Exhibition of 126 Award-Winning Works from the Korea Traditional Crafts Competition

Kim Kyung-hee's work 'Baduktanggeon'

The 46th ‘Korea Intangible Heritage Craft Competition’ award-winning works exhibition, jointly hosted by the Cultural Heritage Administration’s National Intangible Heritage Center (Director Lee Jong-hee) and the Korea Intangible Cultural Heritage Crafts Association (Chairman Park Jong-gun), will be held from the 11th to the 19th at the National Intangible Heritage Transmission Education Center Exhibition Hall ‘Gyeol’ ‘Ol’ (Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul). The awards ceremony and opening ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. on December 10th at the Pungnyu Theater on the first floor of the National Intangible Heritage Transmission Education Center.

Now in its 46th year, the Korea Intangible Heritage Craft Competition is a contest held to awaken the meaning of disappearing traditions and transmission, and to preserve and inherit the lineage of our traditional craft culture. It has played a role in discovering outstanding traditional craftsmen, including emerging and established artists.

This year, a total of 289 works were submitted across 12 divisions covering all fields related to traditional crafts. After the first screening, public internet viewing, expert on-site inspection, and second screening, six main award winners including the Presidential Award were selected.

As a result of the judging, ▲ the Presidential Award was given to artist Kim Kyung-hee’s ‘Baduk Tanggeon’. This work received the evaluation that “the skilled craftsmanship in form, pattern, and weaving stands out distinctly, faithfully adhering to tradition, and is a meaningful piece in terms of revitalizing a vulnerable category that is disappearing.”

▲ The Prime Minister’s Award went to artist Kwon Young-jin’s ‘Hyeopjeo Chilgi Moon Jar’, which demonstrated excellent skill in the traditional materials and techniques using the highly difficult Geonchil lacquer technique among lacquer crafts. ▲ The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award was awarded to artist Kim Kang-hee’s ‘Jiseung Gujeolpan’, which well captured the characteristics of jiseung craft with its meticulous and precise technique of weaving the structure of mohap and jahap. ▲ The Cultural Heritage Administration Commissioner’s Award was given to artist Kim Myung-ja’s ‘Cheollik’, which excellently embodied the elegant dignity of traditional clothing from the fabric to the sewing techniques.

▲ The National Intangible Heritage Center Director’s Award was awarded to artist Nam Hye-in’s ‘Honghwa Dyeing’, which expressed the beauty of red color gradation through traditional dyeing methods as a high-quality work. ▲ The Korea Intangible Cultural Heritage Crafts Association Chairman’s Award went to artist Noh Sung-min’s ‘Uigeolijang’, which harmoniously combines the splendid wood grain, production techniques, and form of zelkova wood.