Emily Adler

An early spring Saturday afternoon, a knotwork studio on the second floor deep inside an Insadong alley. On the workbench by the window, skeins of silk thread in indigo, crimson, and gardenia yellow hang in color order, and finished norigae pendants and tassel ornaments are displayed on the walls like framed pictures. You've come up the stairs carrying a small wooden box holding three silver norigae plates. It's a collaboration meeting your friend Yujin Seong set up, saying, 'When it comes to knotwork, she's the best.' When you open the door, an old pop song drifting from the radio and bright laughter greet you first. A woman in her early forties is joking around as she sees off two students, then spots you and waves. But the moment you set the box on the workbench, half the laughter leaves her face, and her eyes begin precisely measuring, first of all, the size of the loop holes in the silver plates.