Traditional Korean crafts to go on display at Milan fair

South Korea will showcase its traditional crafts at one of the world’s largest international furniture fairs set to open in Milan, Italy, next week, the culture ministry said Monday.

The government-led exhibit, “Constancy and Change in Korean Traditional Craft 2013,” will be part of the Milan International Furniture Fair on April 9-14, the ministry said, adding that it will be the first time Korean crafts will be on display at the trade fair.

The annual fair, also known as “Milan Design Week,” is the largest trade fair of its kind in the world with annual visitation numbers of 300,000 attendees from more than 150 countries worldwide. It showcases the latest in furniture and design from countries around the world.

“I want to show people around the world that Korea’s rapid growth in various fields today came from the force of our traditional culture,” Sohn Hye-won, the art director of the exhibit’s planning committee, was quoted as saying in a press release from the ministry.

For the exhibit, the government has selected 16 traditional craft artists who are known for creating new things while preserving the value of tradition, said Sohn, the head of the Seoul-based brand consulting company Crosspoint.

Some 50 works by the 16 artists in seven fields such as ceramic art, metalworking and wooden furniture making will be displayed at a 200-square-meter exhibit hall in the Italian city’s Triennale design museum, according to the ministry.

“I hope it will serve a chance to bring a new wind of traditional Korean crafts and Korean culture to the world design industry,” Cho Hyun-jae, a vice culture minister, was quoted as saying in the statement. (Yonhap News)