30/03/2026
KF ASEAN Culture House’s Special Exhibition
Weaving Hands, Women's Time: Textile Traditions in ASEAN
A special exhibition bringing together textiles, tools, film, and live demonstrations to highlight women's labor and textile knowledge across ASEAN
The Korea Foundation (KF; President Song Guido) will open the special exhibition Weaving Hands, Women’s Time: Textile Traditions in ASEAN on March 25 at the KF ASEAN Culture House, located in Haeundae-gu, Busan.
A Large-Scale Exhibition in Collaboration with Over 20 Cultural Institutions
This special exhibition brings together diverse textile traditions from eleven Southeast Asian countries in a large-scale collaborative project. Participating institutions include major textile-related museums in the ASEAN region, such as the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum, the Museum Batik Indonesia, and the Jakarta Textile Museum, as well as more than 20 domestic and international organizations, including the Asia Culture Center, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Intangible Cultural Heritage Centre, the ASEAN-Korea Centre, and the Embassies of ASEAN Member States in Korea.
Through traditional textiles, weaving tools, and video materials, the exhibition offers a multifaceted look at the history and contemporary significance of ASEAN textile cultures.
Introducing ASEAN Weaving and Textile Traditions Inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists
The exhibition explores the artistic and cultural significance embedded in weaving and textile crafts while highlighting the labor of women that has been transmitted across generations and communities. It demonstrates how this intimate and repetitive labor has sustained the collective memory and cultural identity of communities through Southeast Asia’s textile traditions.
Highlighting the Tais of Timor-Leste, Inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding
The exhibition also showcases the tais textile tradition of Timor-Leste, which became the eleventh member of ASEAN in 2025. Tais textiles function as a medium symbolizing ritual and social cohesion. Their cultural value and the need for preservation were recognized when they were inscribed in 2021 on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
The exhibition is organized into four sections.
Section 1: “The Art of Time Created at the Fingertips” introduces processes from fiber gathering to spinning, dyeing, and weaving through traditional textiles, weaving tools, and archival footage.
Section 2: “A Feast of Colors and Patterns” explores the colors, patterns, and symbolism of Southeast Asian textile traditions—such as batik and kebaya—highlighting regional exchanges and cultural identities.
Section 3: “Beauty Woven through Labor: Women of ASEAN” examines the social meaning of weaving through the lives and perspectives of women artisans and reinterprets these traditions through contemporary video works based on silk painting.
Section 4: “ASEAN Weaving in the Global Economy” presents contemporary craft practices, showing how traditional textiles are being inherited and transformed by today’s industries and markets.
The opening ceremony will take place at 3:00 PM on March 26, with officials in attendance from Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Busan Metropolitan Government, and the ASEAN diplomatic corps in Korea.
In particular, a Thai ethnic weaving artisan invited through cooperation with the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology will demonstrate a traditional weaving process using a traditional loom. The demonstration will also be recorded on video and screened for visitors during the exhibition period.
In addition, a hands-on weaving workshop with the artisan will be held on March 27, offering visitors an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of ASEAN textile crafts.
Exhibition Information
Title Weaving Hands, Women's Time: Textile Traditions in ASEAN
Dates March 25–August 30, 2026
Venue Special Exhibition Gallery, 1st Floor, KF ASEAN Culture House, Busan
Opening Reception Thursday, March 26, 2026
Special Program On-site weaving demonstrations in collaboration with the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
