A Jeju Plant Becomes a 5.6-Meter Modern Artwork: “Sinsara Jeju Hanji” Transformed

[Financial News, Jeju—Reporter Jung Yong-bok] A plant that has long been cultivated in Jeju Province has been reborn as a 5.6-meter modern artwork after being turned into Hanji. The project is drawing attention as an experiment in cultural content that connects local plant resources not only to raw-material production but also to paper, art, exhibitions and products.
According to JNU on the 22nd, Go Ara, CEO of Jeju Sinsara and a student in the Department of Storytelling at the Graduate School of Social Education, unveiled “Sinsara Spirit,” the first work in the “SINSARA ORIGINAL” series, created in collaboration with modern artist Albert Kiwi.
The work will be on display through Dec. 9 at the Cine Lounge The Cove–Culture Zone on the G floor of the Marriott building at Jeju Shinhwa World.
“Sinsara Spirit” is a large-scale work that combines “Sinsara Jeju Hanji,” made from Sinsara plants cultivated in Jeju Province, with the formal language of a modern artist. It measures approximately 5.6 meters wide and 1.11 meters high.
The key to the project is that paper was not used merely as a substrate for the artwork. The process itself—where a plant grown in Jeju Province becomes Hanji and is then combined with the artist’s expression to form a single work—serves as the artwork’s narrative.
Unlike approaches that consume local agricultural and biological resources primarily as food or raw materials, the project seeks to create cultural added value by bringing together the plant’s cultivation history, the physical qualities of paper and the artist’s creativity.
Go explained, “We designed the large-scale work so that it would breathe with the entire space and directly convey to visitors the material qualities of Sinsara Hanji and the story behind the work.”
Efforts to expand content using Sinsara Hanji are also continuing. Go previously introduced a three-part coloring-art product series using Sinsara Hanji in the first-floor lobby of the JNU Industry-Academia Cooperation Building. This time, she expanded Hanji into a material for modern art through a collaboration with an artist.
From the 29th of next month through November 1, a project will also be held in which about 30 Jeju Province residents create their own works using Sinsara Hanji and participate in the exhibition.
The project aims to develop local materials into cultural content in which citizens take part directly in the production process, rather than limiting them to objects for viewing.
Go said, “At first, it began with a single sheet of paper, but as we told the story of where that paper came from and what time it carried, it expanded into artworks, exhibitions and a brand.” She added, “I hope Sinsara will not be treated merely as an unusual material, but will be remembered as a cultural resource that began in Jeju Province.”
She continued, “While studying storytelling, I learned that a good story should not end with an explanation but should lead to people’s experiences. I hope visitors will directly face the 5.6-meter work and experience, in one space, Sinsara’s history, the material qualities of Hanji and the artist’s expression.”


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