The use of dancheong in Korea dates back many centuries, and the skillful techniques developed long ago are still preserved today. Dancheong refers to Korean-style decorative coloring used on buildings or other items to convey beauty and majesty, and is done by applying various patterns and paintings in certain areas. Five basic colors are used: red, blue, yellow, black and white.

In addition to its decorative function, dancheong was applied for practical reasons as well. It was used to prolong the life of the building and conceal the crudeness of the quality of the material used, while emphasizing the characteristics and the grade or ranks that the building or object possessed. Dancheong also provided both a sense of conformity to certain traditions and diversity within the tradition.

Ordinarily dancheong refers to the painting of buildings constructed of wood. Coloring of other buildings or objects may be found as well, adding majesty to a stone building, structural statues or artifacts.

Due to the absence of buildings that date from ancient times, the history of Korean dancheong can only be traced via murals in old tombs during the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668). Particularly, in murals of old tombs from the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 B.C.-A.D. 668), there remain diverse colored patterns which show the appearance of dancheong and architectural characteristics of that period. Along with those murals, colored pictures and lacquerwork excavated from tombs also show the elements of dancheong.

According to historical records of the Three Kingdoms, only nobility with the rank of seonggol (those in the royal family qualified to be king) could use the five colors during the ancient Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 668). Unfortunately, no building decorated with dancheong from that era remains today. Only through evidence from architectural remains excavated in Gyeongju, the capital of the Silla Kingdom, can it be deduced that dancheong during that period was quite delicate and beautiful.

In the Gaoli tujing (Goryeodogyeong, Illustrated Account of Goryeo), written in the 12th century by the Chinese scholar Xu Jing(Seogeungl), it is noted that the Goryeo people enjoyed building royal palaces. According to the text, the structure of the places where the king stayed was constructed with round pillars and a square headpiece. The ridge of the roof was colorfully decorated and its configurational structure appeared as if it were about to ascend to the sky. This description suggests the size and majesty of the palace of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), which existed around the 12th century. Xu Jing's book also included a description of the luxurious dancheong work stating that, "the handrail was painted in red and decorated with vine-flowers; the coloring was very strong, yet gorgeous, thereby making the palace stand out among other royal palaces."

In murals of old tombs from the Goguryeo Kingdom, diverse colored patterns show the early form of Dancheong

Buildings from the Goryeo Dynasty that remain standing today exhibit bright and soft coloring and the dancheong lining shows that the dancheong techniques used during the