MUNJADO / 문자도 (Painting of Characters)

Munjado screens superimpose depictions of symbolic animals, birds, fish, plants, as well as lyrical scenes, onto Chinese ideographs. Munjado conveys the eight principles of Confucian morality, and each panel has a Chinese ideograph and the matching design in order.

The eight virtues are: filial duty (hyo), brotherly friendship (jae), loyalty (choong), trust (shin), courtesy (ye), righteousness (ui), integrity (yom), and sensibility (chi). Rooted in Chinese philosophy, Munjado screens were mostly used in middle and upper class family households.