I had been wanting to try out Korean incense for a while now, because

I heard it rivaled Japanese incense in scent and quality. So the search

began to find which Korean incense would probably leave the best first

impression on me. I wanted something highly aromatic and old school

exotic, so I settled on Jing-Kwan (means Clear Gaze in Korean I

believe). The box was decorated in what i’m guessing is three lotuses

(?), and aquatic blue-green color, so because of the attractive

packaging, I was sold. Some of the prices of Korean incense do rival

the prices of the Japanese brands, but Jing-Kwan was fairly priced. I think this incense comes from Seol, South Korea. The sticks (and I

think this is the same with most Korean incense), are coreless, dry

sticks, again like the Japanese. Unlit they did not leave a memberable

scent impression on me, just incense-sandalwood-y like. When I

first lit it, I’ll be honest, I felt disappointed. In fact this happened to me the first few times I burned one. It seemed even more subtle than a lot of the Japanese incense, I was saddened. The box was pretty, but on the inside it was nothing special.

Or so I thought, until I lit three at once a week or so later, and my disappointed left. I just needed it blasted at me to begin my appreciation. Lit, it has a bitter note that you get from some frankincense that carry the more lemon like traits, but it was full bodied frankincense. Nice and unique. The sandalwood was playing up his base note like quality, providing a anchor for the frankincense, and complimenting the shy aloeswood that came out. The aloeswood is not a loud instrument in this compilation, I really think the frankincense is the diva in this grouping. The scent was steady, due to the woods, and it was consistent. The sticks burn evenly, and for roughly thirty minutes. It does not put out smoke like a chemical factory, pumping out wafts of

smoke that burn your eyes, it is just natural goodness that leaves on a

slight weight in the air. I will definitly buy more, I bought mine at Essence Of The Ages