[ZOOM KOREA] Carpenter Kim Yoon-kwan pays homage to Joseon

Korean Heritage

Published: 06 Mar. 2023, 17:43 Updated: 07 Mar. 2023, 16:53

[ZOOM KOREA] Carpenter Kim Yoon-kwan pays homage to Joseon

Carpenter Kim Yoon-kwan, who mainly creates furniture for a study, works at his workshop in Paju, Gyeonggi. [PARK SANG-MOON]

“Myung-Chang-Jeong-Gue”

It means “a clean desk under a sunny window,” an idiom first used in the poem “Shi Pil,” written by Gu Yang-su, a literati of China’s Song Dynasty (960-1279). The idiom is now often used to describe a study.

Kim Yoon-kwan, 52, is a carpenter who makes furniture, mainly desks and bookshelves. Lately, he’s been putting his heart and soul into making sabangtakja, a four-shelf open etagere (a piece of furniture with a number of open shelves for displaying ornaments), and a chest called uigeol-ijang — both of which are the symbols of wooden furniture in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Kim’s design of an etagere with partially closed shelves called sambangtakja.[KIM YOON-KWAN]

A stationery chest of drawers [KIM YOON-KWAN]

Kim says that a carpenter is someone who creates “beautiful” furniture using wood. He also explains that the furniture he pursues embodies the thoughtful technique that naturally permeates the entire piece and something that is “simply beautiful” to evoke a smile than a gasp of wow — much like the craftsmanship of the Joseon Dynasty.

Kim used to live the life of an ordinary office worker. But he suddenly decided to become a carpenter in his mid-30s. As he started late in his career, his early days as a carpenter were physically and mentally very challenging. He traveled around the country to learn and master woodworking techniques from senior carpenters. Working until 3 to 4 a.m. became a daily routine and such rigorous training went on for five to six years.

While studying various antique and traditional Korean wooden furniture, Kim was invited by a curator from the National Folk Museum of Korea to an exhibition that was exploring different types of gat, or the Joseon-era hat that men wore. Kim says he was deeply moved by its aesthetic and visual appeal. Prior to this experience, Kim said he had held a negative view of the Joseon Dynasty’s ruling class and society. However, after falling in love with the charm of Joseon’s gat, he began to study various traditional Korean arts, crafts and architecture from the Joseon Dynasty. Joseon’s gat became the starting point that triggered his interest in the Joseon Dynasty.

A wardrobe called uigeol-ijang, another representative wooden furniture of the Joseon Dynasty [KIM YOON-KWAN]

“Joseon” and “crafts” became the most important words to Kim. After devoting himself to learn more about the two areas in woodworking, he finally was able to give a name to what he does — “The Joseon Classic” — and defined the aesthetics he pursued within that name as “The aesthetics of Eight-Tenths: the beauty of better craftsmanship.” As a craftsman who works with wood, “Joseon,” has become an archive to him.

“The aesthetics of Eight-Tenths” is the beauty that Kim discovered through his study of Joseon’s culture, art and crafts. The aesthetic sense of Joseon has a very different beauty from that of China or Japan. It is not overflowing, nor is it lacking; it is simply an appropriate beauty of about eight tenths.

Kim says that Joseon’s wooden furniture most perfectly embodies the definition of “eight-tenths beauty.” The aesthetic characteristic of Korean tradition lies in the beauty of appropriate “halt,” he says. It is not because of inability or ignorance that something beautiful can be created, but because of knowing or understanding when to stop. To stop despite knowing what can be created further is difficult to control without deep aesthetic training. This is the enlightenment that Kim gained while studying Joseon wooden furniture.

A modern version of a Joseon-era (1392-1910) sabangtakja, a four-shelf open etagere (a piece of furniture with a number of open shelves for displaying ornaments.) This furniture will be exhibited at the Korean Craft Show “Shift Craft,” which has been organized as part of this year’s Milan Furniture Fair in Italy in April. [KIM YOON-KWAN]

A collection of Kim's sabangtakja [KIM YOON-KWAN]

These days, Kim has been working around the clock to produce sabangtakja, which he will exhibit during the Korean Craft Show "Shift Craft," which has been organized as part of this year's Milan Furniture Fair in Italy in April. Sabangtankja is a representative Korean furniture, or the essence of Joseon wooden furniture, that receives a lot of love from people around the world. Kim says it is a furniture that perfectly embodies the unique emotions that Joseon people had and has achieved the “perfect minimalism that can be considered beautiful.”

Kim often wonders what kind of furniture the craftsmen of the Joseon Dynasty would create if they traveled through time and lived in the present day. He wants to create furniture that meets the needs of the contemporary era, reflecting not only tradition but also the emotions and beauty of the current time. Kim says he is confident that furniture that best captures the sensibilities and beauty of the current era will become a classic in the distant future and eventually become a tradition after a hundred years.

Kim says reading books is also a part of his work. [PARK SANG-MOON]

He’s a carpenter but it’s not always logs of wood that he’s working with. Next to Kim, there are always books. Kim says he’s a firm believer in the fundamental power of books — that they can change people and the world. Books play a significant role in setting his work direction by broadening his perspective, Kim says. Reading a book is also included in his working time, Kim says. If he says he’s working, it also means he is reading.

As a carpenter who mainly creates furniture for a study, Kim explains that having a personal study and a neat desk in a room where bright sun permeates is the first step in living your true life. He says he’s very satisfied that his dedication to the simple things in life is his way of life.

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