{"id":4034,"date":"2026-02-11T04:15:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T04:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/from-london-to-gangjin-byeongyeongseong-a-design-journey-embedded-in-a-1944-wallpaper\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T23:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T23:48:10","slug":"from-london-to-gangjin-byeongyeongseong-a-design-journey-embedded-in-a-1944-wallpaper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/from-london-to-gangjin-byeongyeongseong-a-design-journey-embedded-in-a-1944-wallpaper\/","title":{"rendered":"From London to Gangjin Byeongyeongseong: A Design Journey Embedded in a 1944 Wallpaper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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1. Texture Analysis: The Illusion of ‘Fabric’ Woven onto Paper<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

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The original Japanese colonial-era wallpaper ‘Soonae,’ discovered in an early 1940s historic home near Byeongyeongseong Fortress in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province, alongside the GOSATE reproduction. (Source: Gosate wallpaper, Gosate collection)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The most striking feature of this wallpaper is undoubtedly its grid mesh texture. This pattern appears to employ a “Textile Imitation” technique that was popular in the West \u2014 particularly in Britain \u2014 from the 1910s through the 1930s. <\/p>\n\n

Western wallpaper manufacturers of the era sought to give flat paper a sense of three-dimensional depth. To achieve this, they would first print a grid pattern mimicking the texture of canvas, linen, or coarse linen fabric onto the background, before layering floral motifs on top. The intent was to create the illusion, once hung on a wall, that the entire surface had been finished with luxurious tapestry or needlepoint embroidery. <\/p>\n\n

The 1943 wallpaper fragment discovered here shows that the pigments of its once-vivid floral motifs \u2014 likely organic reds and greens \u2014 have oxidized and faded with time. What remains is the relatively durable background grid pattern and the shadowed outlines of the overall design. <\/p>\n\n

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Original scan of wallpaper ‘Soonae’(Source: Gosate collection)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

2. Design Lineage: From William Morris to East Asia<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

The origins of this style trace back to William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement in late 19th-century Britain. This tradition, which valued nature-derived patterns and handcrafted texture, entered the mainstream in the 20th century through its fusion with mechanized surface printing technology capable of mass production. <\/p>\n\n

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William Morris pattern design (late 19th century)<\/strong>The designs of William Morris, a leading figure of the Arts and Crafts Movement, are characterized by organic arrangements of natural forms and dense, richly layered compositions. This aesthetic would later become the root of the “Tapestry Style” wallpapers mass-produced in the 1920s and 1930s. Pink and Rose by William Morris (1834-1896). Original from The MET Museum. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Surveying European archives of the same period confirms that this style of floral wallpaper on a grid background flourished as an international style, spreading from Britain across Scandinavia and beyond. In other words, this wallpaper hung in a home in Gangjin was aligned with the very cutting edge of global design in its time. <\/p>\n\n

3. Tracing the Route: Empire, Colony, and the Merchant’s Path<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

Given the date of 1943 and the location of Gangjin, two possibilities can be considered regarding the origins of this wallpaper.<\/p>\n\n

The most likely hypothesis is that it was a British-style imitation produced via Japan. From the 1930s onward, Japanese manufacturers operating under a wartime economy actively replicated British designs, producing “Western Style” wallpapers and supplying them to modern homes and commercial spaces in colonial Joseon. <\/p>\n\n

However, the possibility of direct importation cannot be entirely ruled out. Gangjin’s Byeongyeongseong area was traditionally a commercial hub where goods converged, and one of the channels through which Western goods entered following the opening of Korea’s ports. It is entirely plausible that local elites or merchant-class residents sought out original British wallpapers \u2014 arriving through Gyeongseong (Seoul) or Japan \u2014 to decorate their spaces, satisfying a modern desire for conspicuous refinement. <\/p>\n\n

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Exterior view of the 1944 historic home near Gangjin Byeongyeongseong where wallpaper ‘Soonae’ was discovered.(Photo by Gosate)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

4. Conclusion: The Strata of an Era Held in a Single Fragment of Wallpaper<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

In conclusion, this wallpaper discovered near Gangjin Byeongyeongseong can be understood as a fragment of modern interior culture \u2014 one that originated in the British Tapestry Style of the 1930s and arrived in a provincial Korean city in 1943, carried through Japan’s industrial reproduction networks or along the trade routes of merchants.<\/p>\n\n

