An exhibition of Korean traditional crafts was held at the old Seoul Station building, now a venue for cultural exhibitions, from June 25 to July 13. Here’s Director of the Korea Craft and Design Foundation Choi Jeong-cheol최정철 to tell us more about the 2014 Craft Platform.



The show was planned to make crafts more accessible and practical for the public. The subtitle of this platform is “Craft is Delicious,” which means to tell people that craftwork is part of our lives. Crafts are fun and delicious when combined with daily culinary experiences. So the theme of this exhibition is delicious meals. Food ingredients become more delicious when they’re stored in earthenware. We wanted the public to feel that slow process of maturation in the show’s surroundings and realize the true nature of crafts.

There is a reason why this year’s Craft Platform has the subtitle “Craft is Delicious.” The exhibition featured brassware with a golden sheen, the smooth milky porcelain, the rustic earthenware onggi옹기 and other traditional tableware that elevate the experience of having a meal to a whole new level. What made the exhibition more accessible to the public is that the featured items are more practical, modern versions of their older counterparts without losing their traditional elegance. To publicize the charm and beauty of Korean craftwork, roughly ten thousand items were submitted by 230 artisans. Each of the craftworks shown there represents an important element that makes up our lives, such as clothing, eating, and housing. Here’s the exhibition’s curator Jang Shin-jeong to tell us more.

Behind the central hall there is a hall that introduces a collaborative culinary project carried out by four chefs and artisans. Beyond that is a tea room and a sarangbang사랑방, Korea’s traditional men’s quarter, filled with elaborately decorated chests and display cases as well as a modern lacquer table. The innermost area is set up as a gyubang규방, a space usually reserved for women, featuring delicate accessories and jewelry. The theme for the second floor exhibit is Korean earthenware called onggi and liquor. The process of fermentation and maturation is explained before visitors come to see how Koreans traditionally drank fermented alcohol out of onggi decanters and in onggi cups. Then in the next room they get to see assorted earthenware pieces.

Traditional tableware from onggi and brassware to celadon, white porcelain, and lacquered pieces, as well as wooden furniture, glassworks, hanji or Korean paper crafts, and naturally dyed fabrics were displayed at the 2014 Craft Platform. Now let’s take a step-by-step tour of the exhibition.

The first thing that comes into view as people enter Seoul 284, the former Seoul Station building, is a two-meter-tall grayish blue Buncheong분청 celadon. Its production was demonstrated by ceramist Lee Kang-hyo이강효 on the opening day.

Amid the pounding rhythm from a samulnori band, the artisan plastered white clay on an orange-colored clay earthenware piece and drew in abstract patterns. The performance drew cheers and applause from the onlookers and gave an eye-catching start to the exhibition. To the left of the gigantic Buncheong celadon vase waits a delicious exhibition by four chefs. Just as the exhibition’s subtitle “Craft is Delicious” suggests, this section is about how craft pieces can elevate culinary experiences. Four celebrity chefs and their artisan partners worked together to create a tempting spread for both the eyes and the palate. There is a table set with traditional plates and bowls and the images of food are projected from video equipment installed on the ceiling. Here’s the show’s curator Sohn Moon-su손문수 to tell us more.

This is a visual recreation of the chefs’ kitchen. The video equipment shows the chefs’ creations on the table. This section was set up to add a three-dimensional feel to the exhibition. I think it’s very attractive.

The first segment of the chefs’ exhibit features the collaboration between kimchi master Lee Ha-yeon이하연 and ceramist Kim Hee-jong김희종. It is mouthwatering to see red kimchi plated on a white porcelain plate. This pairing brings out the colors of both the white porcelain and the red kimchi. Here’s Mr. Sohn Moon-su again.

The second room is about brassware. Brassware is tableware with a specific function. Food keeps fresh for the longest time in brass containers and brassware is considered one of the most elegant forms of tableware. It was usually favored in the royal court. The brassware display was completed by Buddhist cuisine specialist Jeon Hyo-won전효원 and brassware artisan Kim Su-young김수영. This one is among our most popular displays.

The third stop is a creation of onggi옹기 master Lee Hyun-bae이현배 and French cuisine specialist and Millennium Seoul Hilton chef Park Hyo-nam박효남. French cooking in Korean onggi delivers the warmth of Korean affection. Mr. Sohn Moon-su explains.

Onggi is probably the most overlooked tableware of all. They are considered too heavy, too rough-edged, and too simple. They have almost disappeared from modern life, but people were amazed when a French chef used earthenware pieces to plate his food. Visitors from France went so far as to say that onggi must be the best type of dish to put French food in. The simple and humble appearance of onggi highlights whatever is put in it – whether the food is French or Korean, elaborately prepared or simply cooked. Lovers of onggi say that it is the best of all tableware.



The last pair in the chefs’ tables display is Kwangjuyo광주요, the maker of Korean classic tableware, and Kwangjuyo’s executive chef Kim Byung-jin김병진. Chef Kim focused on accentuating the flavors of seasonal ingredients by using the dishes with colors that go well with the ingredients. These Korean artisans have reinvented the country’s classic tableware with modern twists, but without sacrificing the inherent elegance. Visitors can see in advance how they can use these dishes to plate their food at home and they naturally head to the art shop at the end of the hall to recreate their visions in reality.

