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Encountering a Tree Steeped in Time
Yang Seog-joong
Yang Seog-joong, a practitioner of wood furniture making, or somokjang (National Intangible Cultural Heritage)

 

Even after human beings are long gone, trees remain in their place and grow with the passage of time. Our ancestors used these trees steeped in time to build houses, make fires and cook food, eventually returning to the earth in wooden coffins with trees planted at their graveside. As such, it is not an exaggeration to claim that trees are truly deep-rooted in the lives of the Korean people, from the crib to the grave. The artisans who imbue human meaning to these trees are referred to as daemokjang, tasked with building architectural structures such as palaces, Buddhist temples and houses, and somokjang, tasked with crafting indoor furniture such as closets, wardrobes, stationery chests and tables. A trained somokjang is able to properly understand the properties of wood and use it for essential purposes without creating waste. It is the duty of a somokjang to converse with silent lumber and bring the silent lumber to life.

 

A second life spent with trees

Ganghwado is the fourth-largest island in Korea. Also known as the “island of national defense” after the historical events that it has endured, Ganghwado is home to artisan Yang Seog-joong, who began his second life here alongside trees at the age of 37. Yang graduated with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the prestigious Seoul National University and worked at a major corporation until, one day, he began to seek a line of work without much human contact and found inspiration from trees, which led him to become a carpenter.

 

“After I left the company, I wanted to find meaningful work that would allow me to use my hands. I first became interested in becoming a somokjang when I went to help an older friend’s business and ended up making a wooden door for their office.”

Piles of lumber are stored in the front yard of the artisan’s workshop to dry naturally.
Piles of lumber are stored in the front yard of the artisan’s workshop to dry naturally.

Yang then began working at a company specializing in building hanok (traditional Korean houses), where he crafted seokkarae (wooden rafters that support the roof in hanok) for a daily wage of 40,000 won. Wishing to delve deeper into the art of traditional woodcraft techniques, he completed a wood furniture making course at the Korea Traditional Craft and Architecture School in 2003 and eventually became an apprentice under master somokjang Park Myung-bae, whom he met at the school.

 

“My teacher was a great source of strength in my life after I chose to become a carpenter. I could never fully express my gratitude and the value of his teachings.”

 

With the guidance of his teacher, who became a light in Yang’s late beginnings as a carpenter, Yang learned and mastered the craft until he became a qualified practitioner of somokjang, National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 55, in June 2013.

 

Taking responsibility for the second life of a tree

Human beings have only one life to live, but trees lead two lives. Trees lay down roots in one place, grow branches and leaves, then once their lives are spent, their second lives begin at the hands of a human being. And it is the hands of craftsman Yang Seog-joong that determine the second lives of these trees. Above all, woodcraft is an art that is centered around the technique of a skilled craftsman and completed through deep self-reflection. In this regard, the completion of woodcraft designs can be said to depend on the hands and experience of a veteran artisan. Having begun at a later age than others, Yang made diligent efforts to create refined craftworks using sophisticated crafting techniques and making the most of the natural grain of the wood, eventually earning the honor of being awarded prizes at numerous art contests in Korea and abroad, starting with the Presidential Award at the 2013 Korea Annual Traditional Handicraft Art Exhibition. Notable items among his works include a wine rack that is a reinterpretation of the traditional four-shelf cabinet beloved by Joseon-era nobility, and items of furniture designed to be suited to the standing lifestyle that aptly combine Eastern and Western sensibilities. As a result, Yang’s works are praised for “aptly demonstrating the beauty and value of traditional crafts by incorporating traditional yet sleek lines.”

  • The hands of artisan Yang Seog-joong as he cuts wood.
    The hands of artisan Yang Seog-joong as he cuts wood.

  • Artisan Yang Seog-joong builds furniture using dovetail joints created by carving gaps into the lumber, instead of using nails.
     Artisan Yang Seog-joong builds furniture using dovetail joints created by carving gaps into the lumber, instead of using nails.

  • The craftsmen of Yangseokjung make the furniture by fitting without nailing.Ordinary carpenters use a standard lumber (a ruler made by taking the measurement of an existing piece of furniture) to build furniture, whereas artisan Yang Seog-joong draws a 1:1 scale blueprint for each item of furniture, then make countless adjustments to drive the most beautiful proportions without any errors. This meticulous blueprint work is the secret behind the appealing proportions of his works.

“I draw many of the inspirations for my works from my wife.”

 

Yang’s wife, Lee Yun-jeong, was a firm pillar who quietly supported and encouraged her husband’s second life as a craftsman.

 

“We had recently had our third child when my husband told me that he wanted to quit his job and become a carpenter. I thought that I might lose my husband if I told him to keep working at his company for the sake of our livelihood. Nonetheless, I had faith that my husband would never let our family starve at the very least. I think it was this faith that allowed me to support him until now.”

