Wolgan Gongye no.1 March 1988, Image provided by Designhouse inc
Wolgan Gongye
* Source: Multilingual Glossary of Korean Art. Korea Arts Management Service
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Korean Craftmen's Council
There are two organizations that were formed in the 1960s and 1970s under the same name Korean Craftsmen’s Council (KCC). The first KCC was established on July 17, 1965 by fifteen craftsmen, including the chief secretary Park Daisoon, the assistant administrator Nam Sang-gyo, and Lee Shinja, Yi U-seong, and Chung Kyu. Based on the academic research on craft activities, it strove to enlighten people about crafts, study craft education, develop industrial planning and product management of contemporary crafts, and promote international exchanges of craftworks. Its crafts exhibition was held annually, with the first one held at the Korean Information Service Gallery from July 20 through 26 in 1965. The first KCC led the “Good Design” movement. According to the newspaper article in Dong-A Ilbo on March 12, 1966, it was admitted to the World Crafts Council (WCC) as a full member in 1966, the year after its founding. The second KCC was founded on July 10, 1973 by craftsmen in their thirties, such as Kang Chankyun, Kwak Daeung, Kim Tuk-kyum, Kim Jihee, Park Hyungchul, Yim Mugeun, Cho Chunghyun, Choi Seungchun, and Choi Hyunchil. It aimed to fulfill “its responsibility as designers to rationalize and beautify modern living spaces.” From September 17 through 23 in 1974, the exhibition celebrating its founding was held at the Shinsegae Gallery. Starting in 1980, it had four divisions of metal crafts, ceramics, wood-lacquering crafts, and dyeing crafts. It began to use the new name Korean Crafts Council from the late 1980s, continuing until today. The number of its divisions has also increased to five (metal crafts, ceramics, wood-lacquering crafts, textile crafts, and glass crafts).
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Korean Craft Design Institute
The Korean Craft Design Institute [Hanguk gongye dijain yeonguso] was established on July 26, 1966 to improve design, conduct research on production technology, train technicians in the craft field and promote exports of the craft industry through provision of crafts. It began with the need for a design center that professors led by Lee Soonsuk from the College of Fine Arts at Seoul National University mentioned to the government in the mid-1960s. Accordingly, the institute was founded within the precincts of Seoul National University (currently the International Design School for Advanced Studies at Hongik University in Yeongeon-dong, Jongro-gu, Seoul) with support from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The first chairman was Park Gapseong, and the director was Lee Soonsuk. Practical tasks began to be undertaken in 1968, covering the fields of wood-lacquering crafts, ceramics, goldsmithing, weaving, dyeing, industrial art, and commercial art. The Korean Craft Design Institute was the first design promotion organization in South Korea, with the exception of the Korean Handicraft Demonstration Center [Hanguk gongye sibeomso] run by Americans in the 1950s. It was part of the College of Fine Arts of the Seoul National University. However, in actuality, it received interference from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and was renamed the Korean Export Design Center in 1969. There was a discrepancy between the management team that aimed for a research-oriented institution and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that sought to make it an export promotion institution. This discrepancy led to its merging with the Korean Packaging Technology Association in 1970. As it was renamed the Korean Design Packaging Center (present-day Korea Institute of Design Promotion), it came to belong to the state.
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Korean Handicraft Demonstration Center
An organization for the development of the craft industry that formed in 1956, with the support of the International Co-operation Administration (ICA) of the United States. The ICA was one of the programs launched in 1955 to support developing countries, and it aimed to improve and foster the craft industry of Korea. Smith, Scherr & McDermott Industrial Design, an American firm in Akron, Ohio, led the establishment of the center on the fourth floor of the Central Industry building in Taepyeong-ro. The primary activities of the center included the survey of handicrafts and light industry in Gyeongnam, Jeonbuk, and Jeonnam; the improvement of design in crafts such as woodworking, ceramics, and metalworking; the establishment of crafts departments in universities and industrial design courses; and on-site training. The center was transferred to the Seoul National University College of Fine Arts in 1960, and it closed in May 31, 1960, when the contract with the Korean government expired. The center was instrumental in implementing American design education and the concepts of industrial design in Korea.
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