The National Folk Museum of Korea researched Songlim Handmade shoes in 2014 as part of “Contemporary and Modern workers’ history of life” and published 『Four Generations Eighty Years on Soopyo street, Euljiro – Handmade shoemakers of Songlim -』report. Based on the research, we are now opening a special exhibition called “Beyond Generation – Handmade shoemakers”

The legacy of leather shoes alongside with shoes with cleats made by leather shoemakers from the romance of three kingdoms era led to western style of shoes during Emperor Gojong times and reaching handmade shoes stepping the top of the Mount Everest. However, the industry of traditional handmade shoes is now shrinking due to mass production of factory-made shoes.

Masters of shoemaking, who only think deeply about customers’ feet, craft the one and only shoes in the world that perfectly fit customers’ feet. The future of handmade shoes will be bright because such shoes will be the original one existing in the world, and shoemakers poured so much efforts by thousands of touches, and so there are masters who create happy shoes with love and memories.

This exhibition has stories of ‘Prologue_ Touch with ground’ ‘the first part_ Leather shoemaker’ ‘the second part_ One hundred year store’ ‘the third part_one thousand touches’ ‘Epilogue_ happy shoes’. Through this special Exhibition, We hope you will be able to meet the deep efforts of handmade shoes experts and long-lasting future.