How to Do Korean Calligraphy

Modern Korean calligraphers continue to imbue their work with a uniqueness that separates it from other Asian calligraphy. Often confused with Chinese calligraphy, practitioners of Korean calligraphy apply their art to the Korean alphabet, called Hangul. Hangul, the official language of both North and South Korea, comprises 24 letters. The Korean alphabet was first created in the mid-15th century; prior to that time, Chinese characters were used. In Asian calligraphy, you first learn the strokes and then the proper stroke order. As you advance in your calligraphy skills, you will do compound strokes, which involve producing two or more strokes in one single movement across the paper. Calligraphy is a highly respected art form in Asian culture; many believe that the artistry of the calligrapher is a reflection of elements of his personality, much like handwriting analysis in Western cultures.

Things You'll Need

  • Calligraphy brush
  • Calligraphy ink
  • Book of Korean characters
  • Calligraphy paper
  • Tracing paper
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Instructions

    • 1

      Print off a copy of the Korean alphabet or use a printout from a book. You can cut out the individual characters and use a copy machine to make them larger or smaller.

    • 2

      Lay the Korean character on a flat surface and place a piece of tracing paper over it. Align the paper so that the character is in the top left corner, which helps you move across the paper and then down, practicing the character as many times as necessary. If desired, tape both the character and the tracing paper to the writing surface.

    • 3

      Load your calligraphy brush with ink and begin to trace the character, paying attention to the individual strokes and the thickness of your brushstrokes when the brush hits the paper. The more you trace it, the better sense you’ll have of how to manipulate the brush over the character.

    • 4

      Remove the printed Korean character and tracing paper. Place a piece of calligraphy paper on the writing surface and practice drawing the Korean character over and over again until you can do it correctly from memory. Repeat for every character in the Korean alphabet.

    • 5

      Use tools like Google Translator (translate.google.com) to help you write names, phrases or sentences in Korean. Practice writing these words on paper.

    • 6

      Develop your Korean calligraphy skills even further by researching the different types of calligraphy styles and practicing them. Korean calligraphy ranges from the ornate, called "chonso," to a block style, or "haeso."

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