Jinju City Opens Pre-Opening of 2023 Jinju Traditional Craft Biennale

Exhibition at KCDF Gallery in Insadong, Seoul until October 8

Jinju City in Gyeongnam announced on the 26th that it held the pre-opening ceremony of the 2023 Jinju Traditional Craft Biennale, ‘Jinju Somok in Design,’ at the Korea Craft & Design Foundation Gallery (located in Insadong, Seoul).

The opening marked the prologue of the grand finale of the ‘2023 Jinju Traditional Craft Biennale,’ showcasing the essence of Korean crafts, which began first in Seoul.

The opening ceremony was attended by many prominent domestic figures and artists, including Mayor Cho Gyu-il, Jang Dong-kwang, Director of the Korea Craft & Design Foundation, Lee Young-hye, CEO of Design House, Cho Jeong-il, CEO of The Hanok Hotel & Resort, and Ha Hyeong-ju, Standing Auditor of the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation.

Group photo of Jinju City 2023 Jinju Traditional Craft Biennale Pre-Open Opening.

‘Jinju Somok in Design’ features the theme ‘To Make, To Contain, To Rest,’ presenting eight works by Jinju somok artisans and 20 collaborative works by 12 masters from September 23 to October 8 at the Korea Craft & Design Foundation Gallery.

Particularly noteworthy in this exhibition is the collaborative works between six traditional furniture masters and six renowned contemporary furniture designers.

Given that somok furniture has become distant from the public due to its incompatibility with modern lifestyles and high cost, this exhibition reinterprets somok into practical furniture, continuing tradition and showcasing the excellence and beauty of K-craft to the world.

The six Jinju somok artisans participating in the collaboration are Jeong Jin-ho (Danwon Workshop, Gyeongsangnam-do Intangible Cultural Property No. 29), Jo Bok-rae (Chwimok Workshop, Gyeongsangnam-do Intangible Cultural Property No. 29), Kim Byung-soo (Hansong Workshop, Master Furniture Maker of Korea), Kang Jong-ryeol (Gojun Workshop, 50 years of somok furniture making), Koo Han-hoe (Yulmok Workshop, 60 years of somok furniture making), and Jeong Kwon-seok (Uicheon Workshop, Holder of National Intangible Cultural Property No. 55 Somok Artisan).

The six designers who applied modern and practical designs to traditional somok are Professor Ha Ji-hoon of Kaywon University of Art and Design’s Living Design Department, selected as the 2020 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Craft Artist of the Year; Professor Lee Hyun-jung, who boasts experience exhibiting at the Korea Craft Exhibition; Professor Jeong Myeong-taek of Yeungnam University’s College of Design and Fine Arts; Professor Kim Kyung-won of Dongseo University’s College of Design; Hwang Hyung-shin, CEO of J Gallery; and Professor Kim Jeong-seop of Changwon University’s Industrial Design Department.

Somok artisans refer to craftsmen who make furniture and window frames, specifically carpenters who produce furniture used in rooms such as the sarangbang (men’s study), anbang (main bedroom), and kitchen. Jinju is a UNESCO-recognized Creative City of Crafts where many somok artisans gather to continue the tradition.

Jinju’s somok tradition has been actively maintained from 1991 with the late Jeong Don-san, holder of National Intangible Cultural Property No. 55 Somok Artisan, to the present by Kim Byung-soo, Jeong Jin-ho, Kim Dong-gwi, Kang Jong-ryeol, Koo Han-hoe, Kim Kwang-myeong, Jo Bok-rae, and Jeong Kwon-seok.

Mayor Cho stated in his welcoming speech, “Thanks to the abundant timber supply from Jirisan, Jinju’s somok has long been recognized as the best craftwork in Korea. This year, through the Biennale, somok will be newly spotlighted and will advance toward the world as the lineage of K-craft.”

Jo Il-sang, the Biennale’s general director, famous for spatial direction by artist Lee Ufan, commented, “We planned an exhibition that establishes a new tradition through a sensuous design collaboration attempting an organic fusion of Jinju somok with modern spaces.”

Marking its second edition this year, the 2023 Jinju Traditional Craft Biennale’s main exhibition, themed ‘Craft Today, Tradition Tomorrow,’ will be held for one month from November 1 at Jinju City Railroad Culture Park.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.