Jo Hwa-shin, a national intangible cultural heritage, a traditional Korean herb farm
A hundred-year-old zelkova tree stump covered with a shingle was in the yard. What kind of furniture will this wood become in the future? What kind of pattern will it have? Cho Hwa-shin (62), a national intangible cultural heritage woodworker and successor educator who I met at a workshop in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, said, “You can’t know the inside of a tree unless you cut it. You have to use your long experience to discern the grain of the wood. Right now, I’m waiting for the right time to use this tree.” In the warehouse, wooden boards cut with a planer were stacked up. If you add up the ages of the trees, it must be eons.
●“It took me 45 years to get in touch with the trees”
Entering the workshop, the grandeur of the clothes rack he had made was amazing. The wood grain danced on the zelkova door fitted into the oak frame. It was a powerful dance that seemed to sway in the contour lines of Korea’s mountains and valleys. He reinterpreted the Joseon Dynasty clothes rack, which had a crossbar across the top of the interior to hang clothes without wrinkles, into a modern version. Compared to Western furniture, it had a much more refined feel.
![“Our wooden furniture, which has endured through the years, will soothe your heart” [김선미의 시크릿가든]](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/09/13/130047554.1.jpg "“Our wooden furniture, which has endured through the years, will soothe your heart” [김선미의 시크릿가든]")
“Doesn’t it look like a painting sitting on a tree? Even if a tree is decades old, it doesn’t show these growth lines. This tree is an 800-year-old dead tree that I bought near Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon, Gyeongnam. If I were to compare it to a person, it would be an old man who had attained the truth after cultivating himself and was on the verge of death. I made furniture using only 10% of the tree’s remaining intact parts. Just as wrinkles and scars appear when exposed to the ravages of time, wood also has dramatic patterns. This kind of wood can be used as the front of a piece of furniture, which is why it’s called ‘face-like wood.’ It took me 45 years to connect with the tree like this.”
He entered the workshop of the late Kang Dae-gyu, a national intangible cultural heritage craftsman, in 1979 at the age of 17 and studied under him for 10 years. After becoming independent and establishing his own workshop in 1989, he was designated as the 55th National Intangible Cultural Heritage craftsmanship educator in 1996. He became a craftsman after going through the stages of a trainee, a graduate, and a craftsmanship educator. In Korea, there are only three craftsmen and two craftsmanship educators.
The walls of the workshop were filled with planers. These are the planers that were passed down to him after the passing of his master, Kang So-mok-jang in 1998. “A true carpenter should be able to use the planer as if it were his own hand. No matter how advanced the machine is, there are areas of the planer that cannot be accomplished. On days when I work on wood, I would like to relax my body by using planers as a form of meditation.”
Since 2010, he has trained over 1,000 students through the National Heritage Promotion Agency’s Lifelong Education Center’s ‘Korean Traditional Craft Architecture School’ woodworking course. He has also started training graduates since 2021. Having held six exhibitions with his students so far, he will be holding his first solo exhibition at the Seoul Arts Center from the 28th to October 6th. It is the first Cho Hwa-shin woodworking exhibition, ‘Woodworking Shop, Resembling Trees’, which will showcase over 30 pieces he has created while walking the path of a craftsman.
“If you sweep, cut, and rub hundreds of times with your palm, you will eventually breathe together with the wood and become one with it. If you don’t go crazy like that, it’s not easy to handle wood.” Why is he holding a solo exhibition only now? “I waited for the time when the wood that I had prepared for a long time would be the most stable when it becomes furniture.”
●Our wooden furniture combines practicality and aesthetics
The bookcases he makes are made of several types of wood. Zelkova, which is heavy, strong, and has a beautiful grain, and is considered the best type of wood; paulownia, which is light and does not warp easily; zelkova, which does not warp or twist and is used as a frame for furniture; persimmon, which is partially blackened to give it a mysterious charm; pine, which is strong and resilient…
“The reason our ancestors used bookcases was probably because they wanted to handle their precious books with care. I couldn’t stop making bookcases because I was captivated by the colorful charm of the natural colors of the wood.”
You can’t just put all sorts of junk in this kind of furniture. Your attitude toward life will become neat, so that you only put in the things you really need. Depending on the type of feldspar you use, wooden furniture can be either fancy or simple. Storing valuables in a pretty box with metal feldspar attached, and reading books in a bookcase that feels as if you don’t have any makeup on. Isn’t that the happiness that makes up a ‘perfect day’?
He says, “Some trees are pretty and sturdy at first, while others become more beautiful over time. It’s the same with people. When they are colored with the aging of time, they gain dignity. The craftsman’s job is to predict and wait for how the tree will change.”
Our country has four seasons, so the tree rings are distinct and the material is hard, but it is said to be smooth. “After coming to me over many years, the tree is exposed to snow and rain, and its strong nature is killed and it matures into good wood. Furniture made from such wood is simple yet elegant. It is said that looking at the wood and touching it with your hands helps with healing. Our wooden furniture will gently soothe your heart that has been hurt at least once.”
●Thinking about the role of the 21st century craftsman
This exhibition also features a three-story chest of drawers made by reproducing items from the collection of the Korea University Museum in Seoul. “We are trying to imitate the ‘things that are ours’ that previous generations have made well. These days, we don’t have much time to make things. It’s a shame that everyone lives in a ‘hurry-hurry’ manner without thinking about big things like patriotism or building a family.”
It is said that the late Kang Dae-gyu gave him this teaching: “Don’t be afraid of trial and error, and make a lot. Even if you quit tomorrow, do your best today. Nothing is more important than practice to make it your own.” Just as he learned from his master, he emphasizes the basics to his disciples. “Sharpen the blade of the plane so much that you can cut it just by breathing, and practice a lot. The plane, chisel, and saw are the most important virtues a carpenter must have.”
The disciples say this about ‘Master Cho Hwa-shin’. “He constantly ponders what the role of a craftsman who carries on our traditional culture is, and how the meaning and value of traditional furniture should change in the modern era. He tells us to deeply understand wood in order to create good pieces that will be passed down. The two words, essence and depth, serve as a compass for the disciples’ work. He awakens them to the value of the existence of a 21st century craftsman.”
In the age of smart and artificial intelligence (AI), can our traditional culture made by human hands continue to survive? The future is unknown, but I think that the culture of enjoying our wooden furniture, which has been made with care for a long time, will determine the quality of life.
2024-09-17 09:52:31