'Jogakbo' artist finds consolation in needlework

Choi Duk-joo, 59, a “jogakbo” artist explains her artwork during a lecture at the Austrian Embassy, Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI)

By Kim Hyo-jin

“Jogakbo” artist Choi Duk-joo says needlework can be great for healing.

“I find the biggest consolation in stitching,” Choi, 59, said during a lecture about jogakbo, or Korean patchwork, at the Austrian Embassy Tuesday. “I used to be a quick-tempered person, but not anymore. To stitch evenly, you need a peaceful state of mind.”

She was motivated to take up jogakbo by early memories of her grandmother’s artwork.

“When I was young, I remember seeing grandma’s jogakbo patchwork, embroidered purses and pillows in her old closet,” Choi said. “I used to admire them.”

Jogakbo, using leftover scraps of colorful fabric, is now deemed highly aesthetic work, comparable to modern abstract painting. Depending on size, the amount of time to make one piece varies from a couple of hours to several months.

It was originally used in Koreans’ daily lives, becoming a duvet, tablecloth, wrapping cloth, carrier of possessions on a journey or for delivering a marriage gift.

Choi introduced jogakbo as the creative work of Korean housewives in the old Confucian days.

“They direct their creative energies and daily struggles toward the socially acceptable activities of sewing and embroidery,” she said.

The artist said a good thing about making jogakbo was that life and work overlap harmoniously.

“It is the job you can do as long as you have spare time, even if it is five or 10 minutes,” Choi said. “I stitch briefly and then go back to do house chores.”

During nearly two decades of jogakbo making, she has been simply satisfied with the feeling of creation. But now the artist says she craves something more.

“There are many people who engage in jogakbo, but I want to differentiate myself,” she said.

Choi spends much time dying fabric with natural material to find her own colors and way of expression.

“I wish my patchwork could display naturalness coming out of my persona,” she said.

Choi started learning the artwork in 1998 under artisan Kim Hyun-hee, famous for traditional embroidery and “bojagi” (wrapping cloth) art.

Kim has been teaching at the Korea Traditional Craft Architecture School for some 26 years, and Choi has been a dedicated member of the artisans’ school.

Choi held solo exhibitions first in 2008 in Seoul. A 2013 show in Vienna drew much European attention to her work.

After graduating from Seoul Art High School, Choi majored in crafts at Sookmyung Women’s University. She started her career in the design department of Space Group, established by prominent architect Kim Swoo-geun.