 

It seems that the warm support and faith of his wife allowed Yang’s works to shine all the more brightly.

 

The wisdom of the right talent in the right place

Yang travels around the country in search of good wood. In order to be useful for furniture-making, trees must be felled between Hangawi (Korean Thanksgiving Day) in the middle of the eighth month on the lunar calendar and a month before the start of spring. This is because all trees begin to absorb moisture from the roots and distribute it towards the stem and branches from a month before the beginning of spring. Although the spread of moisture through the tree is a positive phenomenon that should be praised as it allows leaves to sprout and flowers to bloom, it also renders the wood unsuitable for lumber.

 

“Trees cut down in the spring or summer aren’t suitable for lumber, since they are difficult to dry and susceptible to moths.”

 

As moisture begins to descend down to the roots again after Hangawi, late autumn and winter are more suitable season to fell trees. This is because the wood will be less warped. However, one exception is dead trees high up in the mountains, which provide quality lumber regardless of the season since they died by drying out naturally. The coming of typhoons Lingling and Tapah in 2019 caused alarm across the nation and blew over a number of old-growth giant trees, which were vulnerable to the wind. Though they appeared healthy on the outside, these trees were rotten on the inside and succumbed to the gale winds like brittle bones. The 500-year-old zelkova tree that had been an iconic part of Ganghwado’s Yeonmijeong Pavilion (Incheon Metropolitan City Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 24) also fell helplessly, saddening many who had long admired its beauty. It was a small relief that the tree fell without damaging Yeonmijeong Pavilion, regarding which many local residents praised the old zelkova for its selfless sacrifice.

 

“I offered to volunteer my talent to build a Ganghwa chest in commemoration of the fallen zelkova tree’s commendable sacrifice. At first, the Ganghwa County Office and the landowner weren’t aware of wood waste treatment guidelines, which made me a little nervous at first.”

 

Realizing the human link to the death of the dignified zelkova tree, Yang came into the spotlight by using his meticulous craftsmanship to reclaim the 500-year-old zelkova tree in recreating the Ganghwa chest, which was used by the royal household in the Joseon Dynasty.

 

Black Persimmon Three-tier Chest(made by Yang Seog-joong)
Black Persimmon Three-tier Chest(made by Yang Seog-joong)
A wine rack made by reinterpreting a traditional four-shelf cabinet (submitted to the 2015 Saint Etienne Design Biennale in France)
 A wine rack made by reinterpreting a traditional four-shelf cabinet (submitted to the 2015 Saint Etienne Design Biennale in France)
A piece based on traditional bedside chests that embodies the graceful yet lavish aesthetic of hanbok by using a pattern inspired by jogakbo (patchwork wrapping cloth) in its doors
A piece based on traditional bedside chests that embodies the graceful yet lavish aesthetic of hanbok by using a pattern inspired by jogakbo (patchwork wrapping cloth) in its doors
Three-tier Chest (winner of the Presidential Award at the 2013 Korea Annual Traditional Handicraft Art Exhibition)
Three-tier Chest (winner of the Presidential Award at the 2013 Korea Annual Traditional Handicraft Art Exhibition)
 
 
자동재생
 

 

Living at a leisurely pace with the aesthetic of slowness

Before he encountered trees, Yang was growing tired of the endless repetition of everyday life like any other office worker. It was because of this that he vowed to live slowly for his second life alongside trees, unlike in his previous life. This is reflected in the name of his studio, Wow Wood Workshop, with “wow” being pronounced the same way as “wa-u,” the Sino-Korean word for “snail.”

 

“I chose that name for my workshop because I wanted us to work slowly and diligently like a snail that slowly but surely arrives at its destination.”

 

His words shed new light on snails, which are often seen as small, slow and insignificant creatures with no extraordinary features, and instead turn them into beings that offer solace to other ordinary creatures of our times, who carry myriad concerns and worries in their lives. Most of us have questioned the pace of life in a society that moves and advances rapidly amidst endless competition and the pressure to achieve and attain something. The life philosophy that Yang chose along with trees reminds us that the pace at which we live our lives isn’t important, as long as we have a direction and goal in mind. This is not an era in which the intelligence needed for adept and experienced decision-making stands opposite to agile and flexible dynamic intelligence. Instead, the two types of intelligence are starting to converge. Somokjang Yang Seog-joong is a key figure among the free and beautiful master artisans of Korea, who measure their lives by the pursuit of growth over success, capability over status, depth over width, and independence over isolation.

Contributed by Seo Joo-hee, a Culture Caster of KBS
Source :
월간민화(www.artminhwa.com)  

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