Silver ring class in Yeonsinnae: half wave, half diamond at Munak

A new silver ring shop called Munak has opened. This place lets you carve wax to make the silver ring you want. I once made a necklace using silver clay, so wanting a ring I made myself this time, I paid a visit!

In conclusion, this is a very comfortable studio run by a calm, steady owner. Even going alone, I could make my ring without feeling awkward, and had a lot of fun. Right now, as an opening celebration, you can experience it for ₩98,000 (₩10,000 off) until September 30!

Where Munak is, opening hours and parking in Yeonsinnae

• Address: 23 Tongil-ro 83-gil, 2F, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
• Parking: Not available, Yeonsinnae public parking lot recommended

What the Munak studio in Yeonsinnae looks like inside

The entrance can be a little tricky to find, but it's a brick building — just go in through the entrance on the right side.

The interior was really spacious and clean. There were pieces the owner had made displayed around, and there were so many kinds.

From thick silver rings to thin ones, and various pieces with detailed metalwork or engravings, there was a lot of variety. I wondered and worried whether I could make something like that too... and after looking around, I started making my ring.

How a wax carving silver ring class at Munak works

Munak's wax carving experience starts by picking a ring size and briefly writing down what kind of feel you want. If you have absolutely no idea, search 'wax carving silver ring' on Google beforehand and get a rough sense of the shape you want!

I put on an apron and sat down at the workbench.

There weren't that many types of tools, but since I'd never used them before, I was a bit worried whether I could do it well. But! No need to worry at all.

First, you carve the inside of the wax and gently turn it to match your size. I picked between 11 and 12.

Next, since a silver ring that's too thick looks bad, you need to adjust the thickness. You grind it down with a wire-mesh-like stick to get an even thickness. Honestly this part is kind of grueling labor, so after working hard I got a bit tired and asked the owner for help. She told me to ask anytime I needed help, which made me feel very at ease.

The owner shaved down the outside herself. Without her... it's essential, honestly.

Then you sketch on top with a marker pen and carve it into 3D shape, which is actually pretty fun. And it requires more meticulous carving than you'd expect.

Carving one ring half wave pattern, half diamond shape

The design I picked at Munak was half wave-pattern ring, half diamond-shaped ring. I wanted to use one ring in a versatile way. Still, it takes quite a bit of effort to get the shape I wanted. Watching it gradually take form felt really rewarding. Once I had a rough shape, I asked the owner if I was doing okay. She came over on her own without needing to be called, and looked it over carefully, which I really appreciated.

After carving diligently with clumsy hands, I decided this was good enough and called the owner over. This is when the real process of getting the exact shape I wanted began.

Engraving with this? Or carving shapes...? Anyway, carving a heart shape nicely. If you have shaky hands this part could be tough — it needs some focus.

Details matter a lot, so she smoothed out various angular parts. If a part is too big it doesn't look pretty when worn, so she made it a bit smaller, and so on — making one ring involved a lot more work than I expected. I don't know what I would have done without the owner. She refined it exactly the way I wanted, one way or another.

She also said that if I really didn't like how it turned out, she could design it almost from scratch herself, so not to worry. Thank you so much, owner. In the end I asked her to handle the final details, but I feel like 60% of the ring's shape is mine, which makes me really proud.

In the end, the goal is to bring to life exactly the shape I had in my head. To do that, it helps to have a fairly clear target design and communicate well with the owner. I went alone but felt like I had a special experience, and was very satisfied. And so, I received the finished piece by courier!

The finished silver ring from Munak, delivered by courier

My ring, which came out with a more delicate shape thanks to the owner's touch.

I wanted to fit two designs into one ring, and it was a total success! So sparkly. It turned out even better than I expected, so I even thought about making another one whenever inspiration strikes! It came out exactly as I imagined, so I'm super, super satisfied.

Who should book a ring class at Munak?

Munak is a silver ring workshop full of charm, where you can shape your own one-of-a-kind ring in the world, from designing what you want to the wax carving itself, with your own hands. With the kind, meticulous, gifted owner's close support added in, even total beginners with clumsy hands can complete a high-quality, pretty ring without any failure.

If you're looking for a healing time to fully focus alone, or an unusual indoor date course to enjoy with a partner, I'd recommend this without hesitation.