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CULTURE
Wonju Hanji Festival
Hanji, often translated as Korean
traditional paper, is more than
just something to scribble on.
Made from “dagnamu” or paper mulberry
bark, it was not only for holding
the written word. It was also an indispensable
part of everyday life in Korea
used for making household items,
kitchen utensils and decorations for
festivals. Such decorations can still be
seen in the form of artificial flowers
and paper lanterns at Buddhist festivals.
Hanji is made in three practical
forms. The multi-layered form is sturdy
enough to be made into
wardrobes, cabinets, trunks and needle
boxes; the paper clay form made
of scraps of paper soaked in water
and crushed and mixed with glue is
used for making lids for bowls and
scooping bowls; and paper cords are
woven to make baskets, mesh bags,
jars, trays and mats. Another surprising
usage of hanji could be found in
its facilitation as an inner-armor for
protection from the cold and the
piercing of swords and arrows.
Back in 1985 the Korea Promotion
Industry Agency concluded that wellpreserved
hanji paper could last for
700 years. Also in the same year the
Venerable Yeongdam of Unmunsa
Buddhist Temple succeeded in reviving
seven or eight kinds of traditional
hanji whose techniques of manufacture
were considered lost.
The Ven. Yeongdam came to revive
the mulberry paper in Wonju of the
same quality as that used in the making
of “The Record of a Journey to the Five
Indian Kingdoms,” written in A.D.727,
and “The Essentials of a Buddhist
Sermon” in 1377, two books currently
kept by the National Library of France.
Wonju Hanji House was founded in
2002 and is run by the Hanji
Development Institute in the National
Park of Chiaksan. It is one of the major
preservers of hanji craft in Korea, dis-
Korean
Traditional Paper
Relives
Its Glory Days
BY KIM HEE-SUNG
KOREA.NET STAFF WRITER
Hanji hanbok Hanji lanterns A hanji master demonstrates how
Korean traditional paper is made
Jeans made of hanji textile
playing over 150 kinds of everyday
products made of hanji materials from
writing tools, neckties, wallets, socks,
handkerchiefs and other various forms
of paper craft. Some 15 percent of the
buyers are from overseas.
“Hanji is soft in texture, flexible,
sturdy and allows air circulation. As a
paper it absorbs ink fast, as a covering
material, it blocks out sounds and vibration
and maintains room temperature.
It definitely has potential to make
it abroad,” said Kim Jin-hee, executive
officer of the institute.
Hanji House also offers learning
programs for both locals and tourists
in various age groups. People will be
able to test their skills in making a
fruit tray, teacup holder, pencil box
and pendant out of hanji. Lately it has
opened additional classes for migrant
women who wish to learn more than
just how to speak Korean.
How do you make clothes out of
paper? Basically you cut hanji into
thin pieces to make a thread to weave
it into a cloth. Hanji textile to be made
into a suit is composed of 35 percent
hanji, 35 percent wool and the rest
silk. Undergarments would be composed
of 50 percent hanji and 50 percent
cotton. Socks require 70 percent
hanji and 30 percent polyester.
It was in 2005 that hanji cloth first
gained attention with a man’s jacket
and necktie by P&S Korea Co. Ltd.
Hanji jeans appeared the following
year at the 2007 Hanji Festival.
Despite comments that it is less soft in
texture than average cloth and jeans
are somewhat vulnerable to damage
through washing, people also recognized
its potential for its high antigerm
and quick drying properties. The
company, renaming itself papytex,
expanded their products from there.
Meanwhile, the Hanji Development
Institute has chosen “MULBERRY” as
its brand name for international patents
and plans to develop over 300 hanji
textile products covering a wide range
of products, including doctors’ gowns
and diapers starting from this year.
In 2005 and 2006 the Hanji
Development Institute held a grand
show in Paris — a Hanji Cultural
Festival that stressed the superior
quality of hanji from Wonju made
through delicate efforts of manual labor.
The institute is also receiving calls
from Germany and other countries in
Europe after its successful debut in
France. Hanji is also invited to an upcoming
paper festival in Japan this
coming October and 12 of its artifacts
are also on permanent display at
Korea House in Bangkok, Thailand.
With the growing popularity of
hanji, other provinces are also on the
move to revive the traditional industry.
Lately, Gyeongsangbuk-do, which
grows the most number of mulberry
trees in Korea and has a history of
producing hanji since Silla Kingdoms,
announced it would join the production
of hanji. Another famous area to
rival Wonju is Jeonju, also a leading
site of hanji production, with its own
annual festival every spring.
In the meantime the institute is
looking forward to the construction of
the nation’s first hanji theme park,
currently under construction. The
theme park will be a two-story building
with a basement equipped with
display room, experience room, workroom,
cafeteria, outdoor stage and
square, and is expected to be completed
by June 2009. The park will provide
a full overview of the making of hanji
from cultivation to processing.
To better experience Wonju hanji,
visit the Hanji House or even better,
join the Wonju Hanji Festival — the
biggest festival of its kind — which will
celebrate its 10th year this year with
paper dolls, flowers and wedding dresses
from Sept. 24 to 28. For more information,
visit the festival’s official website
at www.wjhanji.co.kr/festival/. ■
44 KOREA SEPTEMBER 2008
SEPTEMBER 2008 KOREA 45