한국칠기는 일제강점기를 기점으로 진행된 타율적 개발정책으로 고유쓰임이 이어지지 못했고, 전통제작기술의 단절과 기술자의 소멸로 자율적 자리매김을 하지 못하였다. 특히 일본수요를 채우기 위한 나전칠기 위주 개발로 칠기 고유의 양식은 소멸되고, 일본형식의 ‘두꺼운 칠에 자개가 화려하게 장식된 나전칠기’가 그 자리를 대신한다. 한국전쟁시기 옻칠의 대체 도료인 ‘카슈’가 도입되며, 한국칠기는 쇠퇴한다. 또한 일제강점기 자리 잡은 나전칠기 제작형식은 뒤이은 미군정의 ‘수출품, 기념품’ 개발로 이어졌다. 대한민국정부 수립이후 경제개발계획 속 산업정책 안에서도 나전칠기가 그대로 지원 대상이 되며, 일제강점기 나전칠기 제작원형은 고수된 채 관광기념품으로 개발되며 그 경향은 현재에 이른다.
일제강점기 이후 2000년대까지 흘러온 칠기정책은 타자(일본?미군정-수출?관광객)를 향한 개발·판매에 목적을 두며, 일제강점기 나전칠기의 전형인 ‘두꺼운 옻칠에 자개가 화려하게 장식된’ 제작양식의 재현과 시기별 정책방향에 따른 스타일 변형(전통문양 활용, 한국적 상징 가공 등)이 이루어진 개발에 초점이 맞춰져 있다. 이는 고대~근대까지 일상생활용품으로의 광범위한 사용과 다양한 기술·기법 개발이 이루어졌던 칠기문화와 극명한 차이를 보인다.
이러한 정책흐름을 뒤로하고, 2000년대 제도와 시장에 한국 칠기에 재인식의 움직임이 나타난다. 1960년대 국가무형문화재 나전칠기장인을 지정하는 ‘나전장’ 제도 지정이후, 2001년 칠 기술만을 조명하는 ‘칠장’ 국가무형문화재 종목이 개설되었으며, 정부의 “나전칠 일변도에서 벗어나 다채로운 칠문화 발전”을 추구하는 정책 수립의지 또한 나타났다. 민간영역에서도 기존 천편일률적이었던 ‘나전칠기’위주 제품생산시장에 칠만을 적용한 새로운 방향의 제품개발이 시도되었다.
또한 2010년대 새로운 칠기생산을 위한 상품화 진흥 정책이 시도된다. 과거 수출품, 기념품 개발과 같은 타자를 향한 상품화 정책에서 방향이 전환되고, 국내 수요를 일으키기 위한 현대화된 상품개발에 초점이 맞춰져, 칠기 분야 본연의 원천 재료 및 기술개발과 현대적 쓰임을 찾고자하는 방향이다. 추진 결과 ‘칠기 고유의 쓰임·기법을 되찾고자 하는 움직임’, ‘현대화된 쓰임·형태 개발 시도’, ‘전통 기법, 소재를 재해석한 현대화 디자인 개발’과 같은 긍정적인 성과가 나타났다. 하지만 한계 또한 존재했다. ‘일제강점기 형성된 한국 나전칠기의 재생산’, ‘나전칠기 관광기념품으로 고착화 된 시장형성’이라는 결과와 같이 과거가 만들어 놓은 현대 칠기문화가 현 사회의 한계로 남아있다. 또한 옻칠 원천 재료 및 기술개발에 있어 ‘현대 도료화를 위한 실질적 연구(현대 쓰임, 일반 도료 시장 현황) 부재’와 같은 정책 추진 과정상의 부족함도 드러났다.
