▲ This poster for the "Hanji: Rebirth of Aesthetics" exhibition is provided by Jeonju Cultural Foundation. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- Palbok Arts Factory, an arts facility operated by the Jeonju Cultural Foundation in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, is hosting "Hanji: Rebirth of Aesthetics," a 2026 contemporary painting exhibition highlighting the artistic value and modern possibilities of hanji, from Thursday through Sept. 27.

The exhibition explores how hanji, a traditional Korean paper, expands into a new aesthetic as it meets diverse formative languages of contemporary art.

It also reflects the local community's hopes for hanji to be inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

About 20 artists working in various fields, including calligraphy, intangible cultural heritage, folk painting and contemporary art, are taking part in the exhibition.

Song Ha-jin and Yeo Tae-myung, who specialize in Korean calligraphy, reinterpret the formative beauty and structural aesthetics of Hangeul in a contemporary way.

Intangible cultural heritage artists Kim Dong-sik, Kim Hye-mi-ja, Bang Hwa-sun, Park Gye-ho, Eom Jae-su and Yoon Gyu-sang showcase the enduring beauty of traditional objects made with hanji and bamboo, including Jeonju chests, folding fans and paper umbrellas.

Folk painting and contemporary artists use mulberry fibers, hanji thread and objects to explore the material qualities and formative possibilities of hanji in three dimensions.

Foreign artist Lisa Jeon Lodondi also highlights hanji's borderless artistic identity through a large-scale installation.

"This is an opportunity for hanji, a traditional material, to meet contemporary art and demonstrate new aesthetic possibilities," Kim Cheol-min, head of the foundation's Future Culture Division, said. "I hope it will help raise interest in hanji's artistic value and its potential UNESCO inscription."

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