Drystone walls, Art and Tradition: Hwan Jin Jo from Jeju to the World

We met the South Korean stone waller from Jeju Island with his team of drystone wall builders in June 2023 in Geroli, Terragnolo Valley, Italy, during the Not Only Rocks Festival organised by Massimo Stoffella and his network. As part of 6 teams they built this wall including a sculpture of the Jeju spirits. The team from Jeju had arrived after attending the Stone and Wine Festival in Austria visiting the Dry Stone Wall Network from Krems, and they were accompanied and guided by Margherita Ermirio from Cinque Terre. From Austria also Rainer Vogler and his stonewaller team participated in the wall constructions. During the Terragnolo festival and competition we became friends with the South Korean teams.

Since then we have been in regular contact with Hwan Jin Jo and the Dolbitna Art School - we follow their activities in Instagram and we discovered the fable of Han Jin Jo for artistic photography. When I saw some photos from his exhibition in Jeju Island I contacted him to agree on publishing this Art Journal with some of his outstanding photos about the stone walls and tombs in Jeju.

Hwan Jin Jo is stonewaller, photographer and the director of the Dolbitna Art School. Jeju Island is a world heritage site, and Hwan Jin Jo cultivates this traditional knowledge of drystone walling, which he learned from his father; and he is involving his son slowly in the art and craft of stone walling. His profession and his artful photography create a space for the reinforcement of the cultural identity of the island, product of the intimate relationship of humans with the nature the strong winds coming from the seaside.

It is extraordinary that the Dolbitna Art School provides training to stonewallers, certifies through exams new craftspersons, constructs drystone walls and buildings in Jeju, organises art festivals on the stone walls and terraces and continues the international contacts between stonewallers.