Maedeup: The art of Korean knotting

Maedeup knot at Dong-Lim Knot Museum in Seoul. (Taken by Aren in 2009)

Ever since we visited the Dong-Lim Knot Museum in Seoul with my family and Kavitha, I've wanted to learn 매듭 (maedeup), or the Korean art of knotting. The knots were traditionally used as accessories on everything from tools to clothes in Korea. In the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), aristocratic women wore maedeup charms with a tassel and sometimes gems on their dresses. The art faded in importance during the Japanese occupation (1910-45) and Korean War (1950-53) and has only recently seen a revival.

This month I was finally able to go to a series of maedeup classes at the Seoul Global Village Center in Seorae Maeul, the French neighborhood in Seoul. While my classmates were all housewives, it was a pretty diverse crowd: several French and Spanish women (plus one of their infants who attended every class), a couple of Indian ladies and a Korean. I was the only North American there, though the director of the center thought I was Czech the entire time and she approached me to teach a Czech cooking class for the area's residents. (I'm guessing she was going on my looks alone, since she didn't know my middle name is Czech. Needless to say, I turned down the cooking instructor job, though it made me realize I should probably learn how to cook some Czech food one of these days).

The first day of class we learned how to make a simple maedeup necklace with knotted beads. While mine wasn't perfect, it was pretty easy to make and a good warm-up for the following projects.

My first maedeup creation, a necklace.

In the next class we learned how to make a bracelet with a stone charm. Our teacher only spoke Korean and I was pretty proud that I was able to easily follow her instructions.

My second maedeup attempt, a bracelet.

Today we had our last class and we did a much more challenging knot than before. It took me at least an hour to master. The end product was a bouquet of maedeup flowers.

Today's project, a brooch.

There's some stores in Dongdaemun Market in Seoul that sell maedeup cord, so I hope to keep practicing and learning new knots. With only a few months left in Seoul, I want to take in as much culture and history as I can before we leave.