Experience Hanjicraft in Jeonju Hanok Village

 

 

The winter is coming to an end. Days are getting longer and the temperature is rising. It’s time to stroll around Jeonju Hanok Village in hanbok (Korean traditional cosstume). Today, I’ll introduce something Jeonju is famous for that’ll make your trip to Jeonju more memorable: Hanjicraft.

Hanji is the traditional Korean paper made from the paper mulberry tree. Jeonju has been the center of hanji-making and other hanji products, such as buchae (Korean fan). In Jeonju Hanok Village, you’ll easily find craftshops selling hanji souveniers and running hanjicraft classes. I visited two of them.

 

Making hanji at Jeonju Hanji School (Jeonju Hanji Chehum Haksupjang)

We all have heard about hanji, but not many people know how it’s made. I visited Jeonju Hanji School (Jeonju Hanji Chehum Haksupjang) to find out.

Jeonju Hanji School located right in front of Jeonju Hyanggyo (Confucian School). There’s no signboard hanging outside the building, but on the door it’s written “hanji experience (hanji chehum)”.

The shop has been making hanji for two generations. Inside the shop was full of all kinds of hanji and hanji products. The refined and delicate colors of hanji were impressive. The colorful and fine-textured hanji paper might be a good souvenier for your visit.

I entered the hanji making class. In the winter, the class is held in Jeonju Hyanggyo.

These are the main ingredients of hanji, paper mulberry skins. The dark mulberry skin, called “pidak”, is used for making more rough-textured hanji (for wallpaper, etc.). The white mulberry skin, called “baekdak” is used for making softer hanji.

Boiling the mulberry skin with lye produces such a fine fiber.

Hammer the fiber until its fine and thin. The preparation of the ingredient already sounds like a huge effort.

Pour the fiber into water and mix well. Add a bit of glue to give the fiber some viscosity. In the past, the hanji makers steamed the elm tree to extract viscous liquid. Now they use common glue instead.

Place the bamboo screen inside the wooden frame. Our teacher showed how to produce hanji with the frame.

 

He churned the frame back and forth several times in the water. Surprisingly, a transparent and thin film of fiber started to form on the bamboo screen.

What’s more interesting about this hanji making class is that I can design my own hanji with dried seasonal flowers and leaves, such as cherry blossom in spring and maple leaves in autumn.

I added another layer of the fiber film, drained the moisture, and dried the product. Then my own hanji was complete!

It’s surprising that a tree skin can transform into such a nice paper. The history, skill,s and efforts contained in this piece of hanji is impressive.

At Jeonju Hanji School, you may also join classes making hanji products, such as small hanji notes or lamp shade. The hanji lamp shade must be very elegant.

Hanji lamp shade making takes two days, because drying the glue takes time. The school recommends making the shade on the first day and retrieving the the shade the next day. Why don’t you start your first day in Jeonju with Jeonju Hanji School?

 

 

Hanjicraft at Jeonju Hanji School (Jeonju Hanju Chehum Haksupjang)

Classes offered: Making hanji paper, hanji notebook, or hanji lamp shade

Price (per person): making hanji paper 7,000 won; making hanji notebook 10,000 won (big) / 5,000 won (small); making hanji lamp shade 15,000 won (big) / 10,000 won (medium) / 5,000 won (small).

Each class takes about one to one and a half hour

Classes are open upon reservation, both individuals or groups are welcome

Address: Jeonjuchundongro 30-9, Wansangu, Jeonju

Contact: 063-284-5533/010-5250-5523

 

 

‘Yedam Gongyae’

After making hanji paper for myself, I’m now interested in hanjicraft products. So, I visited Yedam Gongyae, a craftshop specializing in hanjicraft products. The shop is located in the Korea Traditional Culture Center, ten to fifteen minutes walk from Jeonju Hanok Village.

 

There are different craftshops on the first floor of the center. Yedam Gongyae is the one exhibiting cute dolls.

This is the list of the hanjicraft classes offered here.

Inside the craftshop is filled with hanji dolls and other hanjicraft products. Each dolls are unique and artistic. I’m surprised at the transformation of hanji.

Yedam Gongyae runs classes on making a small hanji mirror, hanji doll, hanji bracelet, and others. The most popular class is the hanji doll and LED hanji chorong (traditional Korean lantern). I chose to make a LED hanji chorong for my room.

Chorong symbolizes harmony. That’s why, during Korean weddings, people lighted up the chorong lantern to herald that two people are now married. Chorong also appeared during the opening ceremony of the last year’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympic.

To make LED chorong lantern, I created the body of chorong with a thin plastic. I’m already excited at how this will turn out later.

I meticulously brushed glue on the plastic body. Then, I started attaching hanji over the body while vacumming out the air on the surface.

The same goes for the other sides.

I atttached the traditional knot and combined the parts together.

Then, I inserted the LED light on the bottom of the lantern. The cute chorong lantern in complete! I’m proud of myself.

I find the light from the hanji lantern more elegant and beautiful than the light from the common lantern. The mulberry fiber, the key ingredient of hanji, reflects and transmits the light adequately.

You can hang the lantern on the end of the stick. This is how Koreans used to carry around the chorong lantern in the past. It must be great to walk around Jeonju Hanok Village wearing hanbok and holding the chorong.

 

Yedam Gonyae

Classes offered: making hanji chorong, hanji dolls, small hanji mirror, hanji bracelet, etc.

Price: making hanji chorong 10,000 won; hanji dolls 10,000 won/15,000 won

Each class takes about an hour

Classes are open upon reservation, both individuals or groups are welcome

Address: Gyeongwondong 3ga 14-2, Wansangu, Jeonju

Contact: 063-252-7889/010-9697-7889