Crafting Culture: Hands-On Korean Craft Workshop

Explore traditional Korean crafting materials, symbolism, and techniques through hands-on activities. Make your own jangmyeongru, a braided bracelet symbolizing health and protection. Learn about bojagi fabric wrapping and its expressiveness, and browse different fabrics, colors, and patterns. Practice six traditional bojagi fabric wrapping techniques, and experiment to create your own wrapping style. You can even try on traditional Korean hanbok clothing (optional).

About the Instructor and Crafts
Youngjae Kim is a former senior curator at the National Folk Museum of Korea with over 20 years of experience in Korean traditional attire and cultural heritage. She currently leads research and cultural programs through the Hansan Research Institute.
Jangmyeongru (장명루)
This five-colored braided bracelet symbolizes health, protection, and longevity. Participants will create their own bracelet that integrates this traditional color symbolism.
Bojagi (보자기)
Bojagi is an icon of traditional Korean culture. This versatile and beautiful wrapping cloth is rooted in women’s domestic culture, where many everyday household objects were carefully crafted with both form and function in mind. Influenced by royal traditions of the Joseon dynasty, bojagi reflects both practicality and aesthetic refinement. Reusable and eco-friendly, it embodies flexibility, creativity, and the beauty of thoughtful wrapping without waste.
Hanbok (한복)
Hanbok is traditional Korean clothing consisting of an upper and lower garment. It is often worn during traditional holidays such as Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok (Korean harvest festival) and for special occasions such as weddings and ancestral ceremonies.

This program is supported by and presented in cooperation with the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C., and the National Folk Museum of Korea.

Image Courtesy of the National Folk Museum of Korea

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