Park Se-hye's work 'Jeonju Jang' wins the grand prize at the National Hanji Craft Competition.

Park Se-hye's 'Jeonju Jang' was honored with the grand prize at the National Hanji Craft Competition.

On the 19th, the city of Jeonju and the Jeonju Cultural Foundation (CEO Choi Rak-gi), along with the organizing committee of the 31st National Hanji Craft Competition, held a judging committee (chaired by Shin Tak-geun) to select winners in each category through transparent and fair judging.

This year, a total of 103 entries were submitted, including 32 traditional pieces, 51 modern pieces, and 20 cultural goods and other items.

The judging results are as follows: △Grand Prize: Park Se-hye's 'Jeonju Jang' in the traditional category △Excellent Prize: Park Kyung-hee's 'My Collection' in the modern category △Merit Prizes: Park In-sook in the traditional category, Son Yeon-hwa in the modern category, Lee Soo-bin in the cultural goods and other category, △Encouragement Prizes: Kim Sung-ran, Kwon Hyo-sun, Heo Bu-yong, Bae Na-hyun, and Jung Ji-gyo each received the honor of winning. △The Best Prize in the cultural goods and other category was awarded to Son Mi-ae's 'Mini Gyeongdae.'

The grand prize-winning 'Jeonju Jang' meticulously crafted peony and butterfly patterns on a skeleton structure based on historical authentication, proportioned the furniture in the main room, and used delicate colors. The harmony of various colored hanji patchwork, lacquering, and white bronze finishing received high praise for its completeness and depth.

Shin Tak-geun, the head of the judging committee, commented, "The traditional category stood out for its refined beauty based on historical artifacts and the dignity of colored hanji, while the modern category showed active creative attempts based on traditional techniques." He also summarized, "The cultural goods and other category featured functional works that preserved the strength and softness of hanji."

The awards ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. on the 2nd of next month at the special stage of the Korea Traditional Culture Center during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Jeonju International Hanji Industry Exhibition (Jeonju Hanji Culture Festival). The grand prize winner will receive 12 million won, the excellent prize winner 5 million won, and the merit prize winner 2 million won.

The award-winning works will be exhibited from the 2nd to the 28th of next month at the Korea Traditional Culture Center, 3rd floor Planning Exhibition Hall of the Jeonju Cultural Foundation.

Choi Rak-gi, CEO of the Jeonju Cultural Foundation, said, "This year, many innovative works that balance tradition and modernity were submitted," and expressed hope that "the infinite artistic value of hanji and the artists' new attempts will be appreciated in one place."