Craft Trend Fair in Seoul looks to the past for inspiration for the future

Arts & Design

Published: 14 Dec. 2023, 17:17

Craft Trend Fair in Seoul looks to the past for inspiration for the future

A view of the Craft Trend Fair 2023, which kicked off Thursday and continues until Sunday at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [SHIN MIN-HEE]

The annual Craft Trend Fair has always looked to the future when it came to setting the latest trends or sparking discourse within the local craft scene, for almost two decades now.

But this year, the nation’s largest craft fair is taking a break from its usual tradition and is instead looking back at its 17 years through an archive exhibition.

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The archive exhibition at Craft Trend Fair 2023. This portion shows video interviews from the fair's past participants. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

The Craft Trend Fair 2023, hosted and organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Craft and Design Foundation (KCDF), kicked off Thursday, exclusively to industry insiders and press first, at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul.

The fair opens to the public on Friday and will continue through Sunday.

Over 270 participants ranging from craftspeople, galleries, businesses and related college majors have set up booths to sell ceramics, clothes, leather goods, furniture, interior items and more.

Soban, or traditional Korean wooden tables, are on display at Craft Trend Fair 2023, which kicked off Thursday and continues until Sunday at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

“The Craft Trend Fair has grown over the years as an event that highlights the artistic and industrial value of crafts,” Chang Dong-kwang, president of the KCDF, said during a press conference at Coex on Thursday.

“But this year, in an attempt to take time to reflect on the fair and contemplate the future of Korean crafts, we’ve curated an archival exhibition for the first time ever.”

Usually, an artistic director would be appointed to curate an exhibition under a specific theme, focusing on the necessity and significance of the crafts in the 21st century. But this year, the main exhibition space has been replaced with video interviews of past participants and revisits the winning works of the fair’s annual Artist of the Year, since 2011.

There is also a corner where visitors can submit their suggestions for and opinions on the fair, which the KCDF stressed it will take into consideration when deciding the fair’s future.

“The time has come to seriously think about what the role of the fair is within the crafts industry,” Chang continued. “For example, we’ve gone overseas to London, Milan and Paris to show off our crafts for a long time now. It’s important to export our art, but we also need to find ways to import new ones as well. We’ll keep the parts of the fair that are deemed important, but we’re willing to get rid of parts that we don’t need any more during this opportunity.”

Hanji, or traditional Korean mulberry paper, is on display at Craft Trend Fair 2023, which kicked off Thursday and continues until Sunday at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Some changes in this year’s edition include a new buyer’s lounge, in which the KCDF connects local and overseas buyers or collectors with fair participants. The KCDF will provide assistance on the transactions, tariffs and shipping with some help by major distributors like SSG.com.

The KCDF hopes this will aid in increasing sales for the participating craftspeople and businesses, but stresses this is only the beginning for the fair’s transformation.

“Crafts is all about engaging with the general public and exploring ways to find meaning in life. In order to do that, we need to reorganize the local fair system before we take the next step,” Chang said.

Craft Trend Fair 2023 is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. except for Sunday, which ends at 6 p.m. General admission is 10,000 won ($8). For more information, visit the fair’s website, which is also available in English.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]