[Hanji Captured Europe's Attention] ① "'Hanji, Preservable for 8,000 Years,' the Best Material for Cultural Heritage Restoration" Excellence Admired by Italy

Five Types of Traditional Hanji Pass Certification Test for Italian Cultural Heritage Restoration Paper
Proven Outstanding Functionality in Japan's Exclusive Washi Market
National Rome Art University Establishes Hanji Research Lab and Produces Paper Directly
Gaining Attention as a New Art Material Beyond Cultural Heritage Restoration

"The advantages of Hanji are its adhesive strength and flexibility. In the case of the 16th-century Arab map currently being worked on, which was made of parchment, the weakened and missing edges are being reinforced and restored by overlaying Hanji. Hanji, which has high flexibility both when dry and wet, is the best material for restoring paper-based cultural heritage."

At the Restoration Research Room within the National Central Library of Rome, Silvia Sotgiu, head of the restoration team at the National Institute of Cultural Heritage Preservation and Restoration (ICRCPAL), took out a 16th-century parchment Arab map she was working on and explained the restoration parts while praising the excellence of hanji paper.
[Photo by Heeyoon Kim]

At the restoration laboratory inside the National Central Library of Italy in Rome, Silvia Sotgiu, a restoration team member from the National Institute for the Conservation and Restoration of Archival and Library Heritage (ICRCPAL), took out the 16th-century parchment Arab map titled "Al-Sharafi World Map by Ali ibn Ahmad (produced in 1579 in the Tunisian Sfax region)" and praised the excellence of Hanji while explaining the restoration parts. Italy, a cultural heritage powerhouse that holds numerous world-class tangible cultural assets, boasts a long-established system and extensive expertise in the restoration field. In the past decade, they have been focusing on Hanji as a major restoration material and actively using it.

Earlier, in 2016, the National Institute for the Conservation and Restoration of Archival and Library Heritage officially certified two types of Hanji produced at the traditional Hanji workshop of Shin Hyun-se in Uiryeong, Gyeongnam, as restoration materials for European cultural heritage. Immediately after certification, the Hanji was deployed on-site and used in the restoration of five important cultural assets, including the Cartula, a handwritten prayer by Saint Francis, and the Rossano Gospels.

In particular, the Cartula, a prayer written on parchment in 1224, is considered a national treasure of Italy, and the use of Hanji in its restoration caused a great sensation locally. Team member Sotgiu explained, "In the restoration work of the Cartula and the Rossano Gospels, Hanji was used to reinforce the connection between the damaged pages and the spine of the books. As paper, Hanji has excellent fiber dispersion (sheet formation), transparency, and strength characteristics, making it an ideal material with good adhesion for restoring parchment documents by filling or wrapping damaged parts to preserve the original form of the book."

Restoring damaged parts of old maps using Hanji paper.
[Photo by ICRCPAL]

He continued, "Cultural heritage restoration must always maintain the original form of the work while using materials that can be removed at any time, so that restoration work can be more easily advanced with improved technology in the near future. Although better materials may replace it, the demand for Hanji will steadily expand for the time being as a thin material that maintains tension and has good adhesion with various document materials."

The spotlight on Hanji as a restoration material in Italy began around 2014, marking the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Italy, with a Hanji workshop held in Milan. Until then, most restoration of Italian ancient documents used Japanese Washi paper. When many cultural assets were flooded during the 1966 Florence flood, Japan supplied large quantities of paper locally and continuously promoted it, resulting in Washi naturally dominating the cultural heritage preservation and restoration market in Italy and across Europe.

The Hanji workshop was attended by cultural heritage restoration experts from all over Italy, who observed the Hanji production process firsthand and applied it to restoration work, personally experiencing the physical properties of Hanji compared to Washi or other European-made papers. Following the workshop, restoration experts voluntarily formed the Hanji research club "Group 130," and the following year, at a document preservation conference held in London, UK, they actively promoted the excellence and applicability of Hanji, introducing it directly to the European restoration academic community.

Professor Federica Delia of the National Academy of Fine Arts in Rome participated in a paper expert hanji workshop in 2016 and experienced making hanji firsthand in Daeseung Hanji Village, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk. Professor Delia leads "Group 130," a restoration expert group researching hanji.
[Photo by the subject]

Moreover, the widely known Jikji Simche Yojeol in Europe became a powerful portfolio proving Hanji's durability. When asked if she knew about Jikji, Sotgiu nodded with a smile and said, "It is a remarkable cultural asset, a metal movable type printed book 78 years earlier than the Gutenberg Bible (1455), still maintaining almost its original form today." She explained, "A few years ago, a preservation experiment by a domestic (Italian) research institute revealed that the durability of Japanese Washi is 1,750 years, but Hanji can last up to 8,000 years, which has led the academic community to prefer Hanji more."

Local interest in Hanji in Italy extends beyond cultural heritage restoration to various art materials. On the 24th of last month, a Hanji art exhibition opened at the Korean Cultural Center in Italy, hosted by the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma (Rome Academy of Fine Arts). Triggered by the attendance of the Rome Academy faculty at a traditional Hanji production demonstration held in Rome in 2015, the school became interested in Hanji production techniques and has offered traditional Hanji production as a regular curriculum since 2016, nurturing future Hanji experts in Italy and Europe for eight years.

The opening ceremony of the 'Officine didattiche 2023' exhibition hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Italy and the National Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. The Rome Academy is the only institution in Europe equipped with a dedicated hanji research laboratory and has incorporated the hanji production process into its regular curriculum to train local hanji experts.
[Photo by Korean Cultural Center in Italy]

Not only the physical properties of Hanji as a material but also the traditional Hanji production process is highly valued by students at the Rome Academy of Fine Arts, who emphasize, "The sound made when mixing mulberry fibers in water during the production process, the sacredness and meditative moments involved in the Hanji beating process, and the value of each sheet of paper cannot be measured in price." Professor Lee Seung-cheol of Dongduk Women's University, who conducted a Hanji workshop at the Rome Academy earlier this year, commented after seeing Italian students carefully making Hanji using Hanji vats, "This is a sight hard to find even in Korea these days."

Jeon Ye-jin, director of the Korean Cultural Center in Italy, which operates various Hanji-related programs alongside the exhibition, stated, "The reason Hanji is gaining attention in Italy is because its unique toughness, the irregular direction of mulberry fibers, and its inherent properties of absorbing natural dye materials align well with the work of many restorers." She added, "As Hanji becomes more known in Italy, we are planning exhibitions to introduce various Hanji arts locally, including regular Hanji exhibitions with the Rome Academy of Fine Arts, as well as Hanji design, crafts, photography, and bas-relief."