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| Calligrapher Kang Byung-in, left in the front row, CICI President Choi Jung-wha, center, and New Zealand Ambassador to Korea Clare Fearnley, fourth from left in the front row, pose during the Korea CQ Forum at the residence of the ambassador in Yongsan, Seoul, last Tuesday. / Courtesy of CICI |
By Kim Jae-heun
Kang Byung-in, an esteemed Korean calligrapher and head of "Sooltong," a Korean calligraphy institute, held a lecture and demonstration promoting his original calligraphy art, with diplomats in Seoul, last Tuesday.
Kang is well known for his calligraphy design "Chamisul" for soju, Korean distilled liquor, as well as titles for TV series, such as "The Great King Sejong," "Jeong Do Jeon" and "Misaeng."
During the lecture, Kang spoke about how he learned to develop the traditional calligraphy art into a modern style by visualizing the words' vocalization.
"Korean letters take their shape from the human vocal apparatus and my calligraphy takes its idea from visualizing the sounds of words into images," said Kang at the Corea Quotient (CQ) forum held at the residence of New Zealand Ambassador Clare Fearnley in Yongsan, Seoul. "It is quite different from traditional calligraphy, particularly in how I play with the shapes of vowels and consonants of a word."
Kang added that the traditional brushes he uses help him craft his calligraphy to express energy and style in various ways.
"In Asia, we use brushes to write, and the different thickness of each tool gives unique feelings through brushstrokes," said Kang.
After his demonstration session, Kang invited the ambassadors to practice Korean calligraphy. New Zealand Ambassador Fearnley, Turkish Ambassador Arslan Hakan Okcal, Brazilian Ambassador Luis Fernando Serra and Latvian Ambassador Peteris Vaivars participated in the event.
Korea CQ, organized by Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), is designed to share cultural experiences and promote Korea's brand abroad. It invites culture experts from different sectors to share their expertise. Some of the events include taking diplomats on visits to cultural sites to learn about Korean culture.
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