Sir Yu Kang-yul(1920-1976) was a pioneer of Korean modern craft and engraving and left a grand footprint in the development of Korean craft art. While he was at the Hongik University as a professor of Art College, he strived to foster younger students and received the

National Medal, Moogunghwajang for his distinguished service in 1970. He worked as the first researcher in Korea’s Creative Culture Institute in 1955 to lay a foundation for traditional handicraft education. In 1970 he was commissioned to be a standing member of a

committee for the construction of the National Museum of Korea and designed the interior of the current National Folk Museum of Korea. After his passing, his widow, Jang, Jeong-soon donated about 650 pieces of his collections and print works that had long been

treasured, continuing an unwavering connection with him. Simple but stylish, the Yu Kang-yul collection is wide-ranging as it includes earth wares and clay dolls of the Three Kingdoms Period, Goryeo celadon, ceramics and paintings, wooden crafts and textile craft of the

Joseon Dynasty. For him, these collections are not just objects of appreciation but also the basis of his creative artwork. His engraving works that take their motif from clay dolls and fish patterns engraved in Buncheong Wares, white porcelain utensils for religious service

use the popular subjects of traditional Korean art in a modern interpretation, widening the world of new Korean aesthetics.
While working as a dentist, Madam Park Young-sook (1932-) collected the traditional main room objects to preserve the boudoir culture

during the Joseon Dynasty. With her husband, Huh, Dong-hwa, the president of the Museum of Korean Embroidery, she has passionately collected Korean cultural assets and donated traditional household necessities she has collected over a long time to the National Museum

of Korea. Most of her donations are main room’s item including a number of Dadumyitdol (fulling blocks), indicating her special interest and affection to them. Dadumyi (Fulling),a tool to smooth cloth by pounding, was originally used in Korea as well as China and Japan.

However, it is Korea that keeps the tradition so far. In this regard, her Dadumyi collection and donation are more significant. In particular, Dadumyitdol varies in material, shape, and pattern, retaining its own individual characteristics so that its value is newly evaluated not as

practical household goods but also as a form of art in the field of traditional craft and sculpture. Indo (a small heart-shaped iron) that straightens creases and set the clothing form, charcoal fire iron that can iron and sterilize, and a stone brazier to heat iron appliances

strikes a balance between function and traditional beauty. Also, a sewing box that keeps various sewing stuff is decorated with mother of pearl to enable us to feel the bright and gentle atmosphere of an old main room. Through her donation items, we can explore what types of

tools were used by people in the past to make and trim clothes. Recollecting love and devotion, earnestness and the efforts of mothers for their families, we can look at the aspect of daily life in the past