Chusa National Calligraphy Competition 2025

Last Saturday, in the midst of autumn’s subtle takeover, I visited Yesan County for Korea’s National Calligraphy Competition. Students such as myself and gurus older than my grandparents gathered for one thing – traditional calligraphy.

Traditional calligraphy is a nearly two-millenia old art in the East Asian cultural sphere. While originating in China, it has distinct Korean evolutions, crafted by scholars none other than Chusa Kim Jeong-Hee, to whom this competition is dedicated.

Yesan County, as birthplace and lifelong home of Chusa, fits right into what one might picture as a peaceful rural dream house. This is one of the few places that make me want to spend months in it, not mere hours.

The competition commenced at 10 a.m. with an unexpected choir performance, a pleasant surprise. As competitors (mostly the elderly to be honest) filled the grass yards in a fashion not unlike a mass picnic, I unpacked my brush, Asian ink, table, and other calligraphy gizmos in the student area. Fellow students and I dutifully wrote down our submissions, knowing each stroke of the brush counts.

Two hours of intensive art is exhausting, to say the least. Thankfully the competition provided a lunch booth serving Gukbap, and I could return home thoroughly replenished. Finding out that I won a silver in the student division only added to the delight.