Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, announced on the 24th that it has selected metal craftsman Lee Bo-yeol as the 2026 "Goyang Special City 6th Craft Master."

Master Lee has built his expertise and mastery in metalcraft manufacturing technology for over 40 years, and was designated as a skill successor in the field of large-scale metal craft in 2003.

Since opening his private workshop in 2004, he has dedicated himself to developing and creating craft items utilizing traditional copper bangjja (hand-beaten) techniques. His skilled craftsmanship and artistic merit have been widely recognized, including winning the Presidential Prize at the 18th Korea Tourism Souvenir Competition in 2015.

Master Lee manufactures and sells coffee utensils and tea-making tools, continually developing craft items that can be practically utilized in modern daily life, such as hand-drip kettles.

In particular, he directly performs the entire metalcraft production process, including plate forming and heat treatment, thereby enhancing the perfection of traditional metal processing techniques and expanding the scope of metalcraft application by fusing traditional techniques with modern daily household items.

Master Lee expressed his aspirations, saying, "Moving forward, based on traditional bangjja techniques, I plan to develop practical craft items suited for modern life and widely promote the value of traditional crafts through the transmission and development of metalcraft technology."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]