한국앤틱vs유럽앤틱

가구에 관한 기획기사를 쓰려고 동대문답십리 고가구거리, 이태원 고가구거리를 돌아다니다보니

참 안타까운 사실을 알게 되었어요.

 

이태원에 새로 생긴 유럽 앤틱 가구, 소품을 파는 가게들은 한국인 신혼부부와 아주머니들이 끊임없이 찾아가는 반면,

한국고가구, 고미술품을 판매하는 가게들은 그야 말로 파리가 날리고 있다는 것을요.

가끔 방문하는 외국인들 손님 만 몇 명있는 정도.;;

 

이태원 지도에 나와있는 "고가구거리" 가 아직은 한국고가구거리를 가리키고있지만,

지금은 고작 4 곳 정도 남은 실정이라....

몇 년 새에 200개 정도 생긴 유럽 앤틱가게들에게 그 이름을 빼앗길지도 모르는 상황이래요.

화각장기술을 가진, 인간문화재급의 장인 한 분은 생활고를 견디다 못해

25년간 해온 일을 버리고 택시기사를 하신다는 얘기도 들었구요.

 

그래서..처음엔 그냥 가구거리를 소개하려다가, 방향을 틀게 되었답니다.

 

Challenging times for Korean antiques

 

Korean antique shop Koreana Antique in Itaewon-dong [Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald]

A couple preparing to get married next year was busy browsing the European antique shops in Itaewon-dong, central Seoul, on a slow Tuesday afternoon.

"This is gorgeous. I love its classic touch. How much is it?" the bride-to-be eagerly asked the clerk, caressing a green wooden bench.

About 200 European antique shops are clustered in the area. Korean newlyweds and middle aged women continuously went in and out of the shops.

Mostly based on old European furniture and items, the contents of the shops vary according to the owners. Prices range from 10,000 won to tens of millions of won.

The inside of Britania, one of the shops on the street, was reminiscent of a house in an old European movie. Old fashioned cups, sewing machines, paintings, couches, tables, chairs and more shone under its yellow incandescent lights.

"I like pretty and girlish items. I usually buy them from France, Belgium or England. They are all at least 70 years old," said shop owner Ahn Young-hee.

"Our usual customers are Korean newlyweds who search for unique and classical items. Foreigners, on the other hand, just pass by," she said.

Interestingly, the street is not the "Antique Art Street" which the map of Itaewon-dong indicates.

Instead, the map leads us to another street in Itaewon-dong that is closer to Hannam-dong.

There, some antiques stores also sell "unique and classic items," but the ambience is somehow completely different from the previous street.

First, not a couple hundred, but only four shops awkwardly stand there. No Koreans, but only foreigners occasionally entered the shops.

The reason is simple: They sell Korean antiques, not European.

"There used to be about 15 Korean antique stores here, long before the European antique shops appeared. But they all folded over several years, not being able to make ends meet. Now there are only four left on the street, including mine," said Symon Jeonn, owner of Koreana Antique.

"Under Confucianism, Koreans used to burn all their parents' belongings when they passed away. So we don't have many antiques left and don't know how to value them. Unfortunately, it looks like Koreans still don't know how to appreciate them.

"They think occidental things are the best, while some foreigners who realize the value of Korean antiques buy them and take them overseas. Making it worse, even the number of foreign buyers has gradually decreased due to the global economic crisis," Jeonn added.

The main items in Jeonn's shop are dressers. They vary in size and price from 200,000 won to millions of won, according to the original owners' social status and when and where they were used.

Among the drawers, one wore an interesting name tag, written on it "DVD chest." No, they did not have DVDs in the Joseon Dynasty. It is one of Jeonn's ideas to attract buyers - to sell fusion items that look old-fashioned but have modern functions. He also started selling Chinese antiques a couple years ago.

His decision was a case of adaptation, because he did not only suffer from low demand, but also low supply.

One engraver who used to supply furniture to Jeonn's shop for nearly 25 years quit about five years ago and became a taxi driver. He was one of the few engravers able to perform the "Hwagakjang" skill, which is a technique to grind cow's horns as thin as paper and paint patterns on them.

"I could hardly make any money by making Hwagakjang furniture. It takes long to finish one, the cow horns are expensive and rare, and moreover, the furniture was not popular among common people.

"There are only about five experts left in the domain including three human cultural assets designated by the government. I'm sure that all of them are having a hard time supporting themselves," said Kim Si-chul, the engraver.

"I earn better, and I am much more satisfied with my life now. I should have quit earlier. If I had devoted half my life to something else rather than Hwagakjang, I could have earned much more money."

The situation is not much different in Dapsimni, Dongdaemun-dong in eastern Seoul, where approximately 150 Korean antique shops are assembled in three buildings.

It is very quiet in the buildings, and is hard to find anyone other than the shop owners.

Perhaps the situation is even worse than the Korean antique shops in Itaewon-dong, since the Dapsimni shops still obstinately sell only Korean antiques.

From censers and dressing stands to hanbok and gayageum, a traditional musical instrument, the buildings are jammed with all sorts of old Korean things.

Knowing this, the Dongdamun district office had in fact made an effort to support the shops by announcing in January that it would invest 2.1 billion won ($1.75 million) to turn the area to be the district's representative tourist spot by the end of this year.

The office had said that actual construction to rejuvenate the area would start in May after finishing the basic plans. Even taking into account that three months are remaining until the end of this year, however, shop owners complain that hardly anything has changed.

"I do not understand where they have spent the big money. The roads are still inconvenient and they didn't do any publicity activities. The government should pay as much attention to Dapsimni as it has to Insa-dong. Here, there are many more shops and authentic Korean antiques than in Insa-dong," said Lee You-bok, owner of Go You Dang, an antique shop in the area.

Lee, who has been dealing in Korean antiques for 35 years now, added that Koreans are losing so much by neglecting Korean antiques.

"Not only are they more beautiful and cheaper than factory-made-furniture sold in department stores, but they also contain more value and history. It was in these heaps of antiques that some of the greatest national treasures were found in. There could be some really valuable treasures hidden here," Lee said.

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young