☆Najeonchil-gi is a craft made from conch, abalone, shellfish, etc. on a lacquer surface, and is a representative artifact of Korean people with a well-coordinated lacquer, which boasts a colorful natural color and a subtle gloss. (Najeon=mother-of-pearl, chilgi=lacquerware)

Gwangju is known as "a three-black town" due to its high production of lacquer, ink and charcoal, and lacquerware and tools have been found in the historic site No. 375 of Sinchang-dong, proving the long history of lacquer crafts.

Kim Ki-bok is a master of the art of making najeon(lacquer making) and aesthetic value. Born in Tongyeong, he has continued to play najeon for more than 50 years since the 16th century. He entered the Najeonchilgi Technical School in Tongyeong and received the skills and moved to Gwangju at the age of 19. In particular, he is good at 'dry' technique, which is a technique for drying lacquer.

The term Chiljang refers to the craftsman who creates lacquerware by applying lacquer -- or the refined sap of lacquer trees (Rhus verniciflua) -- to various objects. The first trace of lacquer use dates back to the third century BCE, but the earliest relics of lacquerware date back to the first century BCE.

Lacquerware began to develop into an art form during the Nangnang (Lelang) Period and progressed further in the Silla Kingdom. In the Goryeo Dynasty, lacquered works were decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay, creating a new art form called najeon chilgi. In the Joseon Dynasty, lacquerware became more common, and many works were produced. The state compiled data on the distribution of lacquer trees nationwide and collected the sap from these trees. Lacquer craftsmen working in the capital and in the provinces were affiliated with their local government offices.

The raw lacquer from the trees had to be refined before it could be used, and lacquer craftsmen would do the refining themselves. The refining process removes impurities and creates a fine particle liquid. Creating lacquer works is a long, laborious process. The item to be lacquered, called soji, had to be made of materials that are easy to work with and to paint, including wood, bamboo, cloth, paper, clay, and metal.

First the object is smoothed down, and then the lacquer is built up in many coats, requiring lacquering, smoothing, and drying over and over again. Basically, the process is divided into three steps: chochil (first lacquering), jungchil (middle lacquering), and sangchil (final lacquering). After the final coat, the object is vigorously polished.☆

☆ Chiljang refers to a person who has the skill and function of making lacquerware, and lacquer refers to a container in which wood extract is painted on wood.

The types of lacquer include raw, refined-raw, and refined paint. Saengchil(raw) uses the same state as it was taken from lacquer in a traditional way. Refined-raw paint is used to apply foreign substances in the raw paint to the medicinal stuff or containers. Refined paint refers to paint made in various colors for application to crafts and industrial products.

The ingredients of lacquer are rubber-like, effective in waterproofing, and not rotting, so in the past, almost lacquer was used in funeral coffins. As lacquer ages, it becomes harder and has the effect of preventing moisture and insects. There are many reasons why the Tripitaka Koreana could be preserved for a long time in the past, but lacquer played a major role.

Chil(lacquering) is a traditional craftsmanship that has many effects and subtle beauty, and Shin Jung-hyun has been recognized as the holder of the function. In addition to lacquerware, no.1 of Seoul Intangible Cultural Heritage is designated as one of four more categories: lacquer, yellow lacquer, colorful lacquer and blue lacquer. The holders are Son Dae-hyun (copper lacquer), Hong Dong-hwa (hwang Chil), Kim Sang-yang (coloured paint), and Jeong Byeong-ho (choung Byeong-ho).

※※ For detailed information on the above cultural assets, please refer to the Seoul Metropolitan Government Department of Historical and Cultural Heritage (02-2133-2616).

☆Since prehistoric times, lacquer has been widely used in Korea, China, and Japan as natural paint. The lacquer is characterized by its long-lasting use and harmless to the human body by compensating for cracks and burst defects when applied to wood tools and preventing water ingress.

The process of making lacquer crafts can be divided into the process of painting and the process of attaching and finishing the lacquerware, which refers to craftsmen who mainly work on lacquer to produce clean surfaces.

A beautiful and solid painting not only makes it a great artifact by itself, but also enables the use of decorative techniques such as najeon and painting.

From 1979 to 1987, Kim Sang-soo was awarded the certificate for cultural property repair in 1999 after being taught by the late Kim Tae-hee, the 10th Important Intangible Cultural Property, and won the grand prize at the Korea Chil Crafts Competition in 2001.

SaengChiljang is a craftsman who paints woodware with raw lacquer. Painting wood with high quality raw paint makes it black at first, but as time goes by, the original pattern slowly appears, and not only does the gloss come alive but also changes beautifully as time goes by, so raw lacquer has long been widely used. However, as the lacquer industry has declined in recent years, the number of lacquer techniques has decreased significantly.

