Aulling Atelier’s Da Yoon Jung on Building a Korean Floral Language

Da Yoon Jung began studying horticulture at university in Korea when she was 20. The subject gave her a scientific understanding of plants, from the colour of roses to how their lifespan can be extended. Her interest soon moved into floral design.

She studied at a Korean floral design academy, later completed a master’s degree in floral decoration and travelled between Korea and Europe while exploring different approaches to flowers. She also worked across several parts of the Korean flower industry.

“This year marks 25 years since I entered the flower industry,” she says.

At 29, Jung launched Aulling Atelier. The name was developed from the Korean word 어우러지다, meaning “to harmonize”. Harmony became part of the studio’s philosophy: the relationship between flowers, space and human experience.

“My design journey begins with this brand philosophy,” she says. “I aim to express the inherent lines of nature in an original, systematic and harmonious way.”

Jung first entered floral design through German design and travelled through Europe to study arranging techniques. Back in Korea, she studied traditional Korean flower arranging.

That combination now informs her work. She is connecting traditional Korean arranging techniques with European floral design while developing a style that she sees as distinctly Korean.

“While mastering traditional Korean flower arranging, I learned the unique aesthetics of Korean floral design,” she says. “I focused on expressing Korea’s unique beauty through floral design while newly interpreting it by incorporating the German and European designs I had studied.”

Jung believes this Korean perspective is part of what has drawn international interest to her work.

Jung has been working overseas for 14 years. Today, she teaches florists and students across Asia, the United States, Latin America and Europe.

The work abroad has also introduced her to plant materials she would not usually encounter through Korea’s four seasons.

“Since the floral materials differ from country to country, this has brought me tremendous growth,” she says. “These materials from various countries expand my worldview and foster the growth of my design vision.”

At Korea Flower School, students can move through basic and master courses. Intensive workshop-style classes are held during spring and autumn, and the school also offers an international certification course.

Technique is only one part of what Jung wants students to learn.

“Flowers are part of nature,” she says. “Therefore, I believe that the process of understanding nature is the most important in the first place.”

She also asks students to spend time developing their own design world. In her interview, Jung describes floristry as both a professional occupation and an artistic practice, one that requires technical foundations as well as a clear point of view.

Jung’s advice to florists who want to work internationally starts with knowing what they want their work to say.

“To share your own design with people around the world, you must have a solid worldview and your own philosophy.”

Teaching, she says, requires its own set of skills.

“The art of lecturing is a different discipline from the art of floral design,” she says. “You’ll also need the skill to communicate your thoughts clearly.”

Her ambitions for the profession extend beyond her own school. Jung wants floristry to develop as a recognised flower art career in Korea, with more opportunities for Korean flower artists to work around the world.

Her advice to someone starting that process is straightforward.

“Since this is a profession that requires long periods of self-development and relentless effort, you must approach it with perseverance and courage.”