Bugak Is a Clever Stool That Hides a Storage Shelf Inside

Butterfly joints don’t always get the recognition they deserve. In traditional Korean wooden architecture (called hanok), woodworking, and masonry, these graceful connectors – known as nabi-jangbu – quietly hold everything together with precision, tucked out of sight within beams and frameworks. Rather than hide this essential element, designer Jin Kim, founder of the studio JAYUJAJE, brings it into the spotlight. Designed as a sculptural ode to Korean joinery, the Bugak stool transforms the humble butterfly joint into both a structural anchor and a captivating focal point – one that invites interaction and reveals a hidden surprise.

At first glance, the Bugak stool appears to be a minimalist, unassuming seat. Its soft curves and graceful silhouette are grounded by warm wood grain in two tones that adds just the right amount of visual texture. But look closer: at the center, a butterfly-shaped detail subtly hints that there’s more than meets the eye. With a gentle press, the form depresses, then slowly rises to reveal a concealed interior shelf – an unexpected surprise that brings added function to the design. Fittingly, bugak means to reveal, highlight, or elevate – precisely what this piece does for a once-hidden structural detail.

By spotlighting the butterfly joint, Kim flips the script on traditional construction. In Korean joinery, these connections are typically hidden, silently reinforcing a structure from within. But in Bugak, that quiet connector becomes the main character. It not only holds the stool together – it defines its silhouette and invites new ways of engaging with it. Through this small but powerful gesture, Kim turns an age-old craft technique into something interactive, poetic, and completely contemporary.

To learn more about the Bugak stool by Jin Kim of studio JAYUJAJE, visit www.jayujaje.com.

Photography courtesy of JAYUJAJE.