Calligraphy—Korea
Calligraphy has been an art form in Korea since at least the fourth century CE. It derives from written Chinese, which was adopted for writing Korean around the second century CE. Even after the first phonetic alphabet was devised for Korean in 1446, writing Chinese characters with artistry and skill was highly valued and a requisite of the Korean nobility.
Korean calligraphy is categorized into five basic writing styles. Block style (haeso) consists of square characters such as those used in woodblock printing and modern-day newspaper and book printing. The cursive style (choso) or "grass writing" is used by those adept at writing Chinese characters as a daily practice. The style is so named because it joins the abbreviated and simplified strokes of characters into a woven image resembling a blade of grass. The semicursive style (haengso), also commonly used in everyday writing, combines characteristics of both the block and cursive styles. The two most ornate styles are chonso and yeso. Chonso contains long lines of a uniform width and most closely resembles the early form of Chinese characters. Yeso is a highly stylized form with origins dating back earlier than those of the block style. There aresubcategories within each of these styles, and accomplished calligraphers develop their own unique styles.
At a meeting of North and South Korean leaders in Pyongyang in June 2000, the leaders attend a calligraphy demonstration at the children's palace. (REUTERS NEWMEDIA INC./CORBIS)Although it is known that calligraphy was taught at royal academies and state institutions during the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE–667 CE), few examples from that period remain. Following Chinese practice, the rulers of the Koryo kingdom (918–1392) included the composition of verse and its calligraphic rendering in the recruitment examinations for state officials. Throughout this period and much of the Choson dynasty (1392–1910), calligraphy styles closely followed those of the great Chinese masters. In the nineteenth century, however, Korean calligraphers developed individual, creative styles independent of Chinese models. Most noted of these is the chusa style of Kim Chong-hui (1786–1856). Kim was a leader in Korean experimentation with seal-style characters and the simplified square-style calligraphy found on ancient steles. Through this experimentation, Kim's uniquely Korean chusa style developed.
Calligraphy using the Korean alphabet began in the late eighteenth century. Stroke formation of Korean alphabet calligraphy closely resembles that of the basic writing styles for Chinese characters. Calligraphy written in both Chinese and Korean characters is taught in elementary schools and in private calligraphy schools. The most influential Korean calligrapher of the twentieth century was Son Che-hyong (1903–1981, artistic name Sojon), who was a master of all five basic calligraphy styles. His organizational efforts led to the inclusion of the popular calligraphy division in the Republic of Korea's National Arts Exhibition.
Calligraphy—Japan
Further Reading
Adams, Edward B. (1995) Korea Guide. 8th ed. Seoul: Seoul International Publishing House.
Korean National Commission for UNESCO. (1973) A Study of Traditional Culture in Korea: Its Present Situation and Prospect in 1970s. Seoul: KNCU.
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