Wudang-style levels up excellence of Korean alphabet to the world

▲ Calligrapher Lee Bong-yeon, aka Wudang

Lee was born in Donghae City, Gangwon Province. He worked as a administration information professor at Hyejeon College and started calligraphy in full time from 2011 after retirement. 

"Koreans prefer curves to straight lines and sensibility to sense. We have appreciation for arts and value small things in life. These preferences and sentiments are well melted in works of my Wudang-style" says Lee.

He has engaged in numerous group and invitational exhibitions home and abroad and held 10 solo exhibitions. Many are the prizes he has won and received at various exhibitions including from the Herald Center New York and the Fine Hill Art Gallery US. 

He is serving as deputy director of the National Patriot and Veterans Culture Arts Association, auditor of the Korea Seoga Association, advisor of the Korea Arts Association and many more.

Difference is made with Korean alphabet

Lee focused on calligraphy with Korean alphabet. He broke people's prejudice that calligraphy is more beautiful in Chinese characters. 

"Korean alphabet is scientific and has excellent composition. I wanted to prove that calligraphy in Korean alphabet is more beautiful, more dynamic and more artistic."

Lee spent a considerable amount of time studying Korean alphabet. He gathered the results and developed Wudang-style and published it as a textbook. Wudang-style is received among specialists in the field as to level up the excellence of Korean alphabet to the world.

"Wudang-style is a mix of uniqueness of Korean arts, sentiments of Koreans and modern esthetic values we enjoy today. I gave a lot of thoughts and practices to mingle these elements into harmonized form of calligraphy."

Exhibitions worldwide

"Polishing up skills should not be a goal of life but a tool to make a man as a man" says Lee. This of his philosophy remain intact in his 50 works displayed at the exhibition held at the Hankuk Art Museum Seoul from February 12 to 18 this year. 

<Eight Famous Spots in Eastern Korea> by Jeong Seon and <Seongsan Byeolgok> by Jeong Cheol were two of his large works hung at this exhibition and the former is being held by Sangji University in Wonju City, Gangwon Province.

"I'm planning to travel the world with my works and spread the charm of Korean alphabet and Korean calligraphy as part of the K-Wave. I'm also working on publishing 4 to 5 textbooks for my Wudang-style so that people can use them as reference."