Lee Don-ho, the holder of the painting, is a craftsman who has been painting raw lacquer since 1977, and has been taught traditional techniques and functions by Korean lacquer masters such as Shin Jung-hyun (Seoul Intangible Cultural Property No. 1 raw lacquer paste) and Lee Seong-gu.

Kim Seong-ho, the owner of the lacquer, is a master craftsman who has been learning lacquer skills from Najeonjang Kim Bong-ryong in 1972 and Lee Sung-woon since 1980, and has been skilled in dry lacquer techniques, which is based on mosina hemp cloth.

Black-bean paste refers to a craftsman who refines sap collected from poison ivy according to its purpose and paints it on an object. Moon Jae-pil, the holder of the book, was a successor to Jeon Seong-gyu—Simbu-gil—Jeong Su-hwa, and was a student of Jeong Su-hwa (National Intangible Cultural Property No. 113 'Chiljang') since 1992 when he was taught traditional skills for lacquer tablets.

The history of lacquer has been very long, and the techniques of lacquer and lacquerware have developed independently in Korea since the Three Kingdoms Period. The lacquer can be called antibacterial, preservative, waterproof, deodorant, anti-inflammatory and adhesive using natural materials, and the beauty and practical value of traditional lacquer crafts are widely known for their excellence.

The raw lacquer collected from lacquer goes through a refining process that removes moisture and evenly mixes Chilsan, chlorine, and rubber to obtain transparency and gloss. Refined paint such as glossy and matte black paint, glossy and clear transparent paint can be obtained according to the refining process.

The holder mainly uses glossy and matte black and transparent paint in his works, and faithfully inherits traditional techniques, including the well-equipped traditional materials and tools needed for lacquer purification. With his active work, he has won a number of awards, including the Korean Traditional Craft Industry Promotion Association President Award (2001) and the National Craft Competition.

The holder was designated as an intangible cultural asset of Chungcheongnam-do in recognition of the value of preservation of traditional lacquer crafts, as well as the clear transmission of the genealogy and the conditions of transmission to the next generation.

Dancheong refers to the beautiful and magnificent decoration of wooden structures, woodworking, and sculptures by drawing various patterns and paintings in five colors: blue, red, yellow, white, and black. Dancheong also has a function to prevent corrosion of buildings and objects, cover up the crude nature of materials, and to distinguish them from general practice when performing religious rituals.

Dancheong was popular in China, Korea, and Japan, where Buddhism and Confucianism were prevalent, but Korea is the only place where the tradition continues. The origin of Dancheong in Korea can be found in the ancient tomb murals of Goguryeo and was further developed with the acceptance of Buddhism.

Since ancient times, the government office has been carrying out dancheong such as Hwasa, Hwagong, GaChiljang, and Dochaejang, including palaces, guesthouse, shrine, and nujeong. The temple also had its own group of painters called Geumo and Hwaseung, which also produced Buddhist statues, Buddhist paintings, and sculptures.

The types of dancheong are divided into Gachil dancheong, Gigi dancheong, Morodancheong, Eolgeum dancheong, and Geum dancheong, and are subdivided into Moro-gigi dancheong and Geummoro dancheong.

Kwon Hyeon-gyu, the head of Dancheong, was introduced to Buddhist monk Hwaseung in 1968 at a young age and has devoted himself to Dancheong for more than 30 years, leaving many outstanding works that are stable and magnificent, including dancheong and tanghwa.

Saengchil refers to lacquer that produces a gloss by applying sap obtained from lacquer to objects such as wooden bowls. Refine the lacquer or add something else and use it as it is without processing. The lacquer is obtained by taking the sap that flows through the lacquer bark every three days from early spring to autumn. The lacquer collected like this hardens when it comes into contact with the air, so seal it tightly and filter it with ramie or silk cloth.

Remove impurities.

Finish the painting by repeatedly applying lacquer, which has been removed from impurities, over a total of three times, and drying it. The most important thing is that dust should not stick in the process of painting lacquer. If dust is on the work, it should be dried and sanded off and painted again. After this process of painting and drying, rub it with cotton to polish it. One work is completed only after all this process. Some work takes from three months to a year.

Song Bok-nam, who was born in Seoul, began his career in lacquer at the age of 13 at the recommendation of a friend and lived as a raw lacquer plant for more than 70 years. He participated in the opening of the Chilbulsa Buddha statue in Gyeongsangnam-do in 1989 and the lacquer work of Haeinsa Buddhist altar in Hapcheon in 1994 and participated in the lacquer painting for cultural assets, including the opening of Buddhist statues and Buddhist altar in Hapcheon. He also won the 4th lacquer crafts contest (1994) and the 21st Dong-A Daejeon (1993).