The “Handwritten Letters” menu on the smartphone app “Bible 25” provides various calligraphic works by calligrapher Lee Haru (Real name: Lee Ju-seok, 53). “Bible 25” users download Lee’s artwork, updated daily, for their meditation, and share it with friends. Lee’s works have been published regularly on Bible 25 since the summer of 2013.
In September last year, Lee opened the cafe “Lee Haru’s Serendipitous Stroll” in Uiwang, Gyeonggi-do. Lee works on his calligraphy in a corner of the cafe whenever time allows.
“Calligraphy is an image and a short poem at the same time,” he said. “When I’m at work, I imagine Jesus as an affectionate God or a close uncle. My goal is to make people feel closer to God through my calligraphy.”
When he began publishing his artwork via Bible 25, he also began using his artist name “Lee Haru (one day).” He explained, “I gave myself the name to cherish every day, hoping that the accumulation of these days will build a bountiful life.”
His life was not always easy. As a professional graphic designer, in 1996 he established an advertising company. The company did well, and even made it through the financial crisis under the IMF in the late 1990s. In 2003, however, he was forced to close down due to a fire at his firm.
“I continued working as a freelance designer, but my wife earned practically all of our family’s daily bread. Then in 2008, I was asked to make calligraphies of some poetry lines for a calendar. It was fun, and I realized I was good at calligraphy.”
* Samples of Lee’s artwork on the smartphone app “Bible 25”
Lee will hold his first exhibition from April 18 to May 1, at Kwangsung Presbyterian Church in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, and will continue with an exhibition tour to local churches throughout the country, up to the end of this year.
“After I became a calligrapher, I felt happy at last. I know for sure that the rest of my life will be happy if I continue this. If just one non-Christian becomes interested in God and starts going to church as a result of my artwork, I can wish for nothing more.”
Reporter Park Ji Hun (lucidfall@kmib.co.kr) from Uiwang, with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Photo by intern reporter Heo Ran from Uiwang
Click here for the original article in Korean
