Paper making .... a short film ........

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I'm constantly updating and adding articles and today I've added a short film on traditional, Hanji paper making in South Korea which was taken last November during one of my trips to the Andong Paper Factory to buy more supplies.

It shows the making of the paper from the combining of the bark of the Paper Mulberry Tree (Dak in Korean) and the mucilage of the Hibiscus, to the drying of the sheets and putting it on the shelves ready for market.

Placing wet sheets of paper in a stack

My visit was on a weekend and I was amazed at the number of Japanese who were there buying the Korean paper which I am told is stronger and more versatile than the their papers due to the method of cross matching the fibres. The shop was packed with locals as well as the Japanese businessmen wanting to buy paper from the factory as it's relatively cheap and they have a huge array of colours.

Removing impurities from the bleached bark


A highly skilled job. Picking up the wet paper and putting it onto a hot metal plate.

You might also like to checkout the work of Aimee Lee who has done a year's research on paper making in Korea as a Fulbright Fellow, part of which was under the master paper maker, Jang Ji Bang in Gapyeong, northeast of Seoul. It's a smaller family run paper factory and they have a shop in Insadong where you can buy their specialty papers.

Comments

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Hanji Happenings

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