How to enter a calligraphy competition in Korea

Entering a calligraphy competition is a great incentive to practise!  And from choosing an appropriate poem to making a pen name and seal stamp there’s so much to learn. At the end of every year, students studying calligraphy at the Seoul Calligraphy Art Museum  have their work displayed in the centre’s exhibition area. But this was the first time for me to enter a real competition! Here’s how to enter a calligraphy competition in Korea. 

CHOOSE WHICH CATEGORY TO ENTER

The first thing to do is to choose a category. Work is accepted in several categories including Chinese characters (hanmun 한문), hangul, modern calligraphy, oriental painting and seal engraving. I entered the Chinese characters category. And to get in the mood I went over to the Seoul Arts Centre to take a look at this calligraphy exhibition celebrating the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

CHOOSE A POEM 

OK after inspiration, it’s back to reality! The first thing I have to do is choose a poem to write. The calligraphy paper can be full size (70 cm wide by 135 cm long)  or half size (35 cm wide by 135 cm long). So for the larger size that means you can fit up to 40 characters on the full size paper. Here are four samples from a previous year. (The work is read from the top top right hand corner downwards).

The Poetry of Yi Hwang

This year my teacher chose a poem for me by Yi Hwang (1510-1570) a prominent Confucian scholar of the Joseon period. He served during King Jungjong’s reign (1506-1544). (Korean historical drama fans will recognise King Jungjong from the hit drama Jewel in the Palace). During his reign there were huge power struggles between the different factions not to mention corruption galore thanks to the aftermath of the previous and infamously bad king, Yeonsangun. Scholars also had to be good at calligraphy. Here is some of Yi Hwang’s work.

Yi Hwang tried to fight corruption but finally left politics disillusioned with all the power struggles and shenanigans. From what I understand, in this poem he describes pouring spring water into the calligraphy ink stone, sitting peacefully copying a poem and enjoying the mood quietly away from worldly cares, reflecting on what he does and does not know. Perhaps he wrote this once he left the stress of the royal court!  The poem is made up of 20 Chinese characters. There are 4 lines with 5 characters each. Here it is in Chinese characters with hangul reading:

掬泉注硯池    국천주연지
閒坐寫新詩    한좌사신시
自適幽居趣    자적유거취
何論知不知.   하논지부지 

CHOOSE THE CALLIGRAPHY STYLE & PRACTICE

If you are lucky enough to be proficient in all the 5 calligraphy styles, then you have to choose which one to do! They are seal script (jeon-seo), clerical/official script (Ye-seo), block/printed script (hae-seo), semi-cursive script (haeng-seo), and cursive script (cho-seo). Since I’ve been practising printed script (hae-seo) that’s the one I will do. So I watch while the teacher writes out the poem. Then I try to copy this and every week I take my work to class and my teacher corrects what’s wrong with it in a lot of red ink…

BUY PAPER & INK

As the deadline for the competition approaches, I have to buy exhibition paper. Calligraphy shops in Insadong in Seoul sell large stacks of practice calligraphy paper (연습 화선지). But exhibition paper (전시 화선지) is better quality (and more expensive!) and you buy it by the sheet. There are various kinds of paper and prices and they are different in every shop. The thickness of the paper can vary as well as its ability to soak up the ink. It’s a matter of trial and error finding the paper that you like. Each paper has a code so you can buy the same paper again. There’s also a range of higher quality ink too. 

MAKE A PEN NAME 

All calligraphers have a pen name (ho) except those who write modern hangul calligraphy. So you can’t really finish a piece of work without stamping it with your name and pen name! Apparently, traditionally there were eight types of ho that a scholar could choose. It was usually made up of 2 Chinese characters which could refer to a favourite place, the name of one of their belongings, a value, a stage in their life, an aspect of their appearance, the name of one of their respected role models, their occupation, or a phrase from a classical text that they admire.

Often the ho seems to have a meaning relating to nature. Yi Hwang’s pen name was ‘Retreating Creak‘. Another famous scholar in history was Yi I. And his pen name was ‘Chestnut Valley’, which is adorable, isn’t it? I like that one but I don’t think it would be appropriate to copy someone else’s pen name!

GET THE STONE STAMP MADE

This is the fun part. The work is not complete without the stamp printed in red with the calligrapher’s name on it, so I went to Insadong in Seoul to a calligraphy shop to get the stamp made. Stamps come in sets of three. One has the calligrapher’s name, one has the pen name, and one has a simple message that the calligrapher wants to send to the viewer of the work!

The name is carved into the stone so the letters appear in white on a red background. It’s the opposite for the pen name. Here the background is carved away so the letters are red ink on a white paper background. (see the difference in the picture above) The pen name is stamped below the name. The third seal can be stamped on the top right of the work.

CHOOSE THE FINAL PIECE

Time always runs out and it’s time to lay the best pieces out on the floor for my teacher to choose the best one. Then with the final piece stamped and the application form complete, all that’s left to do is to hand in the work at the gallery and pay the fee of 50,000 won!

Since there are hundreds of entries to the competition, only the winners and best works will be exhibited in a show held in May after the results are announced. The top three winners get a monetary prize of 3 million won,  2 million won, and finally 1 million won for the third prize. Then after that there are gold, silver, and bronze prizes, followed by several certificates of merit and additional prizes. A number of works will also be ‘specially selected’. And there’s a point system for everyone selected ranging from 12 points for the winner down to one point for  selected pieces.

Preparing for a calligraphy competition in Korea certainly makes you practise more. It was a great experience and now I know what to expect next year! 

Related Posts: 

Studying Calligraphy in Seoul at Seoul Arts Centre

Four Seasons at the Seoul Arts Centre 

Meanings in Minhwa Korean Folk Art

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