Seoul Lights Up for the Holiday Season - Korea.net

CULTURE
Hanbok Artist
Makes Style
Simple and Easy
BY LEE JI-YOON
STAFF WRITER
Hanbok artist Lee Hyo-jae
A tea room at the corner of her dining room (left) and her artworks
Lee Hyo-jae, traditional clothing
artist, had no idea when the media
first introduced her as
Korea’s Martha Stuart or Korea’s Tasha
Tudor — both internationally wellknown
for their dexterity in homemaking
and gardening respectively.
“I learned about Martha from her
book, which was sent by a reporter.
And Tasha’s book is what I receive
most frequently as gift,” she said.
Now 51, she runs a Hanbok workshop
which was passed on by her
mother nearly twenty years ago, along
with sewing skills. She usually creates
Hanbok, traditional Korean dress, and
other goods such as bedclothes and
Hanbok accessories, used especially
for wedding preparations, called
“yedan” in Korean.
After her house and homemaking
activities based on tradition were featured
in several publications and television
programs, her name “Hyojae”
became a household brand that reinterprets
Korean style in a simple and
practical way.
“People easily misunderstand that
I’m good at decorating. But I pursue an
extremely simple and practical style. I
just put some hint of tradition and my
style to hide some ugly things like a
nail on a wall,” she said. “For me, roses
are too complicated.”
She has recently moved to a new
house and a TV channel aired a onehour
program featuring her moving
process in May. Located in
Seongbuk-dong, northern Seoul, the
two-story house, once the former residence
of a foreign ambassador, has
transformed it into a beautiful home
with a Korean touch.
Even though it is rented, her care
reaches each corner of the house. The
empty walls of the house were covered
with ivy. A small space in the corner
of a living room turns into a tea room
with a small pond. Electronic devices
are covered with a white cloth handembroidered
with colorful flowers.
And she relocated her Hanbok
shop and showroom to a garage at the
entrance of the house, which has become
a popular spot for visitors.
“My friends and husband say I’m
addicted to working, but for me it is a
kind of time to reflect and conceive designs,
concentrating solely on my inner
self,” Lee said as she kept sewing a piece
of white linen, which would become a
dishcloth with delicate embroidery.
Another important reason her
ideas are spotlighted is they are ecofriendly.
When serving food, she puts
pine needles on the plate. And she always
reuses empty plastic bottles or
boxes with a little design.
“I don’t think I’m special. Mothers
are professional. You know, people always
say their mother’s kimchi is the
best. People pay attention to me just because
I’m a designer who does daily activities
artistically and happily,” she said.
Despite her humble remarks, the
seats for her living class, which takes
place at her house sponsored by a local
home decorating magazine, have
already been fully-booked until next
spring. Recent lectures in November
were focused on Korean-style ornament
making, gift packaging and table
setting for Christmas.
Along with Koreans who started
sensing a new aspect of Korean style,
many people from abroad such as
wives of foreign ambassadors to Korea
visit her house and workshop to experience
Korean culture.
Among her several lectures, the
most favored is bojagi wrapping, a traditional
way of packaging by using
bojagi, square-shaped clothes made of
a variety of materials. She has some 60
patents for unique and different styles
of wrapping and knotting.
Recently, she has taken part in an
eco-friendly product exhibition, wrapping
a Volkswagen’s New Beetle with
bojagi clothes.
“It was a symbolic performance
breaking the borders between two
worlds and connecting them.
Although it’s physically difficult, I will
continue to do similar experiments —
like wrapping a building — to make
people think differently,” she said, still
sewing, with her left hand bandaged.
“I’m trying to enjoy every moment
of my life. If I’m not happy, I
couldn’t do things with this much
passion,” she said.
“I will keep doing what I’m doing
now, such as Hanbok design, giving
lectures, writing books and homemaking.
And I want my creations to
be not only praised for high quality,
but also enjoyed widely by ordinary
people,” she said. ■
(Photos by Eric Gillet)
36 KOREA DECEMBER 2008
DECEMBER 2008 KOREA 37