When Passion Blooms: In Conversation with Korean Jewellery Designer Youngsun Nam

Sharing my passion for jewellery across my platforms often leads to unexpected encounters. When a new jewellery designer and devoted follower, Youngsun Nam, reached out asking to meet and show me the fruits of her imagination, I agreed right away. She had just exhibited her eponymous brand, Youngsun Nam, in Rome during Jewellery Week in October, and made a stop in Paris to meet me before flying back home to Seoul, Korea.

Youngsun is one of the very few Korean jewellers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, and her Instagram page, which revealed only glimpses of her designs, intrigued me from the very first glance. We met at the Cheval Blanc hotel in Paris, where she presented a dozen pieces from her debut collection against the backdrop of the River Seine. Three elements—a bold aesthetic, organic shapes and coloured gemstones—united the three chapters of her first collection into one harmonious vision. Though each jewel had a distinct identity, they shared a common thread: pavé diamond details, flowing organic forms and a hidden message behind every design, which I discovered one by one.

What struck me most was that Youngsun’s jewellery seemed to carry an Italian aesthetic rather than an Asian one, and I wanted to understand why. I also wanted to hear about her life-changing decision to leave her successful career in the gaming industry to pursue her true passion for jewellery. So, let’s discover Youngsun’s world together.

Katerina Perez: First of all, what does jewellery mean to you?

Youngsun Nam: To me, it has never been just a means of self-adornment. I believe jewellery is a vessel of time and emotion—a symbol of our relationships with the people we love: family, friends, lovers. Each piece carries stories across generations.

KP: What is your first jewellery memory?

YS: One of my earliest memories is watching my grandmother open her jewellery box and tell me about the stories behind each piece—a ruby ring inherited from her mother, a pearl necklace she bought to celebrate her achievements, and a bracelet shared between best friends. Every jewel represented a person, a moment and a cherished memory. Spending time with my grandmother was the catalyst for my emotional connection to jewellery.

KP: You’ve loved jewellery for many years, yet when it came time to choose your career, you went into the gaming industry.

YS: During my university years, I loved both games and jewellery. When I had to choose, I naturally gravitated toward gaming since many people around me, including my family, worked in engineering or IT. It felt natural to follow in their footsteps, and I ended up working for global gaming companies, from Microsoft to Krafton, the Korean creator of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Through my 23-year journey, I learned about creative storytelling and artistic expression within immersive gaming experiences.

KP: At what point did you realise you wanted to make a change and try something completely new?

YS: Over time, I became increasingly obsessed with achievement and proving myself. Sometimes I was surviving on just two or three hours’ sleep a night, driven by one goal—being useful. In society, we often try to prove our worth, and in doing so, we sometimes forget to ask ourselves: Who am I? What truly makes me happy? I remember one morning thinking: is there any way I don’t have to go to work today? That’s when I realised, I was utterly burned out and decided to take a break, to travel, to see the world and to find new inspiration.

KP: What finally led you to design while you were in this “exploration mode”?

YS: A close friend of 30 years told me, “Maybe this is the right time to do what you’ve always wanted to do.” That simple phrase really struck me. I opened my old bucket list, and right at the top was: Learn jewellery design! I wrote it when I was 20. Travelling became a process of rediscovery and realising that we must never forget who we truly are became the starting point of my jewellery brand, YS Nam.

KP: So, what was your first step towards that big change?

YS: I began studying jewellery design in Seoul. Then, while researching who to learn from, I discovered Barbara Brocchi—her illustration style captivated me. When she visited Korea, I attended her workshop, which led me to Rome. As mentor and friend, Barbara encouraged me to identify who I was first, because without knowing who you are, what you love and where you come from, you cannot create something truly heartfelt.

Before Rome Jewelry Week 2024, the theme of which was Infinito Barocco, I immersed myself in Italian culture, Rome’s history and the language of Baroque aesthetics. Preparing for the show pushed me to find my own interpretation, and I spent much of last year moving between Seoul and Rome, drawing inspiration from both. I was fortunate to receive the International Artist Award, and the entire experience deeply influenced my collection and helped shape my design identity.

