Najeonchilgi Lacquerware

Najeonchilgi is lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and Korea's version is distinguished by the shell: abalone from the southern coast, which is thicker and more strongly iridescent than the shell used elsewhere, cut into pieces and set into the lacquer surface before further coats are applied and polished back. Two cutting methods run alongside each other - kkeuneumjil, slicing the shell into fine threads for line work, and jureumjil, sawing shaped pieces for figures - and the imagery is the usual repertoire of cranes, pines, grapevines, plum. Making a piece takes months: dozens of lacquer coats, each dried in humidity and sanded. Tongyeong became the centre because a naval headquarters there ran official craft workshops from the seventeenth century, and the trade stayed. The finest Goryeo examples, which are among the great objects of Korean art, are in museums rather than in Tongyeong.

What you actually see

• The abalone inlay - thicker, more iridescent than most shell work.
• The two cutting methods - threads for line, sawn shapes for figures.
• The lacquer build-up - dozens of coats, months of work.
• The Tongyeong workshops - descendants of the naval craft office.

When to go

Any season. Workshops in Tongyeong generally welcome visitors during working hours; call or check ahead, as they are businesses rather than attractions.

Honest expectations

Genuine hand-inlaid pieces are expensive and slow to make; much of what is sold as najeon in tourist shops is printed or machine-set. The best historical examples are in Seoul museums, not in Tongyeong.

Nearby

Tongyeong's Dongpirang murals, the cable car and the Hallyeohaesang islands are close.