Anguk perfume studio with 2-week aged custom scents: Muhwawon

Where is Muhwawon, and how do you book?

It's at 23 Yulgok-ro 6-gil, 3rd floor, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and open daily 12:00–20:00. Naver Reservations are available — I booked through Naver and got a reminder text on the day of my visit.

The session took 1 hour 30 minutes, and we did the premium 50ml perfume one-day class for 2 people. Paid parking is available: ₩1,200 for the first 10 minutes, ₩1,200 per additional 10 minutes, up to a maximum of ₩25,000.

Muhwawon: a Bukchon studio that records memories as scent

Muhwawon (무화원) means 'a scent blooming like mist in a garden' — apparently the brand was inspired by the mist rising in the Secret Garden of Changdeokgung Palace, blending Korean tradition with the brand identity :)

True to the workshop's identity, the interior blends modern touches with the quiet elegance of a hanok (traditional Korean house) — really striking.

When the perfumer leads you to your seat, a tablet and a theory notebook for the class are already set up.

After a short explanation via the tablet, we started blending — the whole process wasn't difficult at all, so it was easy to get into. The perfumer also took some nice photos for us :)

Choosing Korean notes: mugwort, hanji and wild grape

Once the explanation wraps up, you smell each scent one by one and decide what goes into the top, middle, and base notes. Here they have a range of distinctly Korean scents — mugwort, hanji (traditional mulberry paper), wild grape, and more — which felt really unique and fun.

After smelling so many different scents in a row, my nose got tired. Whenever that happened, sniffing coffee beans refreshed my nose and helped me tell the scents apart accurately again.

Adjusting the ratio until the scent is right

Based on the scents I checked off, the perfumer made a first blend. She'd bring over a sample, we'd test it, and if something was off, we'd talk it through and adjust the ratio together :) I got the scent I wanted on the second try.

Even if you get the scent you want right away, you can still try a third round adding any extra notes you wanted to test. I liked the second version better though, so we went ahead with that as the real blend :)

Measuring and mixing your own 50ml perfume

Once the scent is locked in, the real blending begins. The tablet walks you through how to use the digital scale and the exact measuring method with a video. After the instructions, quiet music played while we measured out our ingredients — it really helped me focus :)

Once the blend is done, you have to stir it 100 times. It goes by faster than you'd think :) After 100 stirs, you pour it into the empty bottle you're given and hand it to the perfumer — done!

Write your name on it and hand it over, and just like that, your own personal perfume is complete :)

After 2 weeks of aging: the perfume and the mini diffuser

The finished perfume needs about 2 weeks to age before use. The bottle design and packaging are so luxurious it would also make a great gift :)

And if you take part in the review event, they turn the scent capsule from your third round into a mini diffuser. I happened to need a car diffuser right then, so I hung it up in my car right away :) The scent throw isn't too strong, just right — I'm still using it happily to this day.

Is the Muhwawon perfume class worth it with a friend?

Both my friend and I were really happy with the whole experience. From the perfumer's attentive 1:1 care to blending our own scent by hand, we enjoyed every part of it :)

Even first-timers can dive in without any pressure, and honestly, the emotional, atmospheric interior really won me over. In that calm space, I got to spend time fully focused on myself.

Bukchon Hanok Village, Seosunra-gil, Ikseon-dong, and Insa-dong are all nearby, so it's a perfect Bukchon date course :) I'd highly recommend it if you're looking for a workshop with a quiet, traditional Korean atmosphere, or thinking of a unique experience to share with a foreign friend :)