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🇰🇷 South Korea /Culture & Society

Kookmin University advances craft projects through specialist training program

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Press release Official statement New plan
  • Kookmin University has completed the practical phase of a 2026 craft-specialist training program and will begin advanced classes in October.
  • The program trains professionals in craft curation, merchandising and education, linking craft production with consumers and markets.
  • About 30 outside specialists and seven university researchers will support participants as they develop and execute projects.

Kookmin University’s College of Design is moving participants in its 2026 craft-specialist training program from classroom practice to project development. The university’s ceramics and metal craft departments completed the practical training phase and will begin advanced education in October.

The program, titled “CRAFT ON LIVE; MARKET-ABLE,” is hosted by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and administered by the Korea Craft and Design Foundation. It aims to train professionals who can connect craft makers and consumers through planning, education and distribution.

Kookmin University selected participants between June 12 and 26. Practical training runs from July 18 to Sept. 19, followed by advanced education from Oct. 10 to Dec. 5. The advanced phase will focus on craft curators, merchandisers and educators, helping participants turn what they learned into projects.

If the practical training was a process of understanding the planning, education and distribution structures and field of the craft industry, the advanced training beginning in October will be the stage where participants turn the experience they have accumulated into actual projects.

· Kookmin University representativeThe university described how the program’s advanced phase will build on the completed practical training.

Around 30 outside practitioners and seven university researchers will take part. The program will use expert mentoring to improve the projects’ quality and their suitability for real-world application. The university said it has more than 50 years of experience in craft education, research and production, as well as experience running related training programs in 2021, 2022 and 2025.

A university representative said the practical course helped participants understand the craft industry’s planning, education and distribution structures, while the advanced course would help them develop that experience into concrete projects.

We plan to support participants so they can develop their expertise in each field more specifically through mentoring and project work.

· Kookmin University representativeThe representative outlined the program’s aim for its advanced training phase.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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