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| The Seoul Museum of Craft Art / Courtesy of Seoul Museum of Craft Art |
By Park Ji-won
Korean craftworks have flourished over thousands of years since ancient times, developing their delicate, skillful and versatile quality artistic objects, as seen in many relics such as "najeon chilgi" (pearl inlaid objects).
But there was no state-run organization to collectively preserve the legacy of these craftworks, and so they have been preserved separately in various museums, including the National Museum of Korea.
On July 16, however, the Seoul Museum of Craft Art, the first of its kind under the Seoul Metropolitan Government established in a 10,590-square-meter space, opened to the public in central Seoul, showcasing up to 21,750 craft artifacts including 3,890 works from ancient times and 13,091 works from modern times. All pieces on exhibit are made in Korea except for two.
The museum is in the former site of Poongmoon Girls' High School, which moved south a few years ago. It is also where Prince Yeongeung (1434-67), son of King Sejong the Great (1397-1450), built his home and where Sejong died, according to government data. And it is close to where King Gojong (1852-1919) built the royal villa Andong Byeolgung for the coronation of Sunjong (1874-1926), his son and successor.
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| Kim Soo-jung, director of Seoul Museum of Craft Art / Courtesy of Seoul Museum of Craft Art |
"The spirit of the craftwork or craftsmanship is to put a lot of effort into coming up with solutions through craftworks to the problems given by every era. Many artisans have been making a lot of effort to choose materials and designs which they materialized into one or a small number of artworks. I think the narratives haven't been visualized enough so far. Our mission is to show the process of the hard work of the craftsmanship and let it be absorbed into people's lives," Kim said during an interview with The Korea Times, Aug. 24. She had served as a researcher of cultural assets in the Seoul Metropolitan Government since 2001.
She said Korea's contemporary craftworks have no distinctive characteristics compared to other countries, as many of them influence each other regardless of nations and borders, but added the inlaid works are especially skilled and unique.
To fully express the unique characteristic of craftworks, unlike other museums which simply display cultural assets, the museum tried to tell the story of the entire process of craft making through exhibitions.
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| The process of making a lacquered box inlaid with mother-of-pearl / Courtesy of Seoul Museum of Craft Art |
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| Lacquered box inlaid with mother-of-pearl / Courtesy of Seoul Museum of Craft Art |
For example, the museum tried to show every step of making a najeon chilgi box by many artisans. The museum also spent years analyzing the documents of the Joseon Kingdom and came up with a list of 8,000 artisans who made craftworks for the palace, whose names and works are listed in a media art exhibition. The museum also put more information in digital kiosks which are installed in almost every corner of the museum. It also did not prohibit visitors from filming or taking photos of any exhibition so that the works can be shared and enjoyed by as many as people as possible.
As the de facto first director of the museum after its opening, Kim aimed to expand the definition of craftworks and promote cultural exchanges with other countries.
"Craftworks influence each other regardless of country and time. I think the works of Korean artisans can be a source of inspiration to artisans in other countries and vice versa. My job is to create some chances between those artisans and ordinary people to get inspired by the craftworks and let people know the beauty of Korea's craftworks, as I believe it could also expand the definition of craftworks in Korea."
