Bukchon perfume workshop: hagyul flower scent to gift wrap, Muhwawon

Is the Muhwawon perfume workshop in Bukchon OK for first-timers?

Muhwawon Bukchon Perfume Workshop is a place where even first-time perfume makers can relax, because the perfumer helps you at every step. If you're looking for a different indoor thing to do in Seoul, I've brought you a story about Muhwawon, a great spot in Bukchon for making special memories! You might worry that making perfume yourself sounds hard. But! The perfumer helped me with everything, so it was totally stress-free.

Muhwawon in particular has lots of scents that reinterpret traditional Korean aromas in a modern way, which gave it a charm different from other perfume workshops. If you're looking for a Bukchon date, things to do around Anguk, or an indoor date in Seoul, it's worth a visit!

What kind of perfume workshop is Muhwawon?

Muhwawon (무화원) is a perfume workshop in Anguk and Bukchon whose name means "a scent blooming like mist in a garden." As a brand inspired by Changdeokgung's Secret Garden, the space feels calm and naturally Korean.

Muhwawon is close to Bukchon Hanok Village, Changdeokgung and Insa-dong, so it works well as part of a date route. Besides perfume, you can make car air fresheners and diffusers, and you can choose anything from a 1:1 guided class to making it all yourself!

Muhwawon Bukchon: hours, location and booking

• Address: 23 Yulgok-ro 6-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (3rd floor)
• About 6 minutes on foot from Exit 4 of Anguk Station
• Hours: daily 12:00–22:00
• Class length: about 1 hour 30 minutes
• Reservations available
• Groups welcome
• Paid parking available (across from the building)

How does perfume making at Muhwawon work, step by step?

Making perfume at Muhwawon starts with a simple survey, followed by a short theory video. When you first sit down, you note things like scents you usually like and the mood you prefer, to help find the right scent for you. After that, a short theory video plays.

The video explains in easy terms what perfume concentration is, how scent notes are structured, and what an accord does. It wasn't difficult, so I understood it quickly. Even first-timers can follow along, so there's no pressure!!

Step one: choosing the mood of your scent

After the theory, you pick the moods you want, such as floral, fruity, soap or woody, to decide what kind of perfume to make. You can choose several at once. Thinking about the scents I usually like while choosing, I was already excited~~

What makes Muhwawon's Korean scents like hagyul flower different?

Muhwawon's biggest charm is its Korean scents that are hard to come across elsewhere, like wild grape, wild mugwort, green tangerine flower and omija (five-flavor berry). Some aren't existing scents used as they are but the workshop's own reinterpretations, which made them really unique!

Smelling them one by one was fun, and many of them are scents you can't easily find at other perfume workshops, so they stayed with me.

Your nose can get tired when you keep smelling scents, but every seat at Muhwawon has coffee beans ready. Sniffing the coffee now and then resets your sense of smell, so it was easy to tell scents apart again~ I was happy with this thoughtful detail too, haha.

A custom perfume blended with Muhwawon's perfumer

At Muhwawon, you check the scents you like on a blending note, and the perfumer recommends the best combination and blend ratios. It isn't a take-it-or-leave-it decision: they reflected the feeling I wanted as much as possible, and I was really satisfied! I got expert help while still enjoying the fun of making it myself~

Blending your own scent and adjusting it up to three times

You fetch the fragrance oils yourself according to the ratios the perfumer set. Each little bottle is pretty, so it's fun just to browse haha! I picked them out one by one~~

Next, you add the scents one at a time to a small beaker in the right ratios, then shake it to mix. After that you check the scent yourself with a scent strip. If you want a bit more of one scent or less of another, you can adjust. You can keep tweaking through a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round, so I really got the scent I wanted. The perfumer stayed by my side through this part too, so it wasn't hard~!

Finishing a one-of-a-kind perfume with a name sticker

Once the final scent is decided, you make the perfume by adding the fragrance oils to an electronic scale by the gram. It was easier than I expected!

After that, the perfume goes into an empty bottle, and a staff member does the final finishing.

At Muhwawon you can also name your finished perfume. Write the name you want and they make it into a sticker and put it on the bottle. It felt like completing a one-of-a-kind perfume, so it was special, haha!

The perfume bottle is pretty and has real charm.

Is a Muhwawon perfume a good gift?

When the class ends, Muhwawon wraps your perfume nicely. The packaging itself is very stylish, so it's perfectly good as a gift. It's also a great place to visit with a foreign friend traveling in Bukchon, and I really recommend making perfume together for an anniversary date or a birthday present!!

If you're wondering what to do in Seoul or planning a Bukchon date, I recommend Muhwawon Bukchon Perfume Workshop as a place to make a different kind of memory!