SINGAPORE – When Singapore-based South Korean crafter Suna Kim received an e-mail from The Bora Dot, a local BTS fan community, in February, she thought it would be a small side project.
The group asked if she could hold a workshop for them to mark the K-pop boy band’s momentous comeback event in Seoul on March 21 after their four-year hiatus.
Kim, 40, tells The Straits Times: “I wanted to make something unique just for them, different from my other norigae designs.”
Inspired by BTS’ signature colour purple and motifs from their latest album Arirang, she designed a traditional Korean norigae, an ornamental accessory often worn with a hanbok, and a matching bracelet.
Kim then conducted two home-based workshops under her small brand Gori Knot with The Bora Dot in March, attracting 27 participants.
A group buy soon followed. The first order generated purchases of 21 norigae and 22 bracelets, priced at $32 and $22 respectively.
Each of her norigae takes about 30 minutes to make, and she can complete only seven or eight a day, as the stay-home mum fits the work around caring for her six-year-old daughter.
The turning point came when she posted the designs on her Gori Knot Instagram account in March.
Each norigae takes about 30 minutes to make, and maker Suna Kim can complete only seven or eight a day.
ST PHOTO: SARAH LEE
“I wrote that it was for local fans because I did not know how to handle overseas shipping,” she says.
Instead, messages started arriving from BTS fans, known as Army, around the world.
Soon, there were requests from the US and Europe. One British fan timed a business trip to Singapore to collect orders for fellow British Army and ship them from London. Another German fan coordinated a Europe-wide group order, while friends in Singapore helped with collections.
“It was very touching to see them help one another,” says Kim. “I did not plan worldwide shipping at all. But when I saw overseas fans organising it themselves, I decided to learn how to ship my works worldwide.”
Since then, every BTS-themed pre-order has sold out overnight. To date, Kim has handcrafted over 550 BTS-inspired norigae and bracelets for fans in Australia, Austria, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, the UAE and the US.
The success is particularly meaningful for Kim, who moved to Singapore from South Korea in 2018 and is now a Singapore permanent resident.
Before relocating, she worked for a government organisation under South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, helping to build hospitals and schools in developing countries. She initially took an extended leave of absence when her South Korean husband’s job brought the family to Singapore, but eventually resigned in 2023 rather than live apart from him.
The decision left her searching for a new sense of purpose.
She had always loved making things by hand. During trips back to South Korea, she began taking classes in maedeup, the traditional art of Korean decorative knot-making. Encouraged by her husband, she turned the hobby into a business, launching Gori Knot in November 2024.
Suna Kim sources materials for her norigae from South Korea.
ST PHOTO: SARAH LEE
She has since collaborated with local fashion label Make by Ginlee, home-grown K-beauty brand Ksisters and South Korean luxury skincare brand Sulwhasoo on workshops and events. She continues to teach knot-making classes, sharing a piece of Korean culture with people in Singapore.
Kim sources all her materials from South Korea, flying back twice a year during school breaks and occasionally enlisting her parents to stock up on purple strings when demand surges for the BTS designs.
The name Gori Knot reflects what the craft has come to mean. In Korean, gori refers to a link or connection.
“The knot I use for the BTS norigae symbolises good fortune and success,” says Kim. “To me, it also connects Korea and Singapore, and it connects me to people I have never met.”
While she laughs off suggestions she is a hardcore Army, she does enjoy BTS’ music, particularly the 2017 hit Spring Day.
“I started my maedeup journey because I was lonely and wanted a meaningful hobby,” she says. “Now, something I make with my hands can travel so far and mean something to people I have never met. That makes me very happy.”
