Sharing the beauty of Korean calligraphy

Korean calligraphy that is the art of writing hangeul is now a national treasure and my colleague Ahn Sung-jin shares its appeal in this following report.

Do take a look.

A delicate brush stroke lands on the paper.

These single strokes come together to create characters from the Korean alphabet Hangeul.

This is known as Hangeul seoye, or Hangeul calligraphy.

94-year-old Jung Joo-hwan has dedicated more than 60 years of his life to practicing calligraphy, and is one of the first to practice the artform.

"Hangeul was easy to learn and memorize. It's also very scientifically made. Look at the beauty of these characters."

Calligraphy in Korea has used both Hanja, which are Chinese characters, and the Korean alphabet Hangeul.

But last month, Hangeul seoye was designated as a national intangible cultural heritage recognizing its unique writing style using Korea's own alphabet as well as its unique font and brushwork.

Jung runs his own academy where he passes on his knowledge of calligraphy.

"I like letters, but I also started learning calligraphy to control my mind more peacefully and cultivate a sense of virtue, which I think has been helping."

"An old saying says that calligraphy helps grow patience and trains the mind. Not only does this calligraphy demonstrate the beauty of the written characters but it also can develop one's own character."

And calligrapher Lee Jung-hwa feels Hangeul is a better medium to convey meaningful messages.

"The reason why I like Hangeul seoye is because I can convey emotions through characters that really represent our sound since it is the Korean alphabet. That's why moving forward I want to try everything I can using Hangeul seoye and find what I really can accomplish."

The Korea Heritage Service said it will provide support for scholarly studies and initiatives aimed at promoting the transmission of cultural heritage.

Seoye is an age-old tradition, and with efforts like these to promote it further, this calligraphy could play a key role in sharing not only the Korean writing system, but also its culture.

Ahn Sung-jin, Arirang News.