Exhibit Shows Joseon Womens Culture
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
What did women do in their leisure time during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910)? Many people might think the traditional restraints of everyday life under Confucianism, which prevailed at the time, didn't allow Joseon women to spare much time.
Staying in women's quarters, they expressed their woes and pathos through piecing together fabric, developing it into the highly refined art of embroidery.
Embroidery was the highest state of intellectual pursuit of women who had to lead cloistered lives during the era.
Needlework was one of the few ways they expressed their aesthetic desires and inspirations under the constrained social atmosphere.
To show off the sophisticated form of ornamentations imbued with tactile qualities, the Museum of Korean Embroidery is now holding a special exhibition titled ``Journey to Korean Women's Culture,'' presenting about 80 posters used at exhibitions both at home and abroad over the last 30 years. The exhibit will run through March 5.
The museum has held about 69 exhibitions in other countries such as France, the United States, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Italy, New Zealand and Japan since its first overseas exhibition in 1978.
Huh Dong-hwa, director of the museum, said that the museum has decided to display the posters used for the past exhibitions as the collection is important to show the history of the museum and values and the artistic beauty of textile works.
``We've focused on the overseas exhibitions because Korean embroidery and `bojagi' or Korean wrapping cloth are thought of as one of the most distinguished forms of Korean cultural heritage from the perspective of foreigners,'' Huh told The Korea Times.
He said of the women's needlework, ``jogakbo,'' or Korean traditional patchwork, is highly appreciated by foreigners because they see the work as ``abstract artwork.''
``In Osaka, Japan, many artisans are trying to reproduce traditional Korean wrapping cloths (bojagi). They particularly place high value on our patchwork (jogakbo) for its abstract patterns and colors,'' he said.
The director said that other Asian countries have ``bojagi'' or traditional Korean wrapping cloth making culture, but Korea developed a unique culture of making ``jogakbo,'' or colorful patchwork.
He said that along with ``bojagi,'' Korean embroidery is one of the representative Korean traditions, which is distinguished from that of China.
``Chinese embroidery is very sophisticated and refined like a painting, while Korean work is very rustic, which has the feeling of the material, following the natural form,'' said Huh.
Embroidery reached its pinnacle during the Joseon era and began to decline after Japanese colonization and the influx of Western culture in the 20th century. ``Embroidery is the art of thread reflecting traditional aesthetics and values. But it is a pity to rarely see traditional embroidery in modern society,'' he said.
The director said that both Koreans and foreigners can see how traditional Korean artworks have existed through the collection of the posters at a glance.
The exhibit includes the posters from the overseas exhibits of the Korean Costume and Textiles at New York IBM Gallery in 1992, Coree Pays du Matin Calme in Musee des Arts Asiatiques in Nice in 1999 and Cha Su-Die Kunst Der Koreanischen SticKerei in Museum Fur Ostasiatische Hunst, Koln, in 1987.
Visitors to the poster exhibition will also be able to view the permanent embroidery artworks.
Since the museum opened in 1976, it has held about 3,000 pieces of embroidery and patchwork. Entrance is free.
The museum is located at Hakdong Station Exit 10 on subway line 7. For more information, call (02) 515-5114.