An installation view of exhibition “Maedeup: Korean Knots” at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in the Philippines. (Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines)
An exhibition of some 130 “maedeup,” the traditional Korean knots used as ornaments, is running at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in the Philippines through Jan. 29.
The “Maedeup: Korean Knots” presentation, which opened Friday, is jointly hosted by the National Folk Museum of Korea and the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippine capital.
Among the items on display are “buchae,” or traditional handheld fans, with maedeup, and “norigae,” decorative maedeup pins worn by women. Also on view are rosaries with beads held together using maedeup.
The exhibition examines maedeup as a traditional Korean craft used in everyday life and also explores modern applications of the knots to everyday items such as necklaces and handbags.
One particular use has to do with a rosary, said an official at the National Folk Museum of Korea citing a 1.9-meter-long rosary made with traditional maedeup. Catholic Filipinos would easily relate to the object, the official said.
The exhibition also invites visitors to make maedeup and pair it with hanbok at a separate space in the museum.
The free exhibition traveled from Australia, where it ran for three months through September.
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