How to achieve the charm of Old Style hangul calligraphy

The characters of Old Style hangul calligraphy (Go-che) are made up of adorable wobbly strokes and dots carefully structured in squares.

This calligraphy style is inspired by the first ever hangul font that was made for woodblock printing back at the end of the 15th century.

Old Style was not originally designed for writing with a brush.

It was made for woodblock printing. So in this calligraphy style, the brush mimics the carvings in the woodblock.

So who is the most famous calligrapher of Old Style hangul?

It wasn’t until the 20th century that this woodblock style was interpreted into a calligraphy style with a brush. My teacher recommended I practise the Old Style hangul by Kim Chung-hyeon 김충현 (1921–2006) (pen name: Il-jung).

He was one of the modern Korean calligraphers who broke away from traditional calligraphy in the 20th century.

I love his interpretation of Old Style hangul.

So what are the key features?

Old Style hangul by Kim Chung-hyeon 김충현 (1921–2006) (pen name: Il-jung)

First, let’s consider…