Christmas Decorated with Hanji... Today’s Traditional Lab Preview Exhibition ‘A Journey Through Taste’ [fn Art Snap]

A hanji flower tree lit up as Christmas carols played on the bipa filled the air. Ceramics and hanji accessories were displayed beneath white tents lined up in the exhibition space. This was the scene at “A Journey Through Taste,” first unveiled on the afternoon of the 4th at the museum on the fourth floor of The Heritage at Shinsegae Department Store’s main branch in Jung District, Seoul.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Craft & Design Foundation (KCDF), together with Shinsegae, will hold “A Journey Through Taste” here from the 5th to the 15th. The event offers a preview of Today’s Traditional Lab (K-Lifestyle Platform), a space supporting traditional culture startups that is set to open next year. A total of 69 businesses in crafts, home and living, fashion, food, and hanji will showcase 274 products at the preview exhibition.■ A Marketplace Like a Carousel... Today’s Traditional Lab Makes Its DebutThe former headquarters of SC First Bank, where the exhibition is being held, is a building constructed in 1935 and designated a Seoul Tangible Cultural Heritage site in 1989. White and pink display stands have been set up beneath the arched ceiling. Lim Tae-hee Design Studio, which designed the space, drew inspiration from carousels and festival tents to create a marketplace scene using hanji.
Businesses discovered by KCDF through its “Today’s Traditional Startup” program are exhibiting and selling ceramic tableware, clothing inspired by hanbok, traditional liquor, tea, and more at the “Today’s Traditional Market.”
The opening event the previous day began with the lighting of a hanji flower tree. Kim Ju-young of Bipa Sunset played “Air on the G String” and performed a medley of carols, including “Winter Wonderland.” After the performance, KCDF President Kim Gyeong-bae delivered a welcome address, followed by congratulatory remarks from officials from the ministry and Shinsegae. Attendees sampled refreshments prepared by startup businesses and browsed the exhibition freely.
Today’s Traditional Lab is a multipurpose cultural space that helps startup businesses develop products, gauge market response, and find sales channels in line with their stage of growth.
At the opening event, President Kim introduced the exhibition as a place connecting startup businesses, the retail industry, and consumers, calling it “a stage for testing the possibility of creating new markets and points of contact.” KCDF plans to observe visitors’ product choices and participation in activities and reflect them in its programs after the space opens.■ Hanji House Returns from Paris and Year-End Hospitality ExperiencesThe “Today’s Traditional Stage” features a photo zone combining traditional culture products with Christmas decorations. The hanji section of the market will host the Korean return exhibition of “Hanji House,” a hanji pavilion presented in September at Maison & Objet, a lifestyle fair in Paris, France.
Seven businesses, including the Hanji Materials Research Institute, are presenting handmade base paper, hanji lighting, bags, folding screens, and other items. Visitors can also see furniture designed by industrial design studio SWNA to bring out the material qualities of hanji. According to KCDF, the Paris event generated 215 consultations and 22 deals. A decision on whether “Traditional Knowledge, Skills and Cultural Practices of Hanji Making” will be inscribed on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is expected next month.
At the “Today’s Traditional Class,” participants will wrap Christmas gifts using bojagi and traditional knots on the 5th–6th and 9th–10th. On the 7th–8th and the 11th, they will serve traditional refreshments on dishes and enjoy them with tea; from the 12th to the 15th, they will make flowers and vases out of hanji. Sessions will be held twice a day, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Visitors can enter daily from 10:30 a.m. The exhibition closes at 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 8:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The related event, the “2026 Today’s Traditional Festival,” will be held from the 12th to the 15th at Culture Station Seoul 284 in Jung District, Seoul.
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