한지 (Hanji)
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 durability. Hanji's longevity is legendary — Korean documents written on hanji 1,000 years ago survive better than European paper from 200 years ago. The oebal tteugi technique — shaking the mold in a specific figure-eight pattern to cause the mulberry fibers to bond in an interlocking crisscross pattern rather than the parallel alignment of Chinese and Japanese papers — is the defining technical differentiator of hanji from all other East Asian papers. Hanji was nominated for UNESCO inscription in 2026.
Risk level: Endangered · Nominated for UNESCO Representative List 2026; within Korean ICH Living National Treasure system
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