KOREA FOUNDATION

Classical calligraphy is an art of the Eastern world that has survived three thousand years. It is an activity expressing one’s thoughts and ideas through artistic letters. Originating from China, it settled in Korea and Japan as an art form to present and hand-write the characters and letters of their native languages on paper. It has also been recognized as a spiritual discipline by cultured people of the three countries.
  People used pens to write in the Western world, but those of the East used brushes. They soaked their bristles in the black ink made of meok and wrote words by wielding the brushes on paper. All learned men kept in their studies paper, brushes, meok sticks, and byeoru, the inkstone on which meok was rubbed with the addition of water to produce the ink. The four objects were called munbangsabo, meaning “four treasures in the study,” or munbangsau, for “four friends in the study.” Various forms of lettering could be created according to the design and thickness of the brushes, the kind of paper, the colors of meok sticks, and the difference in the calligraphers’ styles and tools. Koreans call these written letters seoyes, and seoye with painting is called seohwa.
  Seoye was not easily popularized, as calligraphers preferred Chinese characters to the Korean alphabet, Hangeul, and most people found the tools unfamiliar and hard to manage. Calligraphy was deemed a great genre of art but difficult to practice. However, there has always been a yearning to exhibit one’s feelings and thoughts through one’s own style of writing and to follow seoye as a way of self-discipline. Such a yearning has bloomed among contemporary Koreans, owing to the easier lettering styles of modern calligraphy.
The word calligraphy means “hand-lettering,” but it goes beyond the function of using words for communication. It focuses on the beauty of letters stemming from the pliable and kinetic lines, the natural spreading of the ink, the effect of brushing, and the aesthetic of symmetry. Unlike classical calligraphy that used brushes and traditional ink, the modern version is easy to learn, as it allows such handy devices as fountain pens, oil-based markers, ballpoint pens, dip pens, and felt-tip pens. The current style of calligraphy also has merit in that it better displays the individuality of the writer thanks to the greater freedom regarding tools and styles.
  Calligraphy has grown popular among people who wanted to find peace in the hustle and bustle of daily lives. They feel healed as they indulge in writing touching phrases, and this healing effect appeals to many men and women of today. Roughly more than 200 books have been published on this modern calligraphy that has become a means of “healing through culture,” easily accessible through various groups, classes, and online lectures.