“I was enchanted by the beauty of seogak the moment I saw it. It’s been the very tool to express my happiness and memory and the tool to make people around me smile. I still feel my heart beating whenever I engage carving the wood and I will do it as long as it lasts.”–From artist’s note –

The unique charm of seogak is to carve letters and images onto a wood. The genre has been practiced for thousands of yearsand recently developed into adding three-dimensional effect. Seogak artist Choi Ji-on is a recognized seogak artist in the mixed angle modern seogak category and listed her name in the Korean Culture and Art Masters in 2013. She won the grand prize at the Grand Calligraphy-Carving Exhibition of Korea and the semi-grand prize at the International Seogak Contest for presenting delicate colors and images in harmony.

Choi was born in a mountainous district and grew up under the influence of her calligraphy enthusiast father. It was 2000 that she first proved her talent in calligraphy by winning a prize. She then faced a limitation of the genre and turned her eye to seogak which she has carried on for the last 20 years: and her teacher Park Min-su was a great influence. “Park always encouraged me and it helped me a lot to build self-confidence. And it always has been my driving force.” This of her confidence, alongside the unique use of the color, was well presented in her work <Mujinjang> displayed at the Ginza Gallery, Tokyo; the work also brought her the semi-grand prize at the International Seogak Contest.

Her works in general are enhanced with design, carving style and color. She especially uses the paint used for Korean painting in order to deliver a sense of delicate and quite feel. One of the most notable examples is her work <Life Is A Joyful Journey> with which she won the grand prize at a competition.

In fact, she has been lucky when it comes to winning prizes for she has earned based on her unique skill and style: the National Assembly chairman’s prize at the Grand Calligraphy-Carving Exhibition of Korea, invitational prize at the An Jung Geun Calligraphy Grand Exhibition, and(yet to receive) the 2018 Korea Culture Management Awards this December. But the number of winnings has been well backed up by the number of exhibitions she held or joined nationwide including Seoul, Ansan, Incheon and Jeju. She also engaged in teaching seogak to elementary students.

“I wish people could feel happy whenever they see my works. This is because I pour ‘love’ in every single work I make. The love can be for everybody: parents, friends, lovers and more.”

When asked about future plan, she said “I’m exploring several ideas such as securing exhibition place for seogak artists, expanding the scope of seogak to interior props and finding a way to more effectively foster talented young seogak artists.”