he Fairy Maiden and the Woodcutter is a traditional Korean folktale whose origins are believed to be quite ancient, as it bears a close relationship to Taoist thought and folk beliefs and has long been widely shared among the people. This work was staged around the poignant scene of the fairy maiden departing while holding her child in her arms. Long, long ago, there lived a woodcutter in a village who cared devotedly for his elderly mother. One day, while cutting wood in the mountains, he happened to hide a deer that was being hunted. In gratitude, the deer revealed a secret: a pond where heavenly fairy maidens descended to bathe. The woodcutter stole the fairy maiden’s winged robe, married her, and built a life of seeming happiness, eventually having two children together. However, when the woodcutter later took out the hidden winged robe and returned it to her, the fairy maiden put it on and ascended back to the heavens, taking the two children with her. Desperate to follow, the ...

Hulk is a superhero who appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is a character in whom two distinct personalities coexist within a single body, and he is also known as Bruce Banner. With the exception of The Incredible Hulk , released in June 2008 and portrayed by Edward Norton, all works released after The Avengers (April 26, 2012) feature Mark Ruffalo in the role of the Hulk. Bruce Banner is a world-renowned scientist who is exposed to gamma radiation during an experiment gone wrong. After the accident, whenever his heart rate rises sharply and he loses control of his anger, he transforms into the green monster known as the Hulk. As Bruce Banner, endowed with exceptionally high intelligence, he is calm, restrained, and gentle in temperament. But when he becomes the massive green Hulk, he is depicted as a being of terrifying destructive power—raw, overwhelming, and uncontrollable, the embodiment of rage unleashed.

While selecting a lantern theme representing China, I searched extensively and repeatedly encountered the view that Ma Liang and the Magic Brush is one of the most iconic Chinese folktales. On that basis, I decided to create a hanji lantern inspired by this story. Ma Liang and the Magic Brush is a well-known folktale handed down in China, telling the story of a poor boy named Ma Liang, who cannot afford even a single brush yet possesses extraordinary talent in painting. One day, Ma Liang receives a wondrous brush from an old man—a brush that brings to life whatever is painted with it. Using this magical brush, Ma Liang creates drawings to help the poor people of his village. When a greedy and cruel rich man attempts to seize the brush for himself, Ma Liang instead turns the tables, trapping and humiliating the villain so that he can never commit evil deeds again. Through this tale, justice triumphs not through power or wealth, but through wisdom, compassion, and integrity.

The lamp spirit Genie is a magical being who appears in Aladdin and the Magic Lamp . Genie is known as a mysterious spirit who grants three wishes to whoever possesses the lamp. This is a story about how, through meeting the loyal and clever Aladdin, Genie discovers a new meaning of freedom. Aladdin, a petty thief, sets out on a journey to find the lamp after a wicked sorcerer promises to make him wealthy if he retrieves it from a hidden cave. Upon arriving inside the cave, Aladdin suddenly becomes trapped when it collapses, and there he encounters Genie, the spirit of the lamp, who helps him escape from danger. Aladdin promises that his final wish—out of the three—will be to grant Genie his freedom, and moved by this pledge, Genie decides to stand by Aladdin and help him.

The Seoul Lettering Hanji Lanterns were the theme lanterns of the 2019 Seoul Lantern Festival. Designed to help children approach the festival easily through the theme of “fairy tales,” the work embraced the spirit of a global festival by spelling “SEOUL” in English and integrating Korea’s most representative traditional folktales into each letter. Lanterns depicting Gyeonwu and Jiknyeo , Heungbu and Nolbu , Kongjwi and Patjwi , and Byeoljubujeon were created and installed, while the English lettering was enriched with iconic Seoul landmarks such as Gyeongbokgung Palace, Namsan, and the Hangang Railway Bridge. Traditional folktales are a meaningful and valuable medium, as they pass on dreams and hope to growing children while carrying timeless moral lessons. As the Seoul Lantern Festival reached its 10th anniversary, I personally felt a desire for change, having worked for many years with themes drawn primarily from traditional materials and motifs. One of the greatest meanings of f...

The Golden Axe and the Silver Axe is one of Aesop’s fables, and it is also known by the title Hermes and the Dishonest Woodcutter . This tale is often staged as a scene in which a mountain spirit appears and presents a golden axe and a silver axe. Long ago, in a remote village deep in the mountains, there lived a kind woodcutter. One day, while chopping wood, his hand slipped and his axe fell into a pond. As he stood there, troubled and distressed, a mountain spirit appeared and asked what had happened. After hearing the story, the spirit rewarded the honest woodcutter by giving him both a golden axe and a silver axe as gifts. When a wicked woodcutter heard the news, he came to the same pond and deliberately dropped his own axe into the water. When the mountain spirit appeared again, the wicked woodcutter lied. In the end, he could not even get back his iron axe.