Free Craft Workshops from Turkey and Indonesia... National Asia Culture Center to Hold 44 Sessions This Year

Expanded by 42% This Year
Programs Include Seal Engraving, Dyeing, Painting
Applications Open on the Website from the 20th

The National Asia Culture Center (ACC) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 18th that it will operate a total of 44 sessions of the ‘2025 ACC Asia Art Experience’ this year, offering opportunities to experience diverse cultural arts of Asia.

Launched in 2022, the ‘ACC Asia Art Experience’ was designed to enhance understanding of Asian traditional culture and to spread Asian cultural values through hands-on experiences. Considering the high demand and early closure of applications last year, the program will be expanded by 42% this year.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage... Turkey’s ‘Ebru Art’ Course

Ebru Art of Turkey. Provided by the National Asia Culture Center

This year’s events are organized around various themes. From March to October, six sessions of Turkey’s ‘Ebru Art’ course will be held. ‘Ebru’ is a marbling technique innovated by Turkish painters and calligraphers during the Ottoman Empire era and was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2014. Participants will experience Turkish art unfolding on the water surface using a unique material, ox bile.

Korea-China-Japan Traditional Painting Course

East Asian Traditional Painting. National Asia Culture Center

From March to November, a course titled ‘East Asian Traditional Painting’ will explore the philosophical backgrounds and characteristics of traditional paintings from Korea, China, and Japan. Participants will learn about the materials, usage, and expression techniques of Korea’s traditional folk painting, ‘Minhwa,’ and have the opportunity to paint themselves. The course will be led by artist Yoon Se-young, who is actively working both domestically and internationally based on Korean painting and has participated in the Gwangju Biennale.

Make Your Own Seal, ‘Engraving Asia’ Course

Engraving Asia. National Dong-A시아 Cultural Center

The popular ‘Engraving Asia’ course from last year will be expanded to accommodate 20 participants this year in response to demand. Participants will carve their own names or the names of loved ones onto stones to create personal seals. The course also explores how writing and seals have developed centered on Asian civilizations.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage... ‘Indonesian Craft - Batik’ Course

'Indonesian Craft - Batik'. National Asia Culture Center

The popular ‘Indonesian Craft - Batik’ course will be held once more in August following the session in February. ‘Batik,’ inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2009, is a traditional Indonesian craft of dyeing cotton and silk. Participants will learn about the various meanings of patterns in daily life and culture. They will experience the entire batik process, including melting wax, drawing outlines with the traditional tool ‘Tjating,’ dyeing, and removing the wax.

‘Asian Craft - Najeon Chilgi (Mother-of-Pearl Lacquerware)’ Course

Najeon Chilgi. National Asia Culture Center

Finally, the ‘Asian Craft - Najeon Chilgi (Mother-of-Pearl Lacquerware)’ course will be held again in December following the session in January. Korea’s ‘Najeon Chilgi’ refers to crafts decorated by applying shells such as clams, conchs, and abalones onto the surfaces of objects and furniture along with lacquer. The course introduces the characteristics of crafts developed across five Asian regions and examines the history and techniques of Korean Najeon Chilgi alongside East Asian lacquer crafts. Participants will design patterns and attach various types of mother-of-pearl to create their own Najeon boxes.

Applications for participation will be accepted from the 20th on the ACC website. The courses are free of charge.

Kim Sang-wook, Acting Director of the National Asia Culture Center, stated, “The ACC art experience education, which allows citizens to engage with Asia’s cultural diversity through hands-on experiences, continues to be loved by the public. Its strength lies in enabling deeper empathy with Asia’s diverse cultures through the experience of creating and making, rather than just acquiring knowledge about culture and arts.”