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.
A minimalist watercolor painting of a mountain landscape with soft blue and gray tones, overlaid with the text 'WHY 마루 MARU?' in bold letters.

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 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)