결론적으로 일제강점기 이후 타율적 요구에 맞춰 만들어진 나전칠기의 연장선상에서 이어져온 한국칠기의 발전과정이 2000년 이후 새로운 국면이 시작되었고, 한국인의 현대 일상생활용품으로의 가능성을 모색하는 새로운 제도와 환경, 정책의 변화가 여러 시도들을 통해 가능성을 드러내기는 했지만, 아직은 구체적인 방향을 잡아가지는 못하는 모색의 단계라 할 수 있다. 이러한 단계를 넘기 위해 앞으로의 제도 및 환경, 정책의 변화 동향에 대한 지속적인 연구가 필요할 것이다.
Lacquer has been traditionally used as a method of coating on the surface of goods by collecting sap of trees. Many lacquer trees have been commonly used in Asia. The oldest lacquer was excavated in Korea is presumed to be the lacquer flake found with bronzeware in B.C 3C in the stonecoffin tomb of Namsung-ri, Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea.
Varnishing with lacquer has been used for a long time as a natural paint with excellent durability and preservability that does not change even when it is used for a long time, forms a strong membrane on the surface and is glossy by painting it to the wood living tools and weaponries as it absorbs or emits external moisture and keeps a certain amount of moisture.
Besides practical characteristics, varnishing with lacquer has attracted attention due to an aesthetic characteristic of natural color. In particular, it was used extensively for the furnitures of Joseon Dynasty which pursued plain and simple beauty harmonized with nature under the influence of Confucian ideology. The form can be seen in simple form of furnitures, which were used mainly by Confucian scholars, revealing the natural grain of wood through thinly varnishing with lacquer.
Lacquerware has been widely used to apply lacquer liquid to various base materials such as wood, cloth, metal, and pottery from the past. However, there are limited types of lacquerware introduced to Korean society, and the field was formed centered mainly on ‘Mother-of-pearl lacqueware’
The mother-of-pearl lacqueware began to be produced in Goryeo Dynasty, and it is presumed that the technique was handed down from China. It started to be popular from the 10th century, had the peak period from the 12th to the 13th century and then gradually declined thereafter.
In Joseon Dynasty, varnishing with lacquer was used for the furnitures of life in general, the mother-of-pearl lacqueware separately was decorated in small quantities or large quantities instead of classifying according to the purpose of the furnitures. Thus, the mother-of-pearl lacqueware was developed in the late years by adding decorative techniques to lacquerware, and it was mainly produced only for decorative furnitures rather than various kinds of lacquerware produced as goods for life in general.
The mother-of-pearl lacqueware in Korea dominantly spread during the Japanese colonial period. Policies of all stages from technical training to product production of lacquerware were carried out through the policy for the encouragement of industry implemented by institutions such as Industry Inheritance School [(工業傳習所(1907~1910)], Central Laboratory [中央試驗所(1912~1945)], and Art Workshop [美術品製作所(1908~1937)] established by Japan at that time, and mother-of-pearl lacqueware was designated as the main development target.
Starting with the Japanese Government General of Joseon, Industry Inheritance School and Central Laboratory were set up to promote the policy for the encouragement of industry. the policy superficially put forward the encouragement of living activities of domestic crafts and industries. However, in actual activities, the apprenticeship manufacturing technology from the past was replaced by the Japanese educational system under the name of industrialization, resulting in that the past producers (craftsmen) were almost excluded from the handicraft manufacturing industry system for industrialization. In addition, varnishing with lacquer research was conducted, but it was used for the purpose of delivery for export to Japan and munitions production.
While these facilities carried out as a role of education and research of the production technology and materials, and industrial construction, the Art Workshop and the Joseon Art Exhibition led the production trend and showed the presenting the results to the market. As the Hansung Art Workshop (1908 ~ 1910) the Art Workshop was established with the purpose of restoring and inheriting handicraft technology, promoting traditional crafts, but the initiative was passed over to Japan, passing through Lee Wang-jik Art Workshop (1911 ~ 1922) and Joseon Art Workshop Co., Ltd. (1922 ~ 1937), and unlike the initial goal, the trend of products became to follow the form of Japanese handicrafts.
