K-Origami: A New Hallyu Asset Blending Tradition and Technology
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
No Young-hye, chair of the Paper Culture Foundation (종이문화재단) and the World Origami Union, said the foundation’s recent national arts award will boost pride among some 350,000 domestic and international leaders working to spread K-origami. Founded in 1987, the foundation has restored and modernized traditional paper folding and paper culture, publishing Korea’s first systematic instructor’s guide (종이접기 지도서) and training teachers at home and abroad. No aims to revive historical roots of Korean paper culture traced to the Goguryeo monk Damjing, and to globalize the craft by merging it with AI and creativity education — positioning K-origami as a cultural heritage where tradition and cutting-edge technology coexist. The foundation stages annual events such as the November 11 “Gokkal Festival” (고깔 축제, Paper Culture Day), national and international origami contests, and runs 212 centers in 55 cities across 25 countries. It also supports efforts to inscribe hanji (한지, traditional Korean paper) on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, presenting both K-origami and hanji as new Korean cultural assets.
