When printing a book meant casting letters one by one

Name: 수어 소장품소개: '금속활자'
Description: Joseon printing meant selecting and arranging individual pieces of metal type by hand. Tiny letters cast to print books for the state and royal court survive at the National Museum of Korea.

Published Oct 5, 2026

Joseon printing meant selecting and arranging individual pieces of metal type by hand. Tiny letters cast to print books for the state and royal court survive at the National Museum of Korea.

Each character was a tool

The National Museum of Korea identifies its Imjinja as metal type produced during the reign of King Yeongjo. Joseon repeatedly cast and improved official type sets to print books needed by the state and the court.

The shape and consistency of each character determined the quality of the printing.

About 800,000 pieces of type

In its official video, the museum says it holds about 800,000 pieces of type, roughly 500,000 of them metal. The number shows how large an inventory of individual characters premodern book production required.

The video shows the type itself and Joseon printing culture.

YouTube ↗

Sources & context

2026-10-05T10:12:00+09:00

National Museum of Korea · Collection ↗National Museum of Korea · YouTube ↗