If the Japanese colonial period tended to the “Japanization of products" could not be refused, another trend was that the direction of product development was mainly focused on the mother-of-pearl lacqueware. Through the mention of “the main things in the inherent art of Joseon are the Goryeoyo and the mother-of-pearl lacqueware" recorded in the Japanese Geographical Customs Outline - Joseon Dynasty Volume [日本地理風俗大系-朝鮮編(1930)], so it could be seen that Japan was interested in the mother-of-pearl lacqueware at that time.
This trend continued the US Military Government period, where the direction of sales and export policies toward Japan was changed toward the United States, and the mother-of-pearl lacqueware was designated as export-promoted product. It was also applied as a gift and souvenir for the high-level class for foreign exchange, and then it became to be known as a representative handicraft symbolizing “unique handicrafts of Joseon" and “peculiar arts handicrafts of Korea".
Following the Japanese colonial period and the US Military Government period, the trend of development and export policies focusing on the mother-of-pearl lacqueware was continued in the economic development plan after the establishment of the Korean Government. The mother-of-pearl lacqueware was also a support target for exporting products, the domestic industry, the miscellaneous goods industry, the local specialty industry, the local products, and the folk art articles in the industry policy; moreover, direction of product development showed a tend to follow the pattern of the mother-of-pearl lacqueware of the Japanese colonial period.
Meanwhile, cashew paint, a key issue in the lacquer history, was introduced in the period of the Korean War. Shinsung Handicraft Companyfounded in the 1940s, was the first to use cashew, and after the war, it produced cashew painted furnitures such as small portable dining table and closet. Since then, most the production of the mother-of-pearl lacqueware had been replaced by cashew painting, and demand had increased. Dongbang Cashew Painting Service Company in 1962 and Hyundai P&G and Samsan Chemicals in 1970s took full charge of domestic cashew paint production. This led to full-scale progress of a disconnection in the use of traditional lacquerware and decline of lacquerware techniques.
The policy of lacquerware which was continued from the Japanese colonial period until the 2000s was aimed at the development and sale towards others (Japanese - US senior officials, the US armed forces - export goods - tourists). The direction of product development was repeated production of the production style of thick varnishing of lacquer and splendid decoration of mother-of-pearl, which is typical of lacquerware of the Japanese colonial period. In addition, the style transformation (using traditional patterns, Korean symbol processing) by the policy direction of each period was focused on the development of export goods and tourism souvenirs.
In the process, the traditional handicraft technique that had continued by apprenticeship method from the past had been largely cut off due to a substitute of the handicraft system aimed at industrialization during the Japanese colonial period, and it was progressed as the tendency of Janpanized lacquerware targeting the demand of Japan. In particular, a production system which focused on the mother-of-pearl lacquerware was established. This lacquerware development direction and production environment continued after the liberation. It was also transferred to the rapid industrialization policy and mass production system that have been carried out since then and was continued to the modern time without a significant change.
These results also have influenced on the present age. Its appearance was evident in the current status of lacquerware produced in the present era. In the analysis result of 241 kinds of lacquerware products in specialized shops of handicrafts currently operating showed that the production of the mother-of-pearl lacquerware following the pattern type from Japanese colonial period to US Military Government period occupies an overwhelming proportion of 38%. Through this, it could be confirmed that the influence of the mother-of-pearl lacquerware during the Japanese colonial period accumulated from the past is reaching to the modern times.
So far, after the Japanese colonial period, the cause of forming lacquerware culture of the learn to one side to the mother-of-pearl lacquerware was established in modern Korean society established through the study of development process of Korean lacquerware.
