A Journey of Shoe Shining in Korea

Following last year, we held our second Brift H event at the bespoke tailor La Chiave in Seoul, South Korea. The event featured counter shoe shining, workshops, and a product showcase. In this travelogue, I will introduce the local shoe-shining scene and new discoveries I made through interactions with Korean shoe enthusiasts.

Hello everyone, this is Aida from Brift H. This time, I would like to introduce our shoe-shining event held in South Korea on September 19 and 20 as a travelogue.

Following last year, we held a Brift H POP UP at La Chiave in South Korea. We offered “counter shoe shining,” a “group workshop” limited to six people, and a Brift H product showcase. Approximately 40 people visited us over the two days. A wide range of people participated, from those experiencing shoe shining for the first time to those who wanted to review their daily shoe-shining methods.

The participants ranged widely in age, from their late 20s to early 50s, and what they had in common was their passion for leather shoes and their desire to “shine them properly.” Most people came with a strong interest in shoe shining itself. Among the participants, five or six professionals who run shoe shining and repair shops in Seoul also joined. Although they were from different shops, conversations naturally arose as they learned the same techniques, and it was a pleasant and unexpected benefit that the workshop became a place for professionals to interact.

The shoes brought in were mainly from three brands: John Lobb, J.M. Weston, and Alden. In particular, many people seemed to struggle with how to care for cordovan. Many seemed to have tried methods they found online and felt uneasy about whether they were doing it correctly, and the most exciting part of the workshop was “how to use leather sticks.” When we explained when to use them and how to hold the stick, everyone seemed to have a new discovery, exclaiming, “You do it like that!”

Although many people own the tools, I felt that there are few opportunities to learn the correct way to use them. This is the current state of shoe care in South Korea. Since we finished each person’s shoes in the workshop, we even received feedback saying, “I can apply this to my own shoes starting tomorrow.”

As a story unique to South Korea, it was also memorable that many of the participants had experienced shoe shining during their military service. We received many comments such as, “The way I learned in the military is completely different in a good way,” and “I didn’t know they could shine like this once I learned the method.” While it is a matter of course for us how much the finish changes with just the method of shining, it seemed to be a series of surprises for those discovering it for the first time.

Although there are many people in South Korea who wear nice shoes, the reality is that there are still few shops where you can leave your shoes. I think the fact that politicians, lawyers, and others who usually want to entrust their shoe care to someone else participated so they could shine them themselves is a reflection of this. First, I want to continue answering their desire to “know” one by one. And eventually, we are also considering holding a shoe-shining competition in South Korea.

This time, some people even said, “I want to enter the competition in Japan,” and “I will enter the Asia Championship in Singapore next year.” I look forward to the day I can meet all the participants again at the venue. Brift H will continue to deliver the techniques and joy of shoe shining across borders.

Brift H Takashi Aida