Q WHAT LED YOU TO CREATE THE SUMAKSAE GONGGINORI STONES?

While talking with a friend, a broadcasting station program director, I was asked to make some gongginori stones. I just laughed it off, but it crossed my mind while looking at a giwa’s sumaksae in a museum. I thought that it’d be wonderful to engrave those symbols on both sides of a gongginori stone. At the time, I thought, “How can I create souvenirs that are eye-catching and tell stories?” I heard that some of my friends who majored in pottery baked clay to make gongginori stones to play with, and I thought it was wise to use ceramics to preserve a giwa’s characteristics. Then, I started to create ceramic gongginori stones. The video that you can watch after scanning the QR code on the Sumaksae Gongginori Stones’s packaging was made by my friend, the broadcasting station director.

Q WHY DID YOU FOCUS ON GANGJIN-GUN, JEOLLANAM-DO?

Last year, I joined the regional startup project called NEXT LOCAL. I created the gongginori stones and connected with Gangjin-gun, which produced the celadon green color I wanted. I tried to stain the gongginori stones celadon green, the treasure of Gangjin-gun, and it became a chance to open my shop there. It’s a shame that no relevant products were chosen, even if the region has such attractive resources. Souvenirs represent and remind us of our memories of tourist attractions, right? I wanted to make a product that fulfills that purpose.

Q MASKING TAPE FOR SEOUL’S PALACES, TRAVELOGUES FOR BUDDHIST PAINTINGS, AND GONGGINORI STONES FOR SUMAKSAE … HOW WILL YOU LIVE UP TO THOSE PRODUCTS?

In university, I majored in Oriental Painting and learned how to present Korea’s beauty in different ways. For example, the masking tape with palaces was inspired by the shape of landscape scroll paintings. It was a magical moment when I happened to find my project and the shape I wanted to use. My standard is based on whether it tells a story and can be used in daily life.

Q YOU’VE MADE A CAREER OUT OF THIS CONTEST—WINNING A PRIZE TWO YEARS AGO AND AN AWARD FOR THE TRAVELOGUE OF BUDDHIST PAINTINGS FROM THE HEAD OF THE KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION LAST YEAR.

I join the contest every year because I think that marketability is the only chance to gain attention in this capitalistic society. I’m motivated to create prize-winning works every year and hope to win the presidential award someday.

Q DID YOU MAKE ANY IMPROVEMENTS THROUGH THIS CONTEST?

Sumaksae Gongginori Stones was one of the products that qualified for last year’s finals. Ever since then, I have collaborated with a cheongja workshop in Gangjin-gun to create this cheongja edition. I thought that it’d be a good idea to show both the celadon green and the clay’s unique color, so I rubbed the bottom surface thoroughly to give the gongginori stones two tones. The rose gold color of the package came from the clay. To keep the stones from getting damaged, I made an effort to put a buffering pad at the bottom of the package to increase its durability.

Q ANY FUTURE PLANS?

You can see the Sumaksae Gongginori Stones Celadon Edition at the National Museum of Korea, the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, and on- and off-line souvenir shops, such as the Dalbee Store in Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do. I plan to distribute it overseas via Amazon and other websites and create more souvenirs that are only available in specific regions that are only available in specific regions and have the local stories.