However, changes in the system and environment that did not exist even before the 2000s, began. After the designation of Najeonjang (Mother-of-pearl Inlaying master) system in the 1960s, which designated master craftsmen of the national intangible cultural heritage mother-of-pearl lacquerware, the Chiljang (Lacquerware making master), a national intangible cultural heritage item, that focuses on lacquer technology was opened in 2001. As the sign of change in the private sector, it has been attempted to develop a product with a new direction by applying lacquer to the production market for products centered on the mother-of-pearl lacquerware, which was monotonous.
Even though the modern lacquerware culture created from the past exists as a limitation of the present society, the change of perception that started in the 2000s is opening the possibility of the spread of new lacquerware culture and market formation.
The policy for cultivation and promotion of traditional culture was launched in 2010s. It was a new approach for modernization and industrialization aimed at developing a traditional culture to promote domestic demand by changing the direction from the past policies toward others. The trend could be found in the “creative development strategy of traditional culture" was promoted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The direction of modernization and industrialization claiming to stand for this policy aims at the development of technologies, materials, and designs to support and promote utilization and connection between industries rather than the industrial production of products simply embroidered with traditional symbol. In addition, it focused on reinventing the original technologies of handicraft and finding a design direction that can match the modern living culture. In relation to this, the projects of source technology development and daily commercialization of lacquer and modernization design product development of lacquer were promoted.
The project, which was promoted in the context of source technology development and daily commercialization of lacquerwar, was “standardization, diversification and mass production process development of traditional varnishing with lacquer (2012)" and it was progressed with the purpose of improving the disadvantages of natural varnishing with lacquer and bringing out the strengths to manufacture lacquer products that can be easily used by anyone. A commercial brand which is called “Guchae Ottchil(九彩漆)" was launched and was sold to the public by website. Lacquerwares sold for a variety of purposes with functional properties such as antibacterial, fungicidal, insect repellent, water repellent, flame retardant, and VOCs absorptive properties. In particular, varnishing with lacquers, which need coloring and refinement by specialist were sold for each standard by improving functions such as minimizing allergy and shortening of drying time, so they induced the use of the general public.
The projects promoted in the context of lacquerware modernization design product development were “Handicraft design consulting" (2011), “Handicraft design product development" (2013 ~ 2017), and “Traditional handicraft design development" (2013). So, product development that matched the policy purpose of finding a design direction that can match the living culture of modern society was progressed. To this end, the process of identifying the research and planing of the current lifestyle culture and the derivation of design direction of experts by field, and grasping consumers and users, and the needs of the market was introduced. There were attempts to develop new products which were limited to export products and tourist souvenirs in handicraft production market that have followed the mother-of-pearl lacquerware of the Japanese colonial period in the past
In this way, the “Policy for Cultural Cultivation and Promotion of Traditional Culture" sought the change of lacquerware culture of the learn to one side to the mother-of-pearl lacquerware, which has been followed in past policies, and made a good start with the aim of forming the lacquerware culture through modernization and industrialization of lacquerware. However, there still existed limitations in the process of actual implementation and in deriving the project results.
At the present time in which the influence of the mother-of-pearl lacquerware during the Japanese colonial period continues in the present age, it was revealed that the professional personnel who have been input to find ‘the modernization and industrialization direction of Korean lacquerware’ was also failed to escape stereotypes about the tradition. It has repeated the reproduction of the mother-of-pearl lacquerware during the Japanese colonial period which relied on traditional personnel, technologies, and materials without being able to escape from traditional perceptions such as ‘Korean image and feeling’ and ‘preservation of prototypes.’ As The improvement of this awareness is a task to be resolved in the future, the recognition of the cause of formation of modern mother-of-pearl lacquerware and the consideration of the inherent use of lacquerware which existed in the past has to be followed.
