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Expressing gratitude via the written word: celebrating Chuseok 2023

Seasonal celebrations

Every day of the year, Aesop consultants perform gestures of care as a way of expressing gratitude to those who visit our stores—be it offering a cup of tea, having an honest conversation about skin health, or sharing knowledge about our favourite places in the area. Holidays, fetes and festivals afford a heightened opportunity to receive visitors with seasonally inspired shows of thanks.

For Chuseok 2023, Aesop stores across Korea celebrated the Harvest season via a special collaboration with artist Lee Jung Hwa. From 4 September to 1 October, all purchases came with a complimentary Bojagi wrap and a gift card, each featuring a limited-edition print of Hangeul by Lee Jung Hwa.

The calligrapher dipped a brush in the ink

A heartfelt, handcrafted offering

Lee Jung Hwa is an artist who has truly dedicated herself to celebrating Hangeul, the alphabet invented by King Sejong the Great, the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty and a great champion of his people’s education. Counted among Korea’s youngest calligraphy master-practitioners, Lee Jung Hwa has spent twenty of her twenty-seven years honing her skills in this meditative artform.

The enduring, soothing power of written words

Depending on the project, Lee Jung Hwa either writes in an entirely traditional style, or a modern reinterpretation of Hangeul lettering—the letters shaped in ways that express the atmosphere of the words, as well as their meaning. Her awareness of life’s transience is rounded with a sense of solace and satisfaction in the beauty we can bring into being while we are alive. ‘Like countless memories that cannot be erased once written, calligraphy remains for a lifetime once it is drawn on paper. Looking at the marked letters, I gain strength and settle my mind.’ Lee Jung Hwa has garnered great attention and respect for mastering this form of art at such a young age, her devotion to the form admired as a preservation of culture as much as it is an artistic practice. Conveying the meaning of Hangeul to the next generation while meditating on what it means to make work that lasts beyond the span of a human life is a great gift to her people.

History and culture honoured with an act of thanks

Throughout this special Chuseok celebration, the complimentary wrapping that came with every purchase in stores across Korea was done in the traditional Bojagi style, and accompanied by a gift card. These markers of gratitude were made all the more unique by the lettering by Lee Jung Hwa printed on each ribbon and card: ‘Your nature is beautiful’—words from King Sejong himself.

Aesop products placed next to a calligraphy

Additional installations in specific stores added extra flourishes to this heartfelt way of marking the moment. In Aesop Samcheong, lengths of Han-ji paper were inscribed with original, handwritten lines by Lee Jung Hwa, while the window of Aesop Hannam was adorned by the artist’s hand-painted lettering. Aesop Garosugil also featured her work in its window, in the form of vinyl and digital prints. All of these expressions combined to create an in-store feeling of great consideration and care—two of Aesop’s core concerns, that also characterise the work of this extraordinary artist.

Calligraphy installed on inside of Aesop store
Aesop Samcheong
Lessons from the lab
Nine-minute read
Three amber fragrance bottles nestled in layers earth-toned fabric.
Lessons from the lab
Seven-minute read
A turntable on a mid-century wooden table with a stack of vinyl records resting alongside it.
Playlist
Three-minute read

‘Your nature is beautiful.’

King Sejong