KP: Now it makes sense why your designs have such an Italian flair.

YS: That’s right. I love volume, organic forms and of course, coloured gemstones. You can see them all in my debut collection, The Inner Garden.

KP: Tell us more about it!

YS: It symbolises a circle of change, reflection and achievement. The Baroque gardens of Rome deeply inspired me—their harmony between structure and nature, between order and life. To me, life itself is like a garden: a rhythm between design and chaos, between control and flow.

KP: So far, three chapters stand out in the collection: an organic one with pavé diamonds, a geometric one and a figurative one—the bee jewellery.

YS: Yes. The first chapter begins with the bees, honey and the garden that nurtures them. To me, the bee represents us—diligent, devoted, and always in motion. Each of us works for our loved ones—family, friends, our community and our dreams. But no bee thrives alone; they always work together. It’s through this connection and collaboration that true creation happens. That’s the beauty of human effort that I wanted to express through the bee.

KP: And honey—what does it symbolise?

YS: The sweetness of achievement and the reward for dedication and hard work. This collection reminds us to pause and celebrate how far we’ve come. The bee and honey are inseparable: they are the process and the outcome.

KP: They’re part of one continuous story, connected to the other jewels…

YS: Exactly. Inspired by the Baroque gardens of Rome, this collection represents the vast ecosystem of our inner world—a place full of paths, beauty and mystery. From above, all paths connect, but while walking through them, we cannot always see where they lead. All we can do is keep walking, following our own rhythm and direction.

KP: And will your garden continue to grow, or will you explore a new creative direction?

YS: It’s an entire ecosystem. Beyond the bees and honey, there will be flowers, fountains, lights, each symbolising our emotions, relationships and growth. It will evolve with me. Though this is my first collection, it’s one that will never truly end—not until the last day of my life. I’ll keep updating it, just like content updates in gaming!

KP: Your background in the gaming industry is quite unique for a jewellery designer. Did that experience influence the way you create today?

YS: Absolutely. In game development, many people work together to build one immersive world, and everyone must move toward the same vision. I realised jewellery is very similar. To express the emotion, texture and story I want in each piece, I work very closely with the artisans, discussing every detail until we’re aligned. That process has become less like simple collaboration and more like co-creation. The artisans also inspire me along the way, and together we bring each piece to life as one team. My years in the gaming industry taught me how powerful that shared vision can be, and I’m now applying that directly to my jewellery practice.

KP: From your designs, it’s clear that you love coloured gemstones as much as you love design.

YS: Absolutely. Coloured gemstones are essential to my journey; I see them as living beings of light. No two are ever the same, even if they come from the same source—just like human beings. Each gem carries its own story of where it came from, who cut it and how it wants to shine. My role is to interpret those stories and bring them to life through design.

KP: One thing’s certain—you’re a fan of tanzanites!

YS: I am! And so are my clients. One woman from Seattle, for example, had a diamond ring she’d wanted to redesign for 10 years. I proposed a toi et moi design that she loved, and when we discussed the colour direction, it turned out she adored tanzanites too.

KP: When you and your clients share that creative wavelength, the process of creating a bespoke jewel must be so rewarding. What else do you enjoy about working with private clients?

YS: I love how much they enjoy the conversations about design direction. Many tell me that I help them relive beautiful memories with their loved ones. That Seattle client, for example, began reminiscing about the day her husband first gave her the ring.

What touched me most during my meeting with Youngsun was her gratitude for the opportunity to share her story with my community, of which she herself is a part. “Preparing for our meeting made me reflect more deeply on the direction I’m pursuing and the essence of the collection I’m creating,” she told me.

Even though Youngsun is only at the beginning of her journey as a jeweller, it’s clear she’s here to stay—because nothing drives us more powerfully than love and passion for what we do.

Visit the Youngsun Nam website and follow her journey via her official Instagram and personal Instagram.