마루
Maru

St. Paul, MN

A wooden dining table with four gray upholstered chairs and a long bench, set with two pots of red flowers, in a sunlit room with a floral wall hanging.

An intimate space for gathering & tending

A sunlit corner with a low black lacquer bapsang table and two red floor cushions beside a tall window, and a Korean wooden blanket chest with brass butterfly fittings and a plant on top.
A sunlit corner with a low black lacquer bapsang table and two red floor cushions beside a tall window, and a Korean wooden blanket chest with brass butterfly fittings and a plant on top.
A sunlit room with tall wooden-framed windows, a blue sofa and ottoman, and a cushioned daybed by the window, with plants and framed Korean calligraphy.

Maru is an indigenous Korean word with multiple meanings. In traditional Korean 하녹 (hanok) architecture, the Maru is a raised wooden surface where everyday life happens. It is a place to work, rest, and gather. It also means the summit or peak of a mountain, roof, or a wave. Our Maru, which rests on the uppermost part of the building, is a place to a place to gather, tend, build and dream.

Felise Park and her twin sister Gi-Ae, co-founders of Maru, smiling side by side outdoors.

“Maru has become a place for us to tend to our grief and our dreams, and we hope it can be that for others, too.”

Gi-Ae (left) and Felise (right)