Already 9 Years... K-Crafts Table Setting Loved by Milan

At Next Month's Milan Design Week
Korean Craft Exhibition 'Attitudes Toward Objects'

126 Works by 21 Artists to Be Displayed
Film 'Gisaengchung' Prop Collection Also Exhibited

Offline Event Halted Last Year Due to COVID-19
This Year, Both Online and Offline Viewing Available

The table inside the mansion of Park Dong-ik (played by Lee Sun-kyun) in director Bong Joon-ho's film "Parasite." Artist Park Jong-sun will exhibit it at the "2021 Milan Design Week Korean Craft Exhibition." (Photo by CJ ENM)

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The ‘Milan Design Week’ is the world’s largest design exhibition, attracting an average of over 2,500 companies and 300,000 visitors. It is also renowned as the event with the highest number of buyers related to crafts and design. Major Korean conglomerates such as Samsung, Hyundai, and LG vigorously promote their products once they are showcased here. Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the on-site event was canceled and only an online exhibition was held, leaving some disappointment. However, with the offline event resuming this September, global attention is focused on it.

Among the various industries, there is a field from Korea that has continued exhibiting for nine years at the ‘Milan Design Week,’ a dream debut stage encompassing all sectors. This is the ‘Korean Craft Exhibition.’ The event was first launched in 2013 when former Democratic Party lawmaker Son Hye-won took on the role of artistic director. Since then, with full support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Craft & Design Foundation, it has grown into a major event that introduces traditional Korean design to the world.

Kang Jae-young, CEO of Mangrove Artworks, who served as the artistic director of the '2021 Milan Design Week Korean Craft Exhibition'.

This year, following last year, Kang Jaeyoung, CEO of Mangrove Artworks (age 50), will serve as the artistic director. He plans to present 126 works by 21 artists specializing in metal, ceramics, textiles, glass, wood, and lacquer. Artistic director Kang Jaeyoung said, “Last year’s offline exhibition was canceled, and this year’s originally scheduled April event was postponed to September, so there were many twists and turns, but the depth of the works has deepened accordingly. This is because we were able to carefully select excellent craft works that possess the beauty and depth of Korean crafts while having a modern and international sensibility.”

The exhibition is titled ‘All about Attitude.’ The underlying context is that craft is not simply an object but “a totality of broad relationships that mediate and connect humans, objects, and nature.” Director Kang explained, “An attitude of respecting and welcoming all beings other than humans is the new ethics and social practice of craft in this era. This value has become even more important in the COVID era.”

The works are divided into three exhibition spaces according to the messages they convey: ‘All about Earthbound,’ ‘All about Companion,’ and ‘All about Posture.’ The total exhibition space is 158 square meters.

Jung Ho-yeon, Time, Polyester, Organza, 100x140x65mm, 2021. (Photo by Korea Craft & Design Foundation)

The main exhibition space, ‘All about Earthbound,’ presents stories about the sky, earth, and humans through three-dimensional craft works and a painterly craft space. Part of the exhibition hall’s light is blocked to create a calm performance space with natural sounds and videos. Notably, this exhibition hall also displays the table, lighting, and speakers that were furniture in the mansion of Park Dong-ik (played by Lee Sun-kyun) in director Bong Joon-ho’s film ‘Parasite.’ These are works by artist Park Jong-sun.

‘All about Companion’ consists of jewelry works expressing the horizontal relationship and harmony among humans, objects, and nature. Near the exit of the space, black glass is installed to create an indirect experience zone where visitors can feel as if they are actually wearing the jewelry. Jeong Ho-yeon, who submitted textile jewelry to this space, said, “Through my work, I realized that jewelry is not about luxury or display but can communicate with humans and convey a deep empathy like a companion animal. I enjoyed working because the theme set by director Kang matched my philosophy well.”

‘All about Posture’ is a space that modernly interprets Korea’s sitting culture. It features various objects that evoke meditation, reading, poetry gatherings, and book clubs. It was prepared to leave visitors with a deep emotional impression and the image of Korea as they exit the exhibition.

Kim Si-young, Planet Metaphor and Planet Traditional series, reduction firing at 1300~1350°C, 2017~2021. (Photo by Korea Craft & Design Foundation)

Korea has achieved notable results through nine exhibitions so far. The British Museum in the UK and famous Italian designers purchased artist Jeong Hae-jo’s ‘Geunchil Jar’ exhibited in 2013 at a high price. The ‘Jiseung Jar’ by artist Park Young-soon, exhibited in 2015, is held at the V&A Museum, and works by artist Choi Byung-hoon exhibited in 2016 are in the collections of the Houston Museum of Art in the US and the Korea Craft Museum. Additionally, in 2019, major Italian newspapers and magazines covered the Korean Craft Exhibition as the ‘Best Exhibition of Milan Design Week,’ gradually increasing its reputation.

In the COVID era, the boom of online exhibitions at ‘Milan Design Week’ and the experience gained from it is also one of the achievements. Director Kang said, “I realized that online exhibitions can express a lot and reach diverse audiences. Last year, the number of online exhibition visitors was much higher than the number of visitors to the previous offline exhibitions.” He added, “The offline exhibition this September will also be broadcast live online through 360-degree cameras. We will prepare diligently so that this opportunity can promote our traditional crafts to people around the world both online and offline.”