Seoul printing festival brings tradition, technology and hands-on creativity to Cheonggye Plaza
A poster for Seoul Printing Festival / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
Seoul is bringing printing out of the workshop and into the public square Thursday, inviting visitors to explore centuries-old techniques, experiment with modern printing technology and discover how an industry often taken for granted continues to evolve.
The 17th Seoul Printing Awards and Printing Culture Festival will open at 10:30 a.m. at Cheonggye Plaza under the theme “Printing connects the world,” the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday.
This year’s Seoul Printing Awards attracted a record 277 entries, with the grand prize going to FORTUNE ART SERIES by Taeyoung Plus.
The winning work reinterprets traditional Korean folk paintings using shredded banknotes, combining printed textures and colors with acrylic, laser cutting and an emphasis on resource recycling.
Four entries received gold prizes, including a four-piece Hypnotic Paradise diary set by Eco de Soul, a handmade calendar and notebook collection using rice-straw paper by Seongbo Paper, a work titled “Horse,” inspired by Korean folk symbolism, by Art Printing Co., and packaging for Daewon Pharmaceutical’s Threegel suspension by Dongyang Sangsa Printing.
A total of 30 works received awards across categories, with entries assessed by specialists in areas including books, promotional materials, packaging, artificial intelligence and specialty printing.
More than 20 exhibition and activity booths will open after the awards ceremony, displaying winning entries alongside historic printing artifacts collected by Kim In-ho, Seoul’s first master printer, including metal type, a mimeograph machine and early national textbooks.
“The printing industry is evolving by combining long-standing techniques and experience with design, content, and advanced technology,” said Kim Hyun-woo, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Economic Policy Bureau. “We hope this festival serves as an opportunity to show citizens the new possibilities of printing while widely highlighting the technical skill and competitiveness of Seoul’s printing industry.”
Visitors can try screen printing designs on handkerchiefs, eco-friendly bags and T-shirts, copy passages from the "Hunminjeongeum Haerye," practice calligraphy on rice-straw paper and take photographs for printing.
The festival will also feature demonstrations of modern printing equipment and career consultations with industry professionals, while young printers and students will present products and techniques they have developed.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.