MAKE YOUR OWN KOREAN NAME STAMP

Most souvenirs tell people where you traveled.

A Korean name stamp can tell them:

WHO TRAVELED THERE.

In Korea, personal seals are known as:

DOJANG — 도장

For generations, seals have been used to stamp a person's name onto documents, artwork and other materials.

Today, international visitors can experience this tradition in a much more personal way:

CREATE A KOREAN SEAL WITH YOUR OWN NAME.

Choose how your name will appear.

Learn about Korean seal culture.

Design the stamp.

Carve or participate in making it.

Then test it with traditional red ink.

At the end, you leave with something small enough to fit in your pocket—but completely different from an ordinary souvenir.

WHY THIS EXPERIENCE IS SPECIAL

You can buy:

• K-Pop merchandise
• Cosmetics
• Snacks

and magnets almost anywhere in Seoul.

But your own Korean seal is:

PERSONAL.

It can contain:

• Your Korean Name
• Your English Name Transliterated into Hangul
• Initials

or another design appropriate for the workshop.

And when you stamp it:

THAT MARK BELONGS TO YOU.

WHAT IS A DOJANG?

A dojang is a personal or organizational seal.

Traditionally, the engraved surface is pressed into red ink and then stamped onto paper.

The result is a distinctive seal impression.

Korean seals have been used in:

• Documents
• Contracts
• Official Records
• Calligraphy
• Artwork

and personal identification.

For a traveler, however, the workshop isn't about creating a seal for Korean legal paperwork.

It's about experiencing:

KOREAN LETTERING + CRAFT + PERSONAL IDENTITY.

YOUR NAME BECOMES THE DESIGN

Suppose your name is:

MICHAEL

A workshop may help you decide how your name can be represented in Hangul.

For example:

마이클

The exact Korean rendering depends on the name and pronunciation.

That's part of what makes this experience fun.

You're not simply choosing an object from a shelf.

You're asking:

“How would my name look as a Korean seal?”

WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY DO?

A hands-on seal experience may include:

1. 1

   LEARN ABOUT KOREAN SEALS

2. 2

   CHOOSE YOUR NAME / WORD

3. 3

   CONVERT OR DESIGN THE LETTERING

4. 4

   TRANSFER THE DESIGN TO THE SEAL

5. 5

   CARVE OR ENGRAVE IT

6. 6

   TEST THE IMPRESSION

7. 7

   MAKE FINAL ADJUSTMENTS

8. 8

   TAKE YOUR OWN DOJANG HOME — The amount of carving personally performed by the visitor varies by workshop.

Some instructors provide more technical assistance than others.

WHY INSADONG IS THE RIGHT PLACE

This experience fits naturally into:

INSADONG.

Insadong has long been associated with:

• Calligraphy
• Traditional Art
• Paper
• Brushes
• Crafts
• Antiques

and Korean cultural goods.

So a Korean seal workshop here doesn't feel like a random tourist activity.

The neighborhood itself gives the experience context.

It combines:

HANGUL

KOREAN TRADITION

HANDCRAFT

PERSONALIZATION

A PHYSICAL SOUVENIR.

And unlike pottery or makgeolli, it's:

SMALL.

No giant ceramic bowl to pack.

No refrigerated alcohol.

No fragile perfume bottle.

Your Korean seal can travel almost anywhere.

WHERE TO MAKE A KOREAN NAME STAMP IN SEOUL

YHLAYUEN JEONGAK ACADEMY — INSADONG

A straightforward, beginner-friendly stamp-making experience in the heart of Insadong. You engrave your Korean name or a short design onto the bottom of a stone seal and make your first stamp impression.

FEEL SO GOOD CALLI — INSADONG

A more in-depth stone-seal workshop led by a Korean calligrapher. The experience includes learning about Korean seals, practicing engraving techniques, designing your name, carving the stone and making your first stamp.

SAEGIMSORI — INSADONG

A customized name-stamp shop rather than the main hands-on class recommendation. Choose a stone, design or word and have a personalized dojang made as a compact Korean souvenir.

WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?

BEST VALUE / SHORTEST CLASS → YHLAYUEN JEONGAK ACADEMY — ₩30,000 · 30–40 min

BEST FULL HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE → FEEL SO GOOD CALLI — from about ₩64,000 · 1.5–2 hr

BEST QUICK CUSTOM STAMP SHOP → SAEGIMSORI — price varies

QUICK SUMMARY

EXPERIENCE

MAKE YOUR OWN KOREAN NAME SEAL

AREA

INSADONG / JONGNO

EXPERIENCE LEVEL

BEGINNER-FRIENDLY

COUPLES — DON'T MAKE IDENTICAL STAMPS

This can be a surprisingly good couple activity.

Instead of:

SAME DESIGN × 2

make:

YOUR NAME

THEIR NAME.

Then make a small card or piece of paper containing:

BOTH SEAL IMPRESSIONS.

That's a much better souvenir of the experience.

FAMILIES

Children who are old enough to participate safely in the specific workshop can also enjoy the basic idea because:

YOU DON'T NEED TO SPEAK PERFECT KOREAN TO UNDERSTAND IT.

Name.

Shape.

Carve.

Ink.

Stamp.

The instructor still needs to explain safe tool use, so check the workshop's minimum age and guardian rules before booking.

SOLO TRAVELERS

Also excellent.

This isn't an experience that requires a partner to make it enjoyable.

In fact:

YOUR OWN NAME IS THE SUBJECT.

That makes it naturally personal.

WHAT SHOULD YOU PUT ON THE STAMP?

The obvious choice is:

YOUR NAME.

But depending on the workshop, other possibilities might include:

• A Korean nickname
• Initials
• A short meaningful word

or a simple symbol/design.

Don't try to fit an entire sentence onto a tiny stamp.

Simple usually looks better.

For a first-time international visitor:

USE YOUR NAME IN HANGUL.

Why?

Because then the souvenir connects three things:

YOUR IDENTITY

THE KOREAN WRITING SYSTEM

TRADITIONAL KOREAN SEAL CULTURE.

A generic heart or flower stamp can be made anywhere.

A Korean rendering of your own name, made during your Seoul trip, has a much stronger story.

DON'T CONFUSE IT WITH A LEGAL SEAL

One important point for foreign visitors:

The stamp you make as a tourist experience should be treated as:

A PERSONAL CRAFT / SOUVENIR.

A tourist-made dojang is a personal craft souvenir and should not be assumed to function as an officially registered Korean legal seal.

That's a completely different issue.

CULTURAL EXPERIENCE.

PERSONAL SOUVENIR.

TRAVEL TIP

When you've finished:

Don't only photograph the stamp itself.

Put the red ink on it and make:

YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION.

Then photograph:

• The seal
• The red stamped name
• Your handwritten English name

together.

That's the moment the experience makes sense.

YOUR NAME — IN KOREA

A pottery class gives you something you shaped.

A perfume class gives you something you blended.

A silver workshop gives you something you wear.

But a Korean seal gives you:

YOUR OWN MARK.