The Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Canada and the Korean Cultural Centre together with Cheongju City present Feast of K-Chopsticks exhibition at the KCC Gallery from February 27 to August 28.    

Cheongju, the capital city of Chungbuk Province is in the south centre of the Korean Peninsula. It has a 1000 year-long history of craft culture as the birthplace of Jikji, the world’s oldest existing metal type book. It is not surprising that the City has been the base camp of the Cheongju International Craft Biennale since 1999.

When the City was designated as the State-of-the-art cultural industrial complex by the Korean government in 2001, the City created the Cheongju Cultural Industry Promotion Foundation with an aim to continue preserving its cultural heritage while stewarding creative energy and endeavors within its community.  On the occasion of the designation as the Culture City of East Asia in 2015, the Foundation launched its first Chopsticks Festival in collaboration with its counterparts in China and Japan. Feast of K-Chopsticks was introduced at that Festival for the first time in 2016, and toured the Korean cultural centres in Thailand, Australia and Kazakhstan before coming to Canada.

Beginning with the comparison of characteristics of chopsticks between Korea, Japan and China, this Canadian tour of the exhibition highlights the uniqueness of Korean chopstick culture by displaying the objects created by Korean way of craft making.

The exhibition is comprised of the artifacts made by 4 masters of Korean craft art; the handcrafted Korean brassware-Bangjja Yugi dining set made by brassware artisan Sang tae PARK, the vanished lacquer-Ottchil chopsticks by lacquerware artist Sung Ho KIM, 12 sets of Zanthoxylum tree chopsticks beautifully painted and framed by Korean paper-Hanji artist Jongguk LEE , and the delicately stitched silk pouches for spoon and chopsticks made by fabric artist Sora LEE. 

The bronze sets of relic spoons and chopsticks as well as the reproduction sets of brass spoons and chopsticks were replicated by the Cheongju Chopsticks Research Lab for this exhibition.  Some of them are dated back to the Korean Three Kingdom era which is dated from 37BC to 668AD.

The Jikji-influenced chopsticks are also exhibited this time. Jikji is a Korean Buddhist document printed in Cheongju in 1377, the oldest book printed in the world.

In addition, 30 pieces of modern chopsticks are also displayed at the exhibition. These contemporary chopsticks are designed by 22 craft artists and designers around the country using different materials, such as red stones, ceramics, silver, woods, and stainless steel. These cutting-edge craft pieces bolster the localism and cultural diversity of Korean craft culture.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the one meter-long pair of chopsticks created by Sung Ho Kim, a member of the Korea Master Hand.  These beautifully hand crafted lacquer and mother-of-pearl chopsticks connote a story about interesting scenery of the dining etiquette in heaven and in purgatory.

Yongsup Kim, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre (KCC) says “through this exhibition, we want to share with our fellow Canadians the Korean culture of pairs and collaboration represented by our chopsticks. The KCC also hopes for the exhibition to help deepen Canadian understanding on the unique aesthetics and philosophy of Korea embedded in its dining culture.   

A presentation of chopstick making is planned at the opening, and visitors are  invited to chopstick-making workshops. However, due to the limited amount of tools available for the workshop, only ten participants can be accepted to each session. Because of this limitation, the workshop will take place three times between the opening day of February 27th (Thursday) and February 28th (Friday). 

Participating in the opening reception and the workshops are free, but reservation should be made in advance through the following links to secure your seats. 

Please R.S.V.P  below;

1.     Opening Reception: 2/27 (Thursday) at 18:30 at KCC   

2.     Workshop 1: 2/27(Thursday)- 16:30-17:30 at KCC  

3.     Workshop 2: 2/28(Friday)- 12:00-13:00 at KCC 

4.    Workshop 3: 2/28(Friday)- 17:30-18:30 at KCC 

About the artists;

Sangtae Park (Chungbuk Intangible Cultural Asset, Brassware Artisan)

Korean Bangjja Yugi Brass is the mystical artwork born from the perfect combination of copper and tin at the ratio of 78 to 22. Though the world we perceive might portray itself to be brilliant and extravagant, the truth – based in tradition – transcends time and space and is reflected in various forms deeply ingrained in artworks. Sangtae Park is the son of Gapsul Park, who was designated as the 24th Chungbuk Intangible Cultural Asset in Brassware. Started by Sudol Park, father of Gapsul Park, in 1926, Park’s Yugi Workshop has continued Korea’s yugi heritage for the 3 generations.  

Sora Lee (Fabric Artist)

Sora Lee has exhibited at the Cheongju International Craft Biennale and the Chungbuk Art Fair. “Creating the world with the tip of a needle, to weave and stitch, is to balance the universe at the tip of the needle, and thus, is like creating a new world. How much time and effort do we invest to create our own world?” Lee mentions.

Jongguk Lee (Hanji Artist)

Hanji Artist Jongguk Lee had his solo exhibitions at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, the Korean Cultural Centre Berlin, the UC IRVINE Modern Arts Centre, and the  T-Arts Centre in Beijing. Hoping to show that the seeping process into Hanji is an artistic process in itself, these aspirations are reflected through his handcraft. Straightening when straightened, bending when bent, the nature of Hanji is gentle and simple. The tough vitality of the Korean people is gently revealed through the Hanji.

Sung Ho Kim (Chungbuk Intangible Cultural Asset, Lacquerware Artisan)

A member of Korean Master Hands and the Chungbuk Intangible Cultural Asset in Lacquerware, Sung Ho Kim exhibited at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Cultural Olympiad, the Korea-Canada Craft Exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery,  Jikji-Cheongju International Craft Biennale Special Exhibition at the Korean Cultural Centre in London, the U.K., Lacquer & Mother-of-Pearl Craft Exhibition at the Flushing Centre in New York. He also won awards from the Cheongju International Craft Biennale and Wonju Lacquer Craft Festival.  Contrary to the fanciness and beauty of lacquerware, the life of its artisan is stained with poverty, sweat, tears, and pain. It has been 44 years of painting on lacquer and living through lacquer poisoning. This is the artform forged through his many wounds, becoming stronger in the lonesome path called tradition.

 <Feast of K-Chopsticks>

-      WHEN: 2020. 2. 27. (Thursday) ~ 8. 28. (Friday)

-      WHERE: KCC Gallery (150 Elgin Street, Unit# 101)

               (613) 233-8008 / canada@korea.kr/ canada.korean-culture.org

-     GALLERY Hours: Monday-Friday/ 9:00-17:00

           -     Support: The Canadian Museum of History/ The Carleton University Art Gallery