Friendly warning - This is an extra long blog post! Definitely one to make a cup of tea and sit and enjoy. 

Visiting South Korea had been on my wish list for quite a while, and in November 2024, my dream finally came true—2 weeks in Seoul!

Wow! Seoul is amazing—vibrant, beautiful, and stylish, with a wonderful mix of old and new. From grand palaces and ancient temples to hidden gardens and breathtaking views around every corner, the city is full of history and charm. And that’s not even mentioning the textiles… or the food!

I traveled with my friend Miki Song-Gallacher (pictured above), who grew up in Seoul. Miki's family moved to New York when she was 16, and later, she and her husband settled in Sydney, Australia. These days, Miki splits her time between all three cities but calls Sydney home.

Miki and I first connected online over our shared love of Korean textiles, and eventually, we met in person and became fast friends. So in November, we set off for Seoul, perfectly timing our trip to attend the Korea Quilt Festival. It was an incredible experience—meeting talented Korean quilters, admiring stunning exhibits from artists around the world, and soaking up all the inspiration.

Beyond the festival, we explored Seoul’s palaces, temples, museums, folk villages, markets, and fabric shops. We visited textile art exhibitions, met quilters and craftspeople, and, of course, sampled all sorts of delicious food. We crisscrossed the city by bus, train, and taxi, stumbled upon a breathtaking field of flowers, enjoyed a magical nighttime light show, and took in a stunning sunset from the tower.

As always, I took a zillion photos, so this post is a collection of moments—hundreds of glimpses into our adventure. I hope the images catch your eye and spark your imagination, giving you a sense of the magic of Seoul.

Let’s start with the Korea Quilt Festival!

I was pinching myself at the entrance - to finally be at the Korean Quilt Festival!

What a fabulous welcome!

It's tricky to share lots of individual quilt photos because the names were written in Korean and I'm not sure how they can be translated to English properly. So these photos are just an overview to give you an idea of the show. 

The quilts are displayed against a crisp white backdrop in a well-lit, airy space, allowing them to shine at their best. I love how the setting enhances every detail! It’s also wonderful to see such a diverse range of styles—from traditional and Baltimore quilts to modern, contemporary, and art quilts.

We were early so it wasn't very busy yet but while we where there it was never too crowded. There is space to wander and enjoy the exhibits.


Shops selling goodies. There were quilting fabrics , dress fabrics, vintage fabrics and quilts, trims and little things. There were artists selling books, and their works. 






K-Sewing Art by @wind5707 - amazing drawings stitched onto canvas. 


I loved this display of quilts by a group of quilters that are on instagram as @mola_hanquilt_  .
Mola quilting is a traditional stitching from the San Blas Islands of Panama and the indigenous Guna people and to see the techniques used to show Korean dress in bright colours was wonderful. 

I am super excited that @mola_hanquilt_  will be exhibiting their work at AQC (Australian Quilt Convention) in 2025. I can't wait for people to see these wonderful joyful quilts and to meet the makers. 



@nantes.joo makes and embroiders the most wonderful bags!! Each one is an artwork! Follow her on IG to see her ethereal stitched quilts and bags.

A most gorgeous forest!

The vendors stalls were beautifully displayed and everyone was so friendly. I guess quilters are friendly where-ever you go in the world. 

Someone asked how the show compares to the one in Houston  - They are very different. The Korean Festival is smaller, but then Houston is HUUUGE! 
While it was smaller there was definitely enough to see and enjoy to be able to spend at least half a day. The thing we enjoyed was seeing different styles of quilts and quilters whose work we don't often see at other quilt shows. And of course any quilt show is a joy! 

We got to meet Youngmin Lee and see a display of Bojagi quilts made by her and several leading bojagi artists from around the world. She has recently released a book about Korean textiles called "Bojagi."

Bojagai is the word for wrapping cloth. Traditionally Bojagi was used for wrapping everything - books, sheets, carrying dishes of food, gifts, storing items etc. 
Jogakbo is the word for patchwork that many Bojagi/wrapping cloths were made with. 

These are a few a the quilts in the Youngmin Lee's exhibition. 

In another exhibit space, it was lovely to meet Sarah Hibbert from the UK and see her wonderful quilts in real life. 


Once again, it's tricky to share the Korean quilts because the labels are in Korean and I can't properly credit the makers. So I'll leave it there and say - "Plan a visit to experience it in real life , or Come along with Miki and I on a trip to Seoul". ( a bit more about that later - keep reading.)

Now here’s a little bit of everything in no certain order. 
We saw so much that my mind is still swirling with incredible sights and experiences. 
These photos offer a glimpse into the magic of our adventure.

This Buddha was enormous!!



The painted details in palaces and temples was mind-bogglingly beautiful. Such a great reward for looking up, down, and all around. 

The old was layered with new throughout the city. There were amazing new buildings, interesting architecture with lots of character. The old buildings are so beautiful with their curved tiled roof silhouettes, carved and painted details. 

Changing of the guards - This photo shows the colour and wonderful flags but in real life the sounds of the musicians, drums, the calling of the guards and sound of footsteps and stamping of feet add so much to the experience. 

Exquisite fine hand embroidery!


Fabric markets!! Oh my golly! There is a fabric market that has aisles that go foreverrrrrr in a building that is several stories high. It's a tad overwhelming for choice but Miki knew her way around and has found all the best stalls to buy quilting fabrics, haberdashery, quilting tools and bag making things.





Patterns made with edges of roof tiles. 

A chrysanthemum tree! 








One day we came across a field of wildflowers in the city. 

Miki sampling a delicious ice-cream. We had so many delicious meals from Korean BBQ, dumplings, bibimbap, meals that were feasts of little side dishes. It was also interesting trying local fruit such as Korean apple, and melon. The best madarins that I've ever tasted. 






There are many places to hire hanbok ( traditional dresses) around the palaces. People who wear them get free entry into the palaces and museums. It's lovely to see people dressed up, they add colour and help you imagine the days when these were the clothes people wore. 

A beautiful hanbok on display in a museum. Note the little Prairie Points around the collar.


So many beautiful doorways and windows.


A giant bojagi - wrapping cloth on display in a museum.


We visited a quilt shop. They had shelves of Tilda, and other wonderful fabrics. You can see how fabulous the window display is.



Beautiful streets at night.









On another day we went to see the amazing work of master textile teacher Jae Eun. 
This is just a glimpse of her work, there were so many spectacular pieces of bojagi, hand emboidery, decorative stitches, natural dyed textiles. 


Miki and I enjoyed our trip so much that we'll be taking a group of quilters next year to the Quilt Festival of Korea along with visits to palaces, tea-houses, folk villages, fabric markets, art galleries, and more. 
Our aim is to showcase all the wonderful crafts of Korea so we have organised workshops with Jae Eun to teach traditional Korean stitching and projects and natural dying, We'll even make a fan! Plus there will be other workshops in various crafts. We can't wait to share these experiences and the beauty and soul of Seoul. 


Just a couple more photos... 
One of me...

 ...one of Miki. 

... and a sunset over Seoul. 


PS. I rarely post on my blog these days. If you want to keep up with my happenings sign up for my newsletter via my website,  rachaeldaisy.com.