Moving the needle: Craftsman keeps Korea's traditional compass techniques alive

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Moving the needle: Craftsman keeps Korea's traditional compass techniques alive

Published: 25 Nov. 2024, 16:02 Updated: 25 Nov. 2024, 19:50

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

[ZOOM KOREA]

Kim Hee-su, a craftsman who practices the traditional technique of making yundo (a traditional compass), works on his creation at the Yundojang Training Center in Naksan Village, Gochang County, North Jeolla. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Yundo, a traditional Korean compass, goes by several names, such as paecheol (a portable magnet) and jinamcheol (a magnet pointing to the south). Geomancers mostly used them for feng shui and to find the best sites for tombs and houses. Yundojang means the skill of making the compass and refers to the craftsmen who produce the compass.

Kim Hee-su, 62, has been making yundo for four generations and lives in the Naksan Village of Gochang County, North Jeolla.

Typically, 24 directions are engraved on yundo, which are made with round jujube wood. Other information, such as yin and yang, the five elements of the universe and zodiac-related signs are carved around the magnetic needle.

Yundo made by Kim Kwon-sam [PARK SANG-MOON]

Naksan Village, where Kim resides, is a typical farming village with low hills, fields and paddies. People in the village reportedly began making yundo 350 years ago. Those specific yundo produced in the region were considered high-quality and accurate during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) thanks to the so-called turtle rock that is found on the hill behind the village. Since the turtle-shaped rock lies facing the east and west directions, craftsmen would go there and make a final check to see whether their creations exactly pointed to the north and south.

The magnetic meteorite has been handed down from generation to generation for 350 years [PARK SANG-MOON]

The first person who began making yundo in the Naksan Village was a man surnamed Jeon. But Jeon handed down his technique to a person with the surname Han and it eventually came down to Kim Kwon-sam, Kim's great-grandfather. The skill was passed down not to family members but to people who knew how to make the compass so that the traditional technique could be preserved.

Kim’s father, Kim Jong-dae, 90, was designated as a national intangible cultural asset due to his knowledge on the techniques of making yundo.

Inkstone [PARK SANG-MOON]

Various yundo tools inherited from Kim’s ancestors [PARK SANG-MOON]

The journey to make the best yundo begins with sourcing high-quality jujube wood. The wood should be at least between 150 and 200 years old. The wood is dried for up to a decade to prevent it from warping and splitting. This procedure adds durability.

When the wood is ready, sophisticated processes ensue, which require a high level of concentration.

Wood is trimmed into a circular shape depending on the size of the yundo, and the craftsman engraves concentric circles with a traditional tool called georeumsae. Yundo come with various numbers of concentric circles from one to 24.

Each layer of concentric circles contains different information. For example, the compass with nine circles has some information for geomancers in the first and second circles so that they can choose plots of land to bury ancestors or build houses on. The third circle has information about the five basic elements of the universe.

When the circles are engraved, the next step is writing Chinese characters on the wood, which is the most crucial part. The depth of each letter inscribed on the wood must be the same. A single error is not allowed. Even after engraving hundreds of letters, the craftsman should erase all the letters and start again if he makes a mistake. The biggest yundo with 24 concentric circles houses about 3,500 Chinese characters.

Seonchu yundo produced during the Joseon Dynasty [PARK SANG-MOON]

Next is painting the wood with calligraphy ink and then sprinkling white jade powder on it, making the letters white and the background jet-black.

The magnetic needle is made of steel after a lot of filing and hammering. The needle is attached to a magnetic meteorite for a day so that it can stick to the yundo. The meteorite has been handed down from generation to generation for 350 years in the Kim family.

The yundo is complete when the needle is attached. Then it is covered with a glass lid. Carrying the end product in one hand, Kim walks up a hill to test his creation on the turtle-shaped rock.

It is a long process, and it can take up to four months for Kim to make a single compass, which is 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) in diameter.

Seonchu yundo are usually attached to a fan. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Geobuk yundo are shaped like a turtle. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Kim’s grandfather said in his will, “Succeed in the family business even if it doesn’t bring you a fortune.” Kim, who used to work at a conglomerate for 13 years, quit his job and followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Now, his children are learning the technique of making yundo.

BY PARK SANG-MOON [[email protected]]