Making 'cense with Hyungi Park

We're so thrilled with how our collab on Hanok came out. What's in it and what was your process to get to this particular scent?

Hanok was originally one of our backflow cone scents, but for the Ask the Ages collaboration, we introduced it in stick form for the first time. The scent is woodsy, peppery, with a soft warmth that lingers. It was inspired by traditional Korean hanok houses—structures made entirely of wood, deeply thoughtful in design, and rooted in ideas of harmony and simplicity. We wanted to create something that felt warm and inviting, especially thinking about the intimacy of home and how scent plays a quiet but powerful role in shaping that feeling. It's one of our most beloved fragrances, so it felt natural to give it a new life in stick form.

What are the key ingredients and how do you balance them? 

Hanok has notes of cypress, oak, amber, and black pepper. We wanted to stay true to the name—hanok referring to traditional Korean wooden homes—so the scent had to feel rooted, natural, and inviting. The cypress and oak give it a strong, grounding woodiness, but there’s also a brightness to them. Amber brings in warmth and a soft touch of sweetness without leaning too gourmand or heavy, and the black pepper adds just a subtle lift—fresh, slightly spicy, but not overpowering. Together, they balance into something that feels familiar, calm, and deeply comforting.

Where does Hanok sit in the broader Hyungi incense universe? Does it feel like a daily driver or maybe more of a special occasion burn? 

What I love about incense is how versatile it is—it can be part of something deeply intentional, like a ritual or ceremony, or simply woven into your everyday routine. That was the goal with this collection: to create scents that could live in both spaces. Hanok, in particular, feels like it really holds that duality. I’ve had people tell me they use it for their altars, which is such an honor, but I also love that it’s just as fitting for a quiet moment at home. It was never meant to be reserved for one kind of use — incense, to me, is meant to be flexible, personal, and open to interpretation.

Tell us about your favorite moments to burn incense in your home life. What are you doing and what does the incense do for you? 

I burn incense at home daily, especially in the morning when I’m drinking tea. It helps clear the space, but also clears my head — kind of like a mental reset. Sometimes it’s purely functional, like after I’ve cooked and want to shift the atmosphere. Other times, if I want to be more indulgent or intentional, I’ll do a full incense ceremony just for myself. Depending on the time of day or what I need, I’ll reach for different types of incense — each one plays a different role in my routine.

You're not only an incense maker, but an incense scholar. What should people know about the history and practice of using incense here in the US that too often gets lost? 

I focus primarily on incense traditions from Asia, where it has a long and deeply embedded history. Incense appears across many cultures globally, and at its core, it refers to the burning of aromatic plant materials—whether that’s single ingredients like sage or blends used in various ceremonial contexts. In the U.S., incense isn’t as historically integrated outside of mostly Indigenous practices. But in many Asian cultures, incense served both symbolic and utilitarian purposes. It was used to mark time, to subtly perfume garments and hair before the advent of modern fragrance, to ward off insects, and even to preserve certain medicines. Its role extended far beyond scent—it was part of the fabric of everyday life.

You told us about a recent trip to Korea where you did some incense exploration. What did you learn about Korean incense culture that you're bringing back to your practice? 

Earlier this year, I traveled to Daegu to attend an exhibition focused on Korean incense. Up until then, my knowledge was primarily limited to its role in jesa—the ancestral rites where incense is burned at altars. The incense itself is made from powdered aromatic plant materials, mostly woods, and uses split bamboo rods as molds, which results in much thicker, more substantial sticks than what you typically see. I’m really inspired by this unique method of incense making—something I haven’t seen in other traditions. I want to honor and preserve these practices that are, quite frankly, fading, while bringing them into a contemporary context that respectfully references that heritage in a fresh and thoughtful way.