SINGAPORE – When Singapore-based South Korean crafter Suna Kim received an e-mail from The Bora Dot, a local BTS fan community, in February 2026, she thought it would be a small side project.

The group asked if she could hold a workshop for them to mark the K-pop boy band’s momentous comeback event in Seoul on March 21 after their four-year hiatus.

Kim, 40, tells The Straits Times: “I wanted to make something unique just for them, different from my other norigae designs.”

Inspired by BTS’ signature colour purple and motifs from their latest album Arirang, she designed a traditional Korean norigae – an ornamental accessory often worn with a hanbok – along with a matching bracelet.

Kim then conducted two home-based workshops under her small brand Gori Knot with The Bora Dot in March, attracting 27 participants.

A group buy soon followed. The first order generated purchases of 21 norigae and 22 bracelets, each priced at $32 and $22 respectively.

Her norigae takes about 30 minutes to make, and she can complete only seven or eight a day, as the stay-home mum fits the work around caring for her six-year-old daughter.

The turning point came when she posted the designs on her Gori Knot Instagram account in March.