Craft Trend Fair aims to boost trade market

Lee Jun-hee's "2T-05H" will be on display at Craft Trend Fair 2018 held from Nov. 22 to 25 at Coex Hall C in southern Seoul. / Courtesy of KCDF

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Poster for Craft Trend Fair 2018

The Craft Trend Fair 2018, the largest craft art event in Korea, will be held from Nov. 22 to 25 at Coex Hall C in southern Seoul. This year, some 1,600 craftspeople from eight countries and 300 companies and galleries will take part.

Organized by the Korea Crafts and Design Foundation (KCDF), a state-run organization under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the fair aims to balance supply and demand in the craftwork market this year.

KCDF President Choi Bong-hyun said the fair, which marks its 13th year, has been growing steadily throughout the years, but the craft market needs more consumers who recognize the value of handicraft.

"We've been making an effort to discover and support new artists by offering them new technologies and exhibition opportunities. However, these craftworks need customers and collectors in order to sustain the craft market. We hope to develop a culture of appreciation for craft art in Korea, that will lead people to purchase items they like," Choi said during a press conference last week.

Choi said many people think craftworks are traditional and collected by middle-aged or elderly people.

"However, as we analyzed visitors for the Craft Trend Fair, we saw that women in their 30s were major visitors to the fair as well as major consumers of craft art. We now know the age group of consumers has broadened over the years as craft has developed and modernized," Choi said. "So our aim is to help young creators produce better work to put on the market and for customers to enjoy craft shopping."

For this year's themed exhibition, fashion designer and stage director Jung Ku-ho will present a preview of the 2019 edition of "Constancy and Change," an exhibit of Korean crafts to be held next April during Milan Design Week.
Jung picked master artisans and contemporary craft artists to showcase how traditional and modern craft is organically interweaved. The black-and-white exhibition space design is inspired by Korean ink-and-wash painting.

The list of participating artists includes Buddhist monk Seongpa for his lacquer work, Park Chang-yeong for his "gat" (traditional Korean hats), Kim Sun-jin and Lim Seo-yoon for their needlework and Kim Sang-in for his ceramics.

The fair also features an exhibition of 77 aspiring artists and a marketplace of over 170 brands promoting their work.

Ceramic artist Yang Ji-woon, known for her unique marbling and inlay technique, has been participating in the Craft Trend Fair since 2010. She explained how the fair helped her in establishing her own business.

"I began from the Selected Artist Zone after graduating university and it opened me up to promote my work and pioneer a market. Then my work was featured at the KCDF Promotion Zone in 2015 as I had developed my own style, interpreting traditional Korean techniques in a contemporary way. In 2016, I joined the Craft Brands Zone,"

Visit craftfair.kcdf.kr for more information.

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