It is an unheard art which has survived more than few hundred years in Korea. Originally bamboo leaves and willow branch were used as brushes but few works from this early era is present today. Until recently in the market place, in the country side, or on a bustling street corner in a big city throughout Korea, you could have seen men painting with a wide-edged brush, tigers, bamboo trees, butterflies, flowers, birds, etc., which instantly turned into letters. This is Korean pictorial calligraphy, now on the brink of extinction.

The sentiments and mores of the eighteenth century have been well represented in these folklore paintings. Aspiring artists would paint folklore paintings for their living. However, the obstinate ones occupying the orthodox art world have made light of it, and furthermore, treated these painters just as mean clowns and balladeers. Eventually, folklore paintings degenerated into oblivion (Regarding Korean folk art, please refer to specialized books).

Pictorial calligraphy derived from letter painting which was a genre of folklore painting. Confucian teachings like filial duty, loyalty, and decorum, and personal wishes like prosperity, many descendants, illness-free longevity, etc. were summed up in a concise Chinese letter sentence and written on a scroll to be mounted on a wall, pillar or folding screen. Folklore painters found an easy way to describe these grave ideas. They have symbolized the ideas in the shape of bamboo trees, carps, pine trees, etc. which depicted them. It was a time-consuming and demanding job since each stroke of the brush had to depict a certain image as well as the Chinese character. As time went by, people began to demand quicker service in line with a busier way of life. Pictorial calligraphy began to emerge naturally.

Colorful calligraphy appeared in the 1930s. After the Korean War the ubiquitous pictorial calligraphers who fled from the war were busy at work in the country side market place. But the number decreased drastically since the mid 1960s. The tradition petered out to non-existence, because it was not recognized as a full-fledged art form by the orthodox painting world and no regular education system existed. The skill was handed down through a master-apprenticeship system and the rapid industrialization of society wiped out these artisans. Nowadays only a handful of artisans can be spotted in areas where foreign tourists frequent.

I have been fascinated by the beauty of the pictorial calligraphy since my youth. More than 30 years ago, I was taught how to paint by the best pictorial calligrapher in those days. Ever since, I have been painting calligraphy work and nowadays I am working at the events of domestic and foreign countries.

These works of art, which are hand-made Korean paper with a leather brush, can last many years without any changes in color and paper quality. Many people believed owning a work of colorful calligraphy could usher in good luck.

Thank you.