The Most Luxurious Korean Furniture – Eastern Edition

Eastern Edition showroom in Seoul, Cheongdam

Teo Yang is one of the first people I learned about when I started exploring the topic of traditional Korean aesthetics. Teo Yang is one of the first people I learned about when I started exploring the topic of traditional Korean aesthetics. An art director and interior designer, he was included by Architectural Digest in its AD100 List and featured in Phaidon’s By Design: The World's Best Contemporary Interior Designers book. Everything he touches has this unbelievable aura of sophistication, and although his love for Korean traditional culture and craftsmanship is almost palapable, he is able to give it a very modern spin that appeals to a diverse contemporary audience.

Teo Yang founded the design firm Teo Yang Studio in 2012 and Eastern Edition – a luxury furniture brand – in 2021. After seeing the brand’s pop-up at the Shinsegae Department Store in August, I decided to visit their showrooms in Cheondgam. I have to say it felt wonderful to step into a space filled with items designed with the utmost attention to detail. 

Chair and sidetable showcased at the brand’s Cheongdam showroom

The upper floor of the first showroom 

One of the most beautiful aspects of the designs is the reference to traditional Korean furniture and fabrics, but also the natural forms. The irregular table shapes are a refenrece to oval river pebbles – rivers and streams being a very regular sight in the mountenous country. Then there are the stools which take the traditional floor cushion – as you are probably well aware, Korea has a floor culture with most home activities performed on the floor e.g., eating, sleeping – but lifting it up on to adjust it to the Westernized lifestyle. 

A chair made using persimmon wood

A mirror shaped like river pebbles

Sitting cushions elevated on a stool 

I am a big fan of Nubi, a traditional Korean quilting fabric made with a stitching technique that involves holding three layers of fabric together – and I loved seeing it used as upholstery. Very often used for garments, as it makes the cloth warmer, it’s elegant in its simplicity and perfectly expresses the brand ethos.  Next to the sofa were chairs with arms and legs connected to form the shape of ‘ㄷ’ – digeut, a consonant in the Korean alphabet, Hangeul, turned by 90 degrees. 

Nubi used for upholstery

The Nubi sofa, pebble-shaped tables, and chairs with armrests connected to legs, reminiscent of the ‘ㄷ’ letter of the Korean alphabet

The store collection is full of such hidden references to traditional Korean culture. I was told that when he was a child, Teo Yang used to take all of his pocket money and go shop for antiques in the Insa-dong area, famous for being a hub of traditional Korean culture in Seoul. This made me smile as when I was 10, I used my First Communion gift money to buy a secretary (writing desk) for myself – I guess I’m not alone with my quirks. The antiques can be spotted throughout the showroom and complement the furniture beautifully. 

Eastern Edition also released a line of Art Furniture, showcased at the Urban Fabric Exhibition in Dubai, which repurpuses wood from demolished traditional Korean houses, called Hanok. A video in the first showroom introduced the collection, telling us that traditional architecture has been disappearing from Seoul at a rapid pace, from 130,000 buildings in 1960 to 12,594 in 2013. The brand sources the waste from the dismantled houses – or treasure, if you ask me – collected in warehouses located at the outskirts of Seoul and incporporates it into the designs, giving it new life. 

Recently, the brand also came out with a line of perfumes, displayed at the showroom. As with everything Teo Yang touches, even that set up was pure perfection – the testers were made with traditional Korean mullberry paper, Hanji, and put into traditional ceramic vessels. Two of the scents, the Eau de Parfum Paul and Eau de Parfum Bani have been created in partnership with Shinsegae Duty Free – Paul & Bani being an exclusive brand crafted for Shinsegae shoppers. For those less familiar with the Korean retail scene, Shinsegae Department Store opened in 1960 as the first modern department store in the country.

The perfume testers made with traditional Korean mullberry paper, Hanji

I’ve heard that the brand has been very busy, which I am very happy to hear. I hope we get to see an exhibition of the Art Furniture in Seoul, as for now we were allowed only a glimpse of the line – I’ve spotted a long lamp in the second showroom. I leave you with a picture of the beautiful traditional Korean desserts I was served with my tea – perfect to the smallest detail.

The dessert served by the brand to showroom guests

One of the desserts was topped with a flower