The Depository · Browse · Asia-Pacific
The Depository documents 17 techniques in South Korea; by risk level: 2 critically endangered, 13 endangered, 2 vulnerable. Each record opens with a public summary; the full research record is free to view once registered.
Buncheong is the Korean gray-green stoneware tradition of the early Joseon Dynasty — characterized by a distinctive slip decoration technique in which white clay slip is applied over gray stoneware in several distinct approaches: inlay…
Goryeo celadon (cheongja) is the Korean ceramic tradition that produced, between the 10th and 14th centuries, some of the most technically and aesthetically remarkable ceramics in world history — praised by Chinese Song Dynasty observers…
Baekja is the white porcelain tradition of the Joseon Dynasty — the defining ceramic aesthetic of Korean Confucian culture, valued for its pure white surface, subtle forms, and spiritual restraint.
Hanji is the traditional Korean handmade paper produced from paper mulberry bark (dak — Broussonetia papyrifera) using a distinctive Korean technique (oebal tteugi — single-mold shaking) that produces paper of extraordinary strength and…
Lidded bowls and rounded vessels built from hanji scraps: waste paper is finely torn, soaked in water, mixed with glue and kneaded into a clay-like paste, which is laid onto a mold or frame in repeated layers, each dried before the next,…
Hanji, Korean mulberry paper, cut into strips, twisted into tight cords and twined like basketry into vessels, lanterns, shoes, quivers, brush holders and trays.
The hand-forging of Korean bronzeware (yugi) from a precisely alloyed copper-tin mixture into tableware, vessels, and — using the identical technique and material — traditional percussion instruments.
Norigae is the traditional Korean decorative accessory — a pendant ornament worn hanging from the jeogori jacket tie of a Hanbok — combining a central ornamental element (jade, amber, coral, or silver), silk cord knotting (maedeup —…
The carving of Hahoetal — the wooden masks used in Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori, a satirical mask dance-drama performed as village ritual in the Andong region since the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392) — designated Korea's National Treasure No.
Hanbok is the traditional Korean garment — a deceptively simple form (jeogori jacket, chima skirt for women; jeogori and baji trousers for men) whose making requires extraordinary precision in cloth preparation, cutting, and assembly to…
Joseon-era (1392-1897) Korean embroidered pillows worked with sipjangsaeng, the "ten symbols of longevity" -- a grouping of sun, clouds, mountains, water, pine trees, turtles, deer, cranes, peaches, and the herb of eternal youth that at…
Pojagi is the traditional Korean wrapping cloth — used to wrap and carry gifts, food, books, and ceremonial objects — and in its patchwork form (jogakbo) is one of the most sophisticated textile composition traditions in Asia.
Najeonchilgi is the Korean art of inlaying iridescent mother-of-pearl (abalone, turban snail, and oyster shell) into an ottchil lacquer base — producing objects of extraordinary luminous beauty that have been central to Korean decorative…
Ottchil is the Korean natural lacquer tradition — the application of sap from the lacquer tree (Rhus verniciflua) to wood, fabric, metal, or ceramic surfaces through multiple coats of progressive refinement to produce the characteristic…
Andong Po is the traditional hand-woven hemp cloth of Andong city in North Gyeongsang province — one of the finest linen-like textiles in Asia, woven from hand-spun hemp fiber on a backstrap or floor loom to produce a fabric so fine it was…
The haegeum (two-stringed fiddle) and gayageum (12-stringed plucked zither) are the two most iconic Korean traditional instruments — and their making is a craft tradition of considerable technical precision.
Maedeup is the Korean art of decorative knotting — producing intricate three-dimensional knot forms from silk cord for use in norigae pendants (CRAFT-0274), Hanbok accessories, ceremonial wrapping, and objects of daily beauty.