for an item to be ready for sale.

Cheyul's lacquered hemp cabinet inlaid with butterfly-and-ivy-patterned mother-of-pearl / Courtesy of Cheyul

For instance, the making of a lacquered hemp cabinet inlaid with mother-of-pearl begins in the hands of a somokjang artisan, who constructs the base from native ash trees and birch without using a single nail. The completed wooden frame is then entrusted to an ottchil master, tasked with applying layer after layer of lacquer tree sap to achieve a durable, lustrous finish. Meanwhile, another expert craftsperson cuts mother-of-pearl into symbol-laden patterns — butterflies, peony blossoms, ivy and lattice — and embeds these iridescent pieces onto the cabinet's surface as a dazzling highlight.

"Cheyul's handicrafts, therefore, cannot be attributed to a single designer or master; rather, they are the results of sustained collaborative artistry — a feature that only a heritage-driven commercial brand can continue to incentivize and nurture," remarked the CEO. "And I see myself as a conductor within this creative orchestration."

Despite its short history, the company's dedication to refashioning the virtue of Korean craftsmanship earned it the opportunity to establish shops at two historic high-end retail giants in the capital: Hyundai Department Store's flagship Apgujeong branch and Lotte Hotel Seoul.

At Hyundai Department Store, Cheyul stands as the only homegrown brand maintaining its spot in the retailer's luxury section.

"Cheyul's handicrafts are the results of sustained collaborative artistry — a feature that only a heritage-driven commercial brand can continue to incentivize and nurture," said the brand's CEO Lee Jeong-eun. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Cheyul's set of enameled jewel boxes / Courtesy of Cheyul

Lee emphasized that as a 21st-century luxury handicraft brand, born in an era dominated by tech giants like Apple and Tesla, her company naturally had a different starting point from the maisons founded in the 19th and 20th centuries.

"Quality 19th-century ateliers became big-name design houses after 100 or 200 years of accumulated legacy. In contrast, emerging luxury brands today must establish their own identity to justify their high-end nature while being compared to their much older counterparts," she said.

Promoting Korean heritage-inspired handwork at a premium price seemed anachronistic at the time of Cheyul's launch in 2008, an age defined by mechanization, high-tech innovation and craze for Western luxury goods.

However, in less than two decades, it has pioneered bringing the country's disappearing traditions out of museum vitrines and the Insa-dong antiques district, showcasing how they could equally belong in the trendy realm of modern lifestyle luxury.

Cheyul's lacquered cabinet inlaid with peony blossom-and-ivy-patterned mother-of-pearl / Courtesy of Cheyul

Reaching a wider audience

Sixteen years into the business, Lee sees this moment as another beginning.

"The brand should constantly evolve its approach to stay relevant and reach new potential audiences. It's time for Cheyul to appeal to a younger generation as well," she said.

One of the first steps her company has taken to achieve this mission was opening its flagship store amid a sea of fashionable cafes, shops and eateries on the hip street of Garosu-gil, Sinsa-dong in southern Seoul, in 2022.

"We see the store frequented by youthful trendsetters, and even mothers bringing their freshly graduated children," she observed.

Cheyul opened its flagship store amid a sea of fashionable cafes, shops and eateries on the hip street of Garosu-gil, Sinsa-dong in southern Seoul, in 2022. Courtesy of Cheyul

Greeting these customers is a four-story venue, designed to feel like a spacious model home or an elegant tea room sprinkled with lustrously surfaced furniture and shimmering moon jars. Providing a brief retreat in an otherwise bustling neighborhood, the space also regularly hosts free exhibitions of young local creatives — lacquer painters, woodcarvers and mother-of-pearl artists — for anyone to enjoy.

To further cater to the new generation of customers, in recent months, the company introduced a new line of entry-level products. These include tumblers inlaid with mother-of-pearl, priced as low as 100,000 won ($72) — a fraction of its usual high-end offerings which could exceed 10 million won.

"If you think about it, some people who want to own a Hermès item start by buying a wallet. They then make it their goal to save up so they can purchase a bag next time. Similarly, our young customers who are now enjoying their tumblers may, one day, decide to look into our catalog of cabinets or ‘hahm' (a box full of gifts for a new bride in traditional Korean weddings) by the time of their wedding," Lee said, adding that 85 percent of her patrons are returning.

Reaching previously untapped demographics through collaborations with electronics and car manufacturers is another ambitious objective on Cheyul's growing agenda. Earlier this year, the brand partnered with local vintage audio shop Haneum Audio to bring a limited-edition glazed tube amplifier to life.

Earlier this year, Cheyul partnered with local vintage audio shop Haneum Audio to roll out a limited-edition lacquered tube amplifier. Courtesy of Cheyul

"It redefines what 21st-century lacquerware can look like," the CEO remarked.

She is also eyeing expansion beyond Korea. The brand is currently exploring the possibility of opening an outpost in heritage-respecting and capital-rich global markets such as Paris, New York, Abu Dhabi and London by 2026.

"Seoul, however, will always be our base. My goal is to convince those who see our products overseas to come all the way to Seoul to experience the country's heritage in person," she said.

By continuing to grow the brand through these channels, Lee's dream is to one day establish a nonprofit entity of Cheyul, similar to the Louis Vuitton Foundation, to support contemporary artists of Korea and take part in cultural heritage restoration projects.

"That's how we can stay luxury — and timeless."