Hwaseong Special City Wins 'Grand Prize' for Second Consecutive Year in Group Division at 56th Gyeonggi Province Craft Exhibition

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Hwaseong Special City won the grand prize in the group division at the '56th Gyeonggi Province Craft Exhibition' hosted by the Korea Ceramic Foundation on the 9th, marking two consecutive years of this honor.

In the individual division, 18 craftspeople from Hwaseong City also received awards. The awards include: △Silver prize - Im Bo-reum (textile) 1 recipient △Encouragement prize - Park Jun-won (wood and lacquer), Sung Yu-jin (textile) 2 recipients △Selected works 4 recipients △Honorable mentions 11 recipients.

This year's exhibition received a total of 363 works submitted from 31 cities and counties across the province. Hwaseong City submitted a total of 57 works across 6 categories: 10 wood and lacquer pieces, 6 ceramic pieces, 19 textile pieces, 4 metal pieces, 2 paper pieces, and 16 other pieces, achieving excellent results.

The 'Gyeonggi Province Craft Exhibition,' now in its 56th year, is held to discover the outstanding creative capabilities of craftspeople in the province and promote the development of the craft industry. In particular, as the official preliminary competition for the Gyeonggi region of the 'Korea National Craft Exhibition,' 48 recipients of awards for selected works or higher at this exhibition are given the qualification to submit their works as Gyeonggi Province representative entries to the '56th Korea National Craft Exhibition.'

Meanwhile, the city is promoting various policies to support creative activities and invigorate craft culture among local craftspeople, including: △hosting the Hwaseong Special City Craft Exhibition △supporting participation in the Gyeonggi Province Craft Exhibition △hosting the Craft Three Generations Harmony Exhibition △selecting Craft Masters of Hwaseong Special City.