Though its colors have long faded, leaving only the grid and the shadow of the overall pattern, what remains is a fossil of aspiration \u2014 the longing of the people of that era for a “Western space wrapped in warm, soft fabric.” Beyond the recovery of lost patterns that GOSATE pursues, this wallpaper will stand as a precious archival source for reconstructing the everyday life and aesthetic sensibility of its time. <\/p>\n\n

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Copyright \u00a9 2026 Gosate Archive. All Rights Reserved.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

  1. \ud14d\uc2a4\ud2b8 \ubc0f \ubd84\uc11d:<\/strong>\u00a0\ubcf8\ubb38\uc758 \ubaa8\ub4e0 \ud14d\uc2a4\ud2b8\uc640 \ud559\uc220\uc801 \ubd84\uc11d\uc5d0 \ub300\ud55c \uad8c\ub9ac\ub294 \uc800\uc790\uc5d0\uac8c \uc788\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4.\uc0ac\uc9c4 \uc790\ub8cc:<\/strong>\u00a0‘Gosate Collection’ \ubc0f ‘Photo by Gosate’\ub85c \ud45c\uae30\ub41c \ubaa8\ub4e0 \uc2e4\ubb3c \ucd2c\uc601 \uc774\ubbf8\uc9c0\uc758 \uc800\uc791\uad8c\uc740 \uace0\uc0ac\ud14c\uc5d0 \uc788\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4. \uc0ac\uc804 \ud611\uc758 \uc5c6\ub294 \ubb34\ub2e8 \uc804\uc7ac, \ubcf5\uc0ac, \ubc30\ud3ec\ub97c \uae08\ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4.\uc778\uc6a9 \uc790\ub8cc:<\/strong>\u00a0\ubcc4\ub3c4\ub85c \ucd9c\ucc98\uac00 \uba85\uc2dc\ub41c \uc5ed\uc0ac\uc801 \ub3c4\ud310 \ubc0f \uc778\uc6a9 \uc774\ubbf8\uc9c0\ub294 \ud574\ub2f9 \uc800\uc791\uad8c\uc790 \ub610\ub294 \ud37c\ube14\ub9ad \ub3c4\uba54\uc778(Public Domain) \uaddc\uc815\uc5d0 \ub530\ub985\ub2c8\ub2e4.<\/em><\/li><\/ol>\uc774\uc6a9 \ubb38\uc758:<\/strong>\u00a0contact@gosate.kr<\/em>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    1. Texture Analysis: The Illusion of ‘Fabric’ Woven onto Paper The most striking feature of this wallpaper is undoubtedly its grid mesh texture. This pattern appears to employ a “Textile Imitation” technique that was popular in the West \u2014 particularly in Britain \u2014 from the 1910s through the 1930s. Western wallpaper manufacturers of the era […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"era_badge":"","era_category":"","type":"","summary":"","is_featured":false,"feature_authors":"","feature_period":"","feature_sources":"","feature_read_time":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1940s","category-archive-research"],"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/article_header-36-1024x510.webp","thumbnail_full":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/article_header-36.webp","en_title":null,"en_link":null,"en_summary":null,"meta_fields":{"era_badge":"Late Colonial","era_category":"\uc77c\uc81c\uac15\uc810\uae30 (\ub9d0\uae30)","type":"Pattern","summary":"1. \ud14d\uc2a4\ucc98 \ubd84\uc11d: \uc885\uc774 \uc704\uc5d0 \uc9c1\uc870\ub41c ‘\uc9c1\ubb3c(Fabric)’\uc758 \ud658\uc0c1  \uc774 \ubcbd\uc9c0\uc5d0\uc11c \uac00\uc7a5 \ub208\uc5d0 \ub744\ub294 \ud2b9\uc9d5\uc740 \ub2e8\uc5f0 ‘\uadf8\ubb3c\ub9dd(Grid)’ \ud14d\uc2a4\ucc98\uc785\ub2c8\ub2e4. \uc774 \ud328\ud134\uc740 1910\ub144\ub300\ubd80\ud130 1930\ub144\ub300\uae4c\uc9c0 \uc11c\uad6c\uad8c, \ud2b9\ud788 \uc601\uad6d\uc5d0\uc11c \uc720\ud589","is_featured":"0","feature_authors":"","feature_period":"","feature_sources":"","feature_read_time":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/article_header-36.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4041,"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4034\/revisions\/4041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gosate.kr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}