In an old Korean home, many paintings did not hang on the wall all year. They were folding screens, called byeongpung. Families kept them folded and opened them for special days.
When a screen opened, the room changed. It could become a wedding hall, a birthday party, or a quiet place to honor ancestors.
A shrine you could carry
Some families honored their ancestors in a small family shrine. Families who could not have a shrine used a painting of one instead. It is called gammo yeojaedo.
During the rite, a paper name tag for the ancestor was attached to the painted shrine. It was made as a scroll or a screen, so people could even carry it on a long trip.
Pictures for the New Year
At the New Year, royal painters made special paintings, called sehwa, as gifts. People also put up pictures on gates to chase away bad spirits and welcome a lucky year.
From the Artist
— Jieun Ro
When I was a child, I saw a folding screen at our family’s ancestral rites. It did not have colorful pictures. It had writing on it, and back then I did not know what the words meant.
In my generation, there were not many chances to see folding screens. I hardly remember any others.
Try This
If your family had one folding screen for a special day, which day would it be? What would you paint on it?
Image credits & sources
This story is part of an ongoing series. More stories are on the way.
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