[ZOOM KOREA] Gakja, the art of wooden block printing, continues to make its mark

Korean Heritage

Published: 04 Aug. 2022, 16:23 Updated: 04 Aug. 2022, 16:40

[ZOOM KOREA] Gakja, the art of wooden block printing, continues to make its mark

Kim Gak-han, a holder of National Intangible Cultural Heritage for gakjajang (calligraphic engraving), works at his studio Go-One Kim Gak Han Gakja Research Center in Bangbae-dong in Seocho District, southern Seoul. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Gakja is the Korean word that refers to the craft of engraving letters or images on wooden plates or blocks. A master of this craft is called a gakjajang. Korea’s oldest woodblock gakja is the Pure Light Dharani Sutra, which is one of the objects found inside the Three-story Stone Pagoda of Bulguksa Temple during the repair work of the pagoda in 1966. It was created in the mid-8th century. This gakja, along with other reliquaries from the pagoda, are state-designated National Treasures. However, the masterpiece that testifies to Korea’s woodblock printing craftsmanship is the Printing Woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana in Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang.

Kim Gak-han, 66, (also known as Go-One) is the second gakjajang to be recognized as a national intangible cultural asset by the government in 2013. The first gakjajang recognized by the government was Oh Ok-jin (1935-2014). After Oh’s passing, Kim has been regarded as the best gakjajang in the country. He has devoted his life to engraving letters and images on wooden boards for nearly 40 years and maintained the rare profession like the verse in the Sutta Nipata, a Buddhist scripture, that says, “Go alone like a rhino’s horn.”

Kim says gakja became a part of his life and his profession after an encounter he had with Oh in 1984, right after he was discharged from his mandatory military service. Kim was visiting a woodcraft studio located in Jongno, central Seoul, to learn the craft. Then one day, he stumbled across an exhibition that was displaying “Suseonjeondo,” a wood-block print map of Seoul made by Kim Jeong-ho (1804-1866), who was a leading geographer of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) in the 1840s. Kim says he was mesmerized and deeply moved by the sophistication of the wood-block print map. Oh was the carver who created the map.

Kim engraves letters on a woodblock. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Kim knocked on the door of Oh’s workshop the very next day and asked Oh to take him on as his student. When Oh gave him the nod, Kim began to learn everything that is necessary to become a master carver in earnest. Learning the craft of gakja was so much fun for Kim that he says he often lost track of time. On many occasions, he stayed up all night to continue carving and crafting. Since he knew how to handle wood from an early age, Kim honed the craft much faster than others. Kim says he soon realized that the only talent he had was carving letters on wood.

The process of gakja starts by preparing the wood. The first process is called chimok, which is the act of cutting and trimming the wood. Then the spacing between each letter should be assigned, which is referred to as baeja. When this preparation process is completed, it’s now time for gakja. Kim says each step is important, but selecting and handling the wood is the most fundamental.

Kim, who has spent nearly all his life around wood, says he pays extra attention when selecting the wood for his works. To make a wooden board, it’s good to select a hard, straight-grained wood and avoid forked or twisted pieces when making sign boards. Depending on the use, Kim says he likes to use nearly all the trees that are found in Korea such as wild cherry, jujube, zelkova, ginkgo, pear, pine, chestnut, birch and maple, as well as many others.

The tools used for gakja include saws, planes, rulers and rubber bands. Different types of knives are also required to engrave different shapes, such as flat knives, round knives and triangular knives. One wall of Kim’s workshop is completely occupied by different tools, demonstrating the degree of detail and sophistication involved in creating gakja.

Dubo's Poem engraved by Kim [PARK SANG-MOON]

A gakja work by Kim showing his hope for a country where cultural heritage becomes the people's strength and hope. [PARK SANG-MOON]

A wood-block printed image of a tiger and a magpie by Kim [PARK SANG-MOON]

There are two basic techniques of gakja — banseogak and jeongseogak. Banseogak is engraving letters for printing, therefore, each letter should be carved backward. Jeongseogak is carving letters forward so that it reads properly when hung as signboards.

Together with his teacher Oh, Kim was involved in numerous projects to restore various cultural properties by recreating various signboards for different historical sites.

Recreating the signboard for the Independence Hall in 1986 was their first project together. Then they went on to restore and recreate the signboards for Taewonjeon, Geoncheongung and Hamhwadang of Gyeongbok Palace, Hwaseong Haenggung (a temporary residence of King Jeongjo) as well as the buildings for the newly established Baekje Cultural Land in Buyeo County, South Chungcheong. They also worked on important projects like restoring the signboards for Sungnyemun and Gwanghwamun. He recalled restoring the signboard for Sungnyemun after the arson in 2008 as the “most heartbreaking” yet “most fruitful” experience as a gakjajang.

Kim’s most significant restoration works include restoring the wood-block print version of the Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests’ Zen Teachings, also known as Jikji, which is on display at the Cheongju Early Printing Museum and the restoration of Hunminjeongeum’s Eonhae edition, which is a manuscript that translated some sections of Hunminjeongeum that were written in Chinese characters to hangul (Korean alphabet). (“Hunminjeongeum,” written by Joseon Dynasty court scholars in 1446, is a guide to hangul by King Sejong (1397-1450) the same year the book was published.)

A wooden board measuring 370 by 270 centimeters (12.1 by 8.86 feet) that Kim created for the Kiwonjeong Temple located in Seoul’s Seongdong District in 1987 also made headlines as it was created to be located behind the Buddha statue, replacing the altar portrait of Buddha.

Kim demonstrates how he engraves letters on a woodblock at his studio. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Kim's gakja work that says "live long like a mountain and be blessed like a big ocean." [PARK SANG-MOON]

Kim's gakja work in Sanskrit that reads "Om mani padme hum," which means "The jewel is in the lotus." [PARK SANG-MOON]

Woodblock gakja enjoyed its heyday during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) when publications of Buddhist scriptures and literary collections of high priests flourished. During the Joseon Dynasty, numerous woodblock printing techniques, including Hunminjeongeum, which is registered on Unesco’s Memory of the World list, were widely distributed. However, with the development of metal movable type and the advent of the Japanese colonial period, the craft began to wane.

Lee Deok-mu (1741-1793), a late Joseon scholar once said that “Carving books on wood will benefit people for hundreds of years and this will be a treasure of the world.” Perhaps that is why Kim, who has been carving letters for nearly 40 years and restoring Korea’s traditional cultural heritage, and his works are still treasured today.

A miniature version of Kim Jeong-hee's calligraphy of "Panjeon" [PARK SANG-MOON]

Kim continues to breathe life into the wood and engraves letters with his soul. Whenever he finds time, he pours his energy out to transmit the tradition to his students and to promote the traditional craft to the public. Kim said taking part in making this country become a place where cultural heritage becomes its strength and hope is a precious mission that he must keep until the end of his lifetime.

BY PARK SANG-MOON [park.sangmun@joongang.co.kr]