About
Korea possesses a remarkably unique wallpaper culture, found almost nowhere else in the world. Patterned wallpapers featuring rich colors and intricate designs have a deep history dating back to the Joseon Dynasty. Yet today, this once-vibrant tradition has faded from everyday life — and remains largely unstudied.
GOSATE is a wallpaper brand born from BAEMUI, a company dedicated to documenting, researching, and restoring Korea’s disappearing architectural heritage. GOSATE serves as a bridge — archiving the forgotten Korean interior tradition of “dobaeji” (decorative wallpaper culture), researching its history, and reproducing it into products such as wallpapers and fabrics that can be used in spaces today.
Gosate
he name GOSATE (고사테) derives from “gosat” (고샅), a pure Korean word meaning the narrow alleyways of a village. In the course of BAEMUI’s work documenting old homes tucked into these alleyways, layers of aged wallpaper revealed an unexpected archive — the everyday aesthetics of Korean life, strata by strata. These worn papers are not mere consumables; they are the most intimate records of a generation’s tastes and lives, and a remarkable historical source for observing the beauty of ordinary existence. GOSATE seeks to bring the warm memories held within these old homes at the end of the alley into the spaces of today.
Wallpaper Archive
Korea’s distinctive ondol (heated floor) culture gave rise to a unique practice called “deotbang” — layering new wallpaper directly over old. As a result, GOSATE has encountered a precious archive of hundreds of years of history, preserved like geological strata from the late Joseon period to the present. While the newspapers and documents found on the backs of these wallpapers testify to the defining moments of their era, the patterns on their faces carry the original artistry enjoyed by the people of the time. Through its own archive, GOSATE systematically preserves and manages over 300 wallpaper patterns spanning from the late Joseon period to the 1970s, documenting a forgotten chapter of Korean interior culture.
Naming
Every wallpaper discovered and restored by GOSATE carries a person’s name. In the era when these wallpapers were made, the concepts of “designer” or “artist” did not yet exist — all of our discoveries are works of anonymous makers. To honor these nameless designers, and to remember the unknown individuals who once bought wallpaper from a local paper shop with an eager heart to decorate their homes, GOSATE carefully researches the historical period in which each wallpaper was made and selects the most fitting personal name from that era to give it.
Reproduction
To faithfully recreate the beauty of the past, GOSATE upholds an uncompromising standard of quality. Through a global partnership with Sweden’s Rebel Walls — a brand by Gimmersta, a company with a wallpaper manufacturing history dating back to the 19th century — GOSATE’s precise production system renders the delicate textures and rich colors of historical patterns in a form suited to modern living environments. Focusing on every nuance of the paper’s texture, GOSATE creates wallpaper not as a museum artifact, but as a “living heritage” that can be touched and experienced in everyday life. Our products stand at the intersection of historical value and contemporary function.
Mission
GOSATE began with a simple urgency: the fear of losing a precious chapter of Korea’s interior architectural heritage to time and forgetting. Yet preserving that heritage demands resources and dedication. The growth of GOSATE is directly tied to the recovery of our cultural legacy. A portion of all revenue generated by GOSATE is reinvested into research and restoration — funding the discovery and systematic documentation of Korean wallpapers. This sustainable cycle, where economic activity sustains cultural preservation, is both GOSATE’s social responsibility and its reason for existing. We invite you to join us in recording memory and restoring everyday life.
Collaboration
GOSATE aspires to be more than a wallpaper manufacturer — we are a design house that creates new value from an extensive archive of historical patterns. We seek to extend the reach of Korea’s forgotten interior culture into the fields of architecture, fashion, technology, living design, and beyond. GOSATE currently holds over 300 unique wallpaper patterns and bespoke design solutions not publicly available online. If you are interested in a new project or content collaboration drawing on the GOSATE archive, we welcome you to reach out at any time.