The state, the Korea Heritage Service, will acknowledge ox horn craftsman Han Gi-deok as an intangible cultural heritage on 8th April.

The 52-year-old Han will be declared as national intangible cultural heritage to practice hwagakjang, or ox horn inlaying. Han’s works “have contributed to faithfully inheriting and restoring traditional techniques and tools required for horn inlay production,” said the Korea Heritage Service. 

Beginning in high school, Han was taught the art of making horn inlays by his late father, Han Chun-seop (1949-2015), who had already been designated a national intangible cultural heritage due to his practice of hwagakjang when he was alive and at work in Gyeonggi. In 2002, the younger Han was recognised as a trainee in Gyeonggi and a training instructor in the craft in 2005.

The Korea Heritage Service also declared that 65-year-old Seung Kyung-ran became a prospective holder of national intangible cultural heritage in the case of ipsajang, a silver or gold inlaying.

Hwang Eul-sun, 91, will become an honorary national intangible heritage in the royal silk flower-making industry, dubbed gungjung chaehwa in Korean. Hwang, the mother of the current national intangible cultural heritage bearer, 66-year-old Choi Sung -woo, has been credited with promoting the tradition and devoting herself to its practice since she was declared a holder in 2013.

The honorary designation is for holders who find it difficult to practice the tradition due to old age or other illnesses, and aims to help them in passing down their activities to future generations.