Now In Korea
Gangwon Baekja Craze Reaches Japan as Eco Art Fair Opens New Ecological Art Frontier
Creatrip Team
a month ago
The '2025 Eco Art Fair - Flow' closed after a 13-day run at the Gangwon Design Promotion Institute, consolidating Gangwon as a major regional art market. Organized by Gangwon Ilbo with local partners, the exhibition used the theme 'Flow'—exploring relationships between people and nature through clay—and featured 62 artists and about 300 works, including many pieces from the Yanggu Baekja Museum (Yanggu white porcelain). Over 150 works sold, totaling around 20 million won. More than 20 ceramic artists participated, and the fair drew unusually large visitor numbers, transforming the industrial Hupyeong area into a cultural space. Visitors included Japanese artists and officials from Hofu City, who bought baekja and showed strong interest in baekja and hanji (traditional Korean paper) painting techniques. The fair emphasized ecological art and local collaboration—selling practical ceramics and partnering with local small businesses—and discovered 10 emerging artists through a Gangwon university contest. Programs included traditional tea experiences, artist talks, workshops (paper notebook making), and a lecture on Yanggu baekja history. Organizers said the event reinforced regional identity and community support for artists amid a challenging art market.
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