People love all our displays, but the onggi and white celadon sections are the most popular. Brassware also enjoyed unexpected popularity, because it’s not easy to find brassware out in the market. The brassware pieces on display here are classical yet modern, and modified to go well with today’s table setting. These pieces were designed not only for traditional Korean cuisine, but also for modern offerings, which is why visitors like them. This is what a brassware item sounds like.

This space is the tea room. At the entrance is a plastic display case with 100 different slots. Ten artisans made ten tea cups each to fill those slots. People loved this display case. Koreans today are more used to coffee, so seeing this tea room with assorted traditional teas and learning about the beauty of drinking tea increased their interest in Korea’s tea-drinking culture. The tea room gives ideas to visitors about how they can set up their own spaces at home for enjoying tea.

The tea room surrounded by 100 tea cups puts visitors at ease and lets them feel the gradual relaxation of their minds and bodies. It certainly provides a more peaceful setting than the bustling coffee shops in Seoul. Right next to the tea room is a section devoted to cheongja청자 or blue celadon. Cheongja tea sets and plates adorn the tabletop. Their subtle beauty, sleekness, and subdued glow seem to speak for their noble character.

Sarangbang refers to men’s quarters in traditional Korean houses. Korean men used to talk about politics and other important issues here, so sarangbang was regarded as a somber space with restricted access. But this sarangbang at the Craft Platform is different. It is filled with elaborate wardrobes inlaid with mother-of-pearl and traditional chests with folksy paintings and other Korean furniture pieces. It is more colorful and fancier than any other room here. When people enter the innermost part of the exhibition they see a recreation of a gyubang, a room exclusively for women. Here’s the exhibition’s curator Jang Shin-jeong to tell us more.

Korean mothers used to give naturally dyed fabrics when their daughter got married. These pieces are the creations of master dyer Park Jung-soo박정수. She used natural dyes on high-quality hemp and ramie fabrics. There are other craftworks such as bamboo pieces and jewelry boxes. This is the innermost part of the building, so we thought this was the perfect place for our gyubang display. There are jade creations from Kim Young-hee김영희 and the hand-made bamboo blinds by Jo Dae-young조대영. These blinds were drawn in the old days when a queen received guests.

The special exhibition hall featured an exhibition titled “Yesterday and Today of Local Crafts.” Four local regions – Gongju, Tongyeong, Damyang, and Hwaseong – took part in this exhibition and showcased their specialty craftwork imbued with local narratives. Gongju brought its own version of Buncheong porcelain, and Damyang artisans came with their signature bamboo artwork. Tongyeong’s signature mother-of-pearl pieces and Hwaseong’s household items made with straws were also on display.

The first stop on the second floor features a table arranged with a variety of cups and dishes for liquor and side dishes. To people who are more familiar with wine glasses or shot glasses, these traditional clay and porcelain liquor cups, decanters and plates offer a glimpse into a different kind of drinking pleasure.

The clay pieces were made by artisan Kim Dae-woong김대웅. His cups and bowls go well with makgeolli막걸리. Over there are Buncheong porcelain pieces made by master craftsmen Kim Kyung-soo and Shin Yong-gyu. It would be different to drink wine out of a white porcelain decanter.

Across from the liquor table display is the lacquerware section. Lacquer comes from the sap of lacquer trees, which usually only grows in Asia. Lacquer is painted over an item to create that signature dark gloss.

The most effective way to keep food is storing it in a lacquer container, because lacquer is water-resistant, has a preservative function, and drives away pests. Lacquer paint can preserve wooden furniture perfectly for half a century or more. Lacquer artisan Chung Hae-jo정해조 has his works displayed in famous museums all over the globe. This is one of his most recent creations. It looks very organic, very alive, doesn’t it? He wanted to bring out the properties of lacquer and he decided that this form was most suitable. It is curvy, like the flow of water, and highlights lacquer’s distinguishing characteristics.

Now let’s move on to the section with a focus on onggi and how the earthenware help enhance the flavors of food. The first things you see here are a number of urns. Korean cuisine is defined by its fermented seasonings such as gochujang, doenjang, and soy sauce, as well as the country’s signature dish, kimchi. Onggi is the vessel that maximizes the flavors of these fermented Korean foods. Known for their air permeability and preservative power, onggi is Korea’s most practical culinary legacy.

Onggi is the only craft that helps make food. Moreover, it’s the only container that can breathe. If you put tap water in an onggi urn, it would be purified in two or three days. Most people today use onggi to keep kimchi or fermented seasonings. This section introduces a wide variety of onggi vessels.

Of all the onggi works on display, the most popular ones are pure-onggi푸레옹기, dubbed the onggi for the royal family. This is pure-onggi master Bae Yeong-shik배연식 to explain.



Ordinary onggi is glazed, but pure-onggi doesn’t use a glaze. But it’s very strong and water doesn’t leak. The color is very subtle and easy on the eye. Now, even ordinary people seek out pure-onggi pieces, because they have the power to purify ten to thirty times better than ordinary onggi containers. It turns tap water into fresh spring water in about an hour. This incredible feature is what made pure-onggi the chosen vessel for the royal family.

We eat with our eyes as well as our mouths, which is why plating and presentation are so important. The Korean traditional tableware showcased at the 2014 Craft Platform enriches our lives by increasing our dining pleasure and deepening our appreciation of Korea’s traditional craftwork.