Intangible Heritage Crafts Delight Kids at Seoul Museum

Intangible Heritage Crafts Delight Kids at Seoul Museum

On May 4-5, the “Craftsmanship” Intangible Heritage Gathering (Jiangxin Feiyi Yaji Zhi Lü) brought Chinese folk crafts to young audiences in Seoul. Organized by the China Cultural Center in Seoul together with the China–Foreign Cultural and Tourism Exchange Center, the event was presented within “Earth Playground,” the Children’s Day special program series of the National Folk Museum of Korea. May 5 is Children’s Day in Korea, and young visitors signed up eagerly, filling the venue with lively energy.

Two Crafts, One Living Tradition

The event highlighted two representative items of China’s intangible cultural heritage:

• **Dough figurines (miansu):** a folk art in which colored wheat dough is kneaded and sculpted by hand into flowers, animals, and storybook characters.
• **Sugar painting (tanghua):** a craft in which hot liquid sugar is poured onto a slab and drawn with a small ladle into birds, dragons, and other figures that harden into edible works of art.

Both crafts belong to the tradition of street and festival arts that have been passed down through generations of Chinese artisans.

Interaction Across Cultures

Through live demonstrations and real-time interaction, the program gave Seoul residents — especially teenagers and children — a vivid, close-up encounter with Chinese craftsmanship. The event’s guiding message, “craftsmanship forges skill, and intangible heritage speaks heart to heart,” was realized in practice as children watched dough take the shape of auspicious animals and sugar transform into sparkling dragons.

A Bridge for Young Audiences

Beyond the fun, the gathering offered Korean youth a hands-on introduction to Chinese culture and built a friendly platform for mutual understanding between the two neighbors. The organizers noted that the event vividly presented the unique charm of China’s intangible cultural heritage, strengthening people-to-people ties through the shared language of art and play.

Source: https://www.badouart.com/27351.html