Those Crafty Koreans

I’m always telling people about the art and design coming out of Korea, but very often they hark back to the old, traditional crafts. The cover article in January’s Korea: People and Culture magazine brilliantly puts this in context and provides details on how to try crafting on a visit to Korea. Crafts are hot these days: even as I write this on the train into London, across the aisle from me a well-dressed American woman is knitting a fluffy scarf. For a change, why not try traditional Korean patchwork or knotting?

The terminology for traditional crafts intrigued me when I first arrived in Korea. Valuable ancient artefacts in museums are called ‘Tangible Cultural Assets’; the knowledge of how to make something using ancient traditions is an ‘Intangible Cultural Asset’. The state-designated crafts include ceramics, metal, wood, stone, leather, textiles and paper.

The last time I came close to a master craftsman was at the Korean Cultural Centre in London, when a Buddhist wood carver amazed the crowd by creating a wood sculpture from the trunk of a tree using an axe in an exhilarating, whirlwind performance. These were skills honed over many years that he almost made it look easy.

Traditional crafts are a living, breathing link to Korea’s history, as writer Lee Se-mi says, and while rapid industrialization brought Western technologies and fashions to Korea in the last few decades, people are returning now to the lasting beauty of tradition – making fans from bamboo, or dying textiles naturally with persimmons.

We’re all moving away from throwaway culture and realising the true value of something made with skill and with heart and soul. When I visited a traditional rice cake shop on my last visit to Korea, I was shown the satin fabric wraps that were becoming popular for gifts instead of wrapping paper; recently, I found something similar in the shop down the road from my office in Chichester.

For a genuine experience of traditional Korean culture, you can visit one of the many cultural fairs or exhibitions, or even better, sign up for a half-day programme at one of the craft studios in the Bukchon district of Seoul. It’s likely to cost no more than £25 for a few hours and you’ll have a lasting souvenir of your experience.

www.korea.net

Seolhwa Cultural Exhibition

Craft Trend Fair

World Ceramic Biennale

Haneul Mulbit Studio, Kkokduseoni Studio