Kojeon Antique: A Warehouse of Treasures

Written by Laura Hales

Photographed by Erin Henderson

In1985, I was living in Belgium where my husband had been finishing his PhD in Brussels. As we began to prepare for our return to Korea, we gave a few of our antique Korean pieces to our very good friends. Our Belgian friends were fascinated by the Korean antiques that we had with us. So much so that our best friend decided to open an Asian antique shop in Brussels. At first, I helped her source antiques from Korea. After returning to Korea, I continued to send Korean antiques to her shop. The more I searched, the more I got interested in this business myself.

In 1987, I opened my own shop in Itaewon. My small hobby had turned into a business. It was an exciting time to do business in Korea.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics ignited Korea’s economy and heralded the arrival of South Korea on the world stage. I had the honor of having customers from all over the world, including the King of Belgium Baudouin, the Queen of Spain, and the President of France.

Just a few years after opening my shop, we had established our reputation among furniture dealers and buyers. We expanded into the wholesale business and offered reproduction. I decided to start my own factory in Yongin; initially it was a small establishment and over the years, I expanded the land which became the Kojeon gallery as you can see it now.

In 1992, I had the opportunity to visit Beijing through a good French friend who lived there and was interested in Chinese antiques. At the time, valuable antiques from the elite and bourgeois that had been confiscated by Chinese officials during the cultural revolution were still in warehouses because they didn’t know what to do with the items. I got as many as I could and imported them from China to Korea. From then on, my eyes were drawn to Asian furniture beyond Korea to include Thailand, India, and many other places.

In 1998, my husband passed away from liver cancer and I moved to Beijing to heal. My children were in university and medical school then, so I threw myself into my work. I had a factory in Beijing for over a decade. It was a very inter- esting time to live in China. As the city of Beijing expanded, we had to move several times to the outskirts of Beijing. In 2006, because of the rise in labor costs, material prices, the leveling of technology and other factors, I closed my factory in Beijing and returned full-time to my warehouse in Yongin.

Kojeon Antique is where classical elegance meets modern chic. We are dedicated to impeccable quality control, unique and creative designs, and reasonable and rapid production.

My antiques come from a variety of sources. Some of them are from small town shops or dealers in the countryside. I also get them from auctions or buy them from individuals, most often young couples who inherit heirlooms from their grandparents. Presently, the collection at Kojeon can be broken down as 60% antiques, 10% vintage, and 30% reproduction. We sell to individual customers, interior designers, and movie/TV drama production companies. We import new collections from China at least two to three times each year. The addition of Korean antiques into our collection is less predictable, but we have a steady supply from long established business partners and individual sellers.

Korean furniture reflects our distinct four seasons. Our winters are cold and dry, our summers are hot and humid. The wood and style of our furniture are designed to go with this climate, especially to protect our clothes, books, and grains from damage. Also, Korea has our unique "ondol" system and we sleep, eat, and sit on the floor, unlike in China where people traditionally used chairs and in the West where people sleep on beds.

Korean antiques are therefore boxshaped for easy access from sitting on the floor (as opposed to opening while standing up). Koreans like simplicity and elegance instead of flashy ornaments or carving. Our antiques show their beauty through the natural shape, grain, and color of the wood.

An interesting antique people tend to overlook is the Bandaji or rice chest, and it is my favorite antique. It's a type of chest that opens halfway, and is distinctively Korean. Since Koreans used to sleep on the floor, we would fold and put away our blankets and pillows each morning. The blankets would be placed on top of the bandaji for easy access, and we would store off-season clothes inside the chest. The basic shape is similar, but each region has its own style. You can usually tell where it's from by the wood or the decorative iron on the outside. I also like it because it is so versatile. The