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TAEHO KWON
Making an Eastern Joint
Taeho Kwon attended East Carolina University and majored in Commercial Arts, studying Interior Design. His goal was to construct his own designs instead of hiring other builders. To achieve this, he applied for jobs outside of the field and started working on fine carpentry. He also learned everything he could from framing to exteriors, anything that would improve his skills to build his designs.
After learning and practicing for 12 years, he decided to take a step further and extend his understanding of joinery. He traveled to Korea and attended The School of Traditional Korean Architecture, earning a Certificate of Maintenance and Restoration for Korean traditional buildings. He learned to make Buddhist Temples and a “King's Palace.” Since then, he has spent numerous years gaining experience on the restoration and new construction of traditional Korean houses, as well as temple buildings.
He focused on temples because he wanted to improve his knowledge of joinery and the secrets behind making it last for thousands of years. In a temple or a King's Palace building, there are about three times more types of joints involved than in fine furniture building. He has been utilizing this advanced joinery in his own furniture design.
Taeho Kwon visited our Guild in April, 2019. He presented his journey into his discovery of how Eastern timber frame joinery is applied to solve specific construction issues and the techniques to successfully execute his designs. He also taught a workshop to build the coffee table/sitting bench shown in the image during his visit to Portland. His presentation and workshop were met with rave reviews.
He will be joining us again as a Visiting Master in both September and October, putting on a number of outstanding workshops (see Education Calendar).
Note: The online invitation will be sent out 24 hours before the event.
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