Geumbakjang, an Artisan Who Uses Gold Leaf to Adorn Textiles

Geumbakjang refers to the art and skill of using gold leaf, called geumbak in Korean, to imprint various patterns on fabrics as well as the artisans who specialize in the art form. Today, this practice can be seen on women’s traditional attire for weddings. 

People valued gold because it is beautifully shiny and lustrous and does not undergo deformation, and used it for luxurious decorations. There have been various terms used in relation to gold leaf depending on the era and technique applied, and some of the terms used in textile gilding include geumbak, geumeunni, sogeum, ingeum, cheopgeum, bugeum, bucheopgeum, dodaik, hwageum, and swaegeum. These terms not only describe the state of the gold as a raw material, but also the techniques and work involved in applying the gold to the fabric. Currently, the term gold leaf is used to describe not only the extremely thin material made by hammering and pressing gold pieces, but also the process of applying gold leaf to fabric to create golden patterns. However, until the Joseon dynasty, gold leaf only referred to gold leaf as a material or the process of making it. The terms geumbak and geumbakjang first appeared in records from the Goryeo dynasty. In the Joseon dynasty, geumbakjang produced gold leaf, and the gold leaf that was used as a material was not called geumbak, but cheopgeum, or hucheopgeum if it was slightly thicker than usual. 

Geumbakjang Kim Deok-hwan

Kim Deok-hwan, the fourth-generation geumbakjang in the family, was born in 1935 in Gongpyeong-dong, Seoul, the second eldest son with two brothers and one sister. From a young age, Kim Deok-hwan was quite dexterous and loved to take apart broken clocks, fix them, and reassemble them. Perhaps this was a foreshadowing of his destiny to become a geumbakjang. However, he didn’t even think about becoming a geumbakjang when he was young, nor did his older brother and younger siblings, and it seems that his father, Kim Gyeong-yong, had no intention of passing on the tradition to his children either. Although there wasn’t a lot of work, there were occasionally large orders from people traveling abroad, and Kim Deok-hwan’s parents couldn’t handle the work by themselves. While his siblings went to work and didn’t even set foot inside their parents’ workshop, Kim Deok-hwan helped his busy parents. It wasn’t until he was around 20 years old that he started helping out with the textile gilding work. It was after the Korean War when everyone struggled to get by, so he worked during the day and helped his parents at night as a way to help out financially. His father was taller than he was but physically frail, so all the physically laborious work of sawing and planing to make the gold leaf plates naturally fell to Kim Deok-hwan.

It wasn’t until his father became ill that he decided to continue on the family business in earnest. However, even then, he wasn’t specifically taught by his father. Although others might have wished for more from their fathers, Kim Deok-hwan says he understood his father because craftsmen don’t talk much because their heads are always full of thoughts about work. He is just like his father, and based on the philosophy that craftsmen must learn hands-on rather than through words, he passes on his skills to his son without saying much. Although his father didn’t teach him in detail, he induced him to learn the trade step by step. When Kim Deok-hwan was learning to carve, for instance, his father didn’t let him do any other work for two or three years and made him sharpen blades according to the drawings. While sharpening the blades and looking at the designs, he was able to broaden his perspective on the designs. According to Kim Deok-hwan, the most difficult aspect of gilding is adhesion. It is a complicated task, even for a craftsman who has been working with adhesives for more than five decades, because he has to be cautious while choosing between traditional glue and improved modern glue according to the characteristics of the fiber. In the 1980s, clothes with gold leaf patterns made by Kim Deok-hwan were worn by diplomatic delegations traveling around the world and helped demonstrate the beauty of traditional Korean culture. 

Geumbakjang was designated as a national intangible cultural heritage in 1973, but the designation was soon revoked when Kim Gyeong-yong (Kim Deok-hwan’s father), the sole bearer of the tradition, passed away that year. Then, 33 years later in 2006, Kim Deok-hwan was recognized as the bearer of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Geumbakjang. He has received rave reviews for his woodworking skills in carving patterns into pear wood, as well as his ability to predict changes in the adhesive based on the fabric and weather in attaching gold leaf to fabrics. 

Kim Deok-hwan was very proud that his work was used to promote Korean traditions, and he wanted people to taken an interest in traditional Korean crafts from a young age, learn more about them, and try using them firsthand. This was because the more you use quality goods, the better you can make them. Kim Deok-hwan was recognized as an honorary bearer of geumbakjang in 2018, and he passed away in October 2019. His son, Kim Gi-ho, who was recognized as a geumbakjang holder in 2018, is carrying on his legacy today. 

Works

- Nogwonsam_132×170 cm

A wonsam, originally a royal robe, was also worn by commoners for weddings. This piece was based on the Jikgeum-pododongja pattern housed at Dankook University, with some modifications, and pure gold leaf was attached to it. 

- Veil_180×180 cm

This is a recreation of a paper copy of the wedding veil used in Jeongyugillye (1874) housed at Jangseogak. There is a phoenix design in the center and Wonhyeongsubokjamun pattern arranged regularly on the front.