EBS | Let’s Play with Art: Splashing into Korea’s Colors

Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung appeared as an art teacher on the "Splash into the Colors of Korea" episode of EBS's children's program "Let's Play with Art." After touring Gyeonghuigung Palace with the children, the episode introduces obangsaek, the five traditional Korean colors (blue, red, yellow, white, and black) used in palace dancheong, the painted patterns on traditional wooden buildings, and leads a hands-on art class based on them.

Kim explained to the children that obangsaek pigments were traditionally made from natural materials such as stone, earth, and flowers, and had them try making traditional paint by mixing pigment powder with glue made by boiling animal bones and hide. "It's water made by boiling down animal bones and hide for a long time," she said, breaking down the process simply. "Think of it like simmering seolleongtang, ox bone soup, even longer than usual."

She also introduced her own working method. "When I paint, I render the hanbok sections by pasting on hanji, traditional mulberry paper," she said. "I used the same vivid obangsaek colors we saw today in the dancheong." She then had the children experience the same collage technique, dyeing their own hanji and pasting it onto their drawings.

Each child chose a scene they liked, a pirate, Cinderella's dress, a goddess in hanbok, and completed it using traditional obangsaek paint and hanji collage. Kim remarked, "Using several techniques together, rather than just one, is much more engaging for children," adding, "I think the most important thing in education, in any field, is making sure children don't lose their interest."