Jongno perfume workshop: make a Korean-scent perfume at Muhwawon

Muhwawon (무화원) Bukchon Perfume Workshop is a unique space where you can sample 48 scents yourself and make a perfume that is entirely your own. It was especially fun because Korean-inspired scents such as hanji (traditional Korean paper), mountain mugwort, and seonhyang (incense) were available too, making it feel different from an ordinary perfume-making class.

It is close to Changdeokgung Palace, so it also made a nice Bukchon date course with time to explore the neighborhood after making perfume. Let me share my experience at Muhwawon, from choosing scents myself to finishing my own perfume.

Muhwawon, a Seoul Perfume Workshop at a Glance

Muhwawon Perfume Workshop, right in front of Changdeokgung Palace

Muhwawon is right near Changdeokgung Palace, making it an easy perfume workshop to reach on foot from Anguk Station.

The brand name means “a fragrance blooming like mist in a garden,” and I heard it was inspired by mist rising from Changdeokgung’s Secret Garden.

It was also special because Muhwawon reinterprets Korea’s distinctive scents in a modern way: I could encounter fragrances that evoke Korean nature, including hanji, herbal medicine ingredients, and incense.

Changdeokgung Palace and Bukchon Hanok Village are nearby, of course, but so are Ikseon-dong and Insadong, making this a great location to explore before or after the experience.

Finding My Preferences Among 48 Scents

The experience began with a brief explanation of perfume composition on a tablet.

Before starting, I filled in detailed information through a questionnaire, including how much guidance I wanted from the perfumer, my previous perfume-workshop experience, and whether I wanted photos taken during the session.

The format lets you find your own preferences, but the perfumer checked my combinations one-on-one whenever I needed help. Even first-timers can join without finding it too difficult.

First, I looked over the perfume notes, sampled each of the 48 prepared scents, and marked the ones I liked.

Whenever my nose started to hurt—or haha, when I could not smell anything at all—I refreshed it by smelling coffee beans.

Alongside top, middle, and base notes, there were Korean-inspired scents unique to Muhwawon, including hanji, mountain mugwort, and seonhyang incense.

It was fascinating that scents I thought I usually liked were sometimes different from the ones that actually drew me in when I smelled them, and that combining several scents changed the feeling again.

It was a perfume-making process, but also time to discover what kinds of scents I like, so it was more fun than I expected.

Blending My Own Perfume by Hand

After choosing the scents I liked, it was time to make my own fragrance in earnest.

I first made a sample with my selected scents and smelled it, then adjusted the scents I wanted more or less of little by little while talking with the perfumer.

Rather than deciding on the scent in one go, I blended it repeatedly to find the combination and ratio I liked best.

You use three capsules as the basis for finding a test combination. I chose my final fragrance after five tests.

The perfumer gave me such helpful guidance on the scent combinations along the way, and after five tries, I finally found my own scent!

Once the final formula was set, I measured each fragrance ingredient myself with an electronic scale to complete my own 50ml perfume.

Once the blending was done, I had to stir it more than 100 times.

I could even give the finished perfume any name I wanted.

From the perfume bottle to the packaging, everything looked clean and luxurious. Making a perfume for myself was lovely, but I also thought it would be meaningful to make one as a gift for an anniversary or special day.

As part of a Naver Place review event, they made me a small mini diffuser using the capsules from my third and fourth test combinations.

Since those were combinations from before the final choice, I did not expect much, but when I opened the diffuser at home, I was surprised that it was actually exactly the scent I like. They said it is best to let the perfume mature for about two weeks before using it, so I am still waiting without opening it. I am looking forward to seeing how the scent changes after two weeks, too.

Why It Made a Great Bukchon Date Course

You can simply buy perfume, but the process of smelling many scents yourself, finding your preferences, and shaping them into one fragrance was really enjoyable.

In particular, being able to blend Korean-inspired scents such as hanji, mountain mugwort, and seonhyang myself was one of the most memorable parts of Muhwawon.

The experience takes about 1 hour 30 minutes, so it is easy to pair with a walk around Changdeokgung Palace or Bukchon. If you continue on to Seosulla-gil or Ikseon-dong, it also works well as a half-day Bukchon date. If you are looking for an unusual Seoul date where the two of you make something together instead of just having a meal and going to a café, this perfume-making experience is worth trying at least once.