2025/01/29 by Lee, Oh-Kyu
paper · doi:10.34920/2181-8207/2024/4-146
Hanji is Korean traditional paper. It was called «Gyerimji» and «Goryeoji» during the period of Silla and Goryeo kingdom, respectively, which are two of the former Korean nations. Many records have been passed down regarding the superior quality of Hanji in Chinese documents. Based on the development of Hanji, Korea’s publishing culture flourished, allowing the country to produce both the world’s oldest woodblock print and the oldest metal type print. Of the 18 Memory of the World Korea possesses, 11 are books or documents made from Hanji, and two are woodblocks used for printing books. Recently, Hanji was used in Italy to restore Leonardo da Vinci’s writings. Additionally, Hanji has been used as a material to make various everyday items. Korea was able to develop paper manufacturing and a publishing culture from ancient times due to the national management of the cultivation of Daknamu (Broussonetia kazinoki) trees, the raw material for Hanji, ensuring a continuous supply. After Joseon dynasty, which is one of the former Korean nations, the government established an institution to oversee the production of Hanji, making its supply and demand more systematic. The process of making Hanji involves several steps, including harvesting Daknamu shoots, steaming for peeling, scrapping the outer bark to leave white bark (Baekpi), boiling Baekpi, refining Baekpi, and sheet-forming. There are two types of sheet-forming: one using a tool equipped with a deckle and the other using a tool without a deckle. The latter is called Heulimtteugi which is unique to Korea. Hanji made using Heulimtteugi technique is highly durable and dimensionally stable.