In addition, this policy aims that lacquerware practically has to use by general consumers and users of Korean society and to spread the culture through it. Therefore, it is essential to review the market and needs of consumers and users. However, the results showed that the strategy for grasping real market situation was not revealed. Moreover, when inversely looking this, it is also the limitation of Korean society where handicraft consumption area was not formed in the general market. As mentioned above, the lacquerware policies have been developed toward others (Japan - US military government- export - tourists), and the market has also not escaped from the area of tourism souvenirs. As a result, the influx of the general market is also impeded because of the recognition of the ‘mother-of-pearl lacquerware souvenir’, which has been placed in the general consumers and users. The break from the tourist souvenir centered market and the influx of new markets are the things to be determined essentially in this study, and they still exist as limitations.
In the meantime, the case of ‘Guchae Ottchil(九彩漆)'', which developed source materials, targeted the paint market rather than the existing daily goods market, but it was not accepted in the domestic paint market due to high price and the lack of research on practical use. As “Cashew", which was easy to apply in the industrial method during the Japanese colonial period, preoccupied the place as a substitute for lacquer, ‘varnishing with lacquer’ should also be developed centering on the merits to replace paints of the present age.
Analysis of policies also revealed positive effects. The use and form of various lacquerware products were developed and the possibility of modernization was clearly revealed between 2011 and 2017.
In the beginning of the project, the simple development tendency in the form of decorating exterior that was combined with traditional techniques and materials of modern goods was shown, and tendency of reproducing the form of the mother-of-pearl lacquerware during Japanese colonial period was also found. However, the development direction had been gradually evolved, and the direction of modern design development was introduced by reinterpreting traditional techniques and materials. In particular, “Nacreplus", which reinterprets mother-of-pearl materials, has received high praise from consumers at KCDF online shops and private online shops (Naver Art Window).
This is a new attempt to escape from the form of the mother-of-pearl lacquerware drawing form where the surface of goods was filled with the mother-of-pearl by emphasizing splendid traditional pattern in the past. This was a good example to break away from the dominant perception on the mother-of-pearl lacquerware that has existed in Korean society; moreover, it is a meaningful direction to be referred to in developing private lacquerware products in the future.
In addition, the use of lacquerware, which was centered on the production of tourist souvenirs, has been expanded to daily necessities such as tableware, and various attempts to develop various lacquer products are being tried. The development of lacquerware as daily necessities that has existed as products representing ‘tourist souvenir’ in the market so far is an attempt necessary to form a new lacquerware market until now.
The above attempts are to look back on the original use of lacquerware, which was widely used as a coating material for daily necessities in the past, and to find a suitable method for modern use. On the other hand, it plays a leading role in reinventing and reviving the lacquerware culture, which was decisively declining since the Japanese colonial period.
However, the movement of changes has not been that long compared with the development process of Korean lacquerware after the Japanese colonial period, and there are limitations in confirming the effectiveness and suggesting a direction because the promotion policy has not been more than 10 years. Since two years have not passed after the results of the policy analysis shown significant analysis results were completed, so it is difficult to confirm the current status of spread of consumers and users.
Therefore, the research studied the development process of Korean lacquerware, and it focused on revealing the limitations of modern Korean lacquerware which has positioned accordingly. In addition, the research was organized to identify the new trends of system, environment, and policy change since the 2000s and to explore the problems and possibilities to be solved in order to spread to modern daily commodities.
In conclusion, it is clear that the development process of Korean lacquerware, which has been continued on the extension line of the mother-of-pearl lacquerware made through the demand during the Japanese colonial period and the US Military Government period, has started a new phase since the 2000s.
However, as a modern daily necessities of Koreans, a new system and environment and change in policies that seek the possibility have shown several possibilities through decade of attempts, such as (the reinvention of lacquer culture, the attempt to develop the modernized use and form), but it can be the stage of searching which still can not catch a concrete direction. In order to go beyond the stage, it will be necessary to continue research on the trends of future institutional, environmental and policy changes.
In addition, when looking for the possibility of spreading to everyday things, referring to the transition process and acceptance process to modern times in Japan where traditional lacquerware has been developed into modern everyday things, it will be a big help to explore the direction of acceptance and spread of lacquerware in Korea.
