What Yun Gyu-sang Jiwusan — Jeonju Craft Exhibition Hall is known for
Yun Gyu-sang, born in 1943 in Wanju county, is South Korea's only artisan formally designated for making jiwusan — the bamboo-and-oiled-hanji umbrella once produced across the country but now sustained by a single named craftsman.
Yun Gyu-sang, born in 1943 in Wanju county, is South Korea's only artisan formally designated for making jiwusan — the bamboo-and-oiled-hanji umbrella once produced across the country but now sustained by a single named craftsman. He apprenticed at an umbrella factory in 1960 and later learned traditional paper-umbrella construction from craftsmen Jin Woo-bong and Eom Ju-hak. After vinyl umbrellas displaced the trade, Yun spent three years from 2005 rebuilding the old hand tools and reconstructing the forgotten techniques, eventually reviving jiwusan made from Jeonju hanji, the region's noted mulberry paper. In 2011, Jeollabuk-do province designated him holder of Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 45, Usanjang (umbrella maker) — a title he holds alone nationwide. Jeonju's jiwusan, prized for the strength and translucency of local hanji stretched over a bamboo-rib frame, was historically distributed nationally and exported to Japan and Germany. His umbrellas are sold through the Jeonju Craft Exhibition Hall (전주공예품전시관), the city's official crafts showroom and online shop in Hanok Village, in small and large sizes with traditional paper or cloth gift-wrapping on request.
Best for — South Korea's only living jiwusan maker — bamboo-and-hanji oiled paper umbrellas from Jeonju
South Korea
Where next
- Chiang Mai Umbrellas (Bo Sang) — Thailand
- Hiyoshiya — Kyoto
- Tsujikura — Kyoto
Hand-curated for ORBIS — official entity link on record · no paid placement
More in Jeonju
- Jeonju Jujo — Deokjin-gu, Jeonju
- Jeonju Traditional Wine Museum (Urisul) — Hanok Village, Wansan-gu, Jeonju