Renewing the Hanji
Hanok life has its own rhythmns and patterns of housework that are not part of life in Seoul’s modern apartments. One of these is the periodic need to renew the mulberry paper (Hanji) that lines our sliding doors. True, any sort of paper might be used, but mulberry paper is best because the long, intertwined fibres make the paper very strong and resistant to tears.
Chinese mulberry paper tends to be cheaper than Korean, while paper made from a mixture of mulberry and ordinary wood pulp is cheapest of all, but less strong.
As well as filtering strong sunlight, the paper also adds insulation to the double doors, keeps the dust out, and allows the room to breathe.
The strength of mulberry paper makes it quite easy to work. It also come in sheets approximately the right size for a traditional Korean door. The new paper is simply trimmed to size, soaked in paste, applied to the door frames and allowed to dry.
David Kilburn
Tags: hanji, hanok, hanok-life, kahoi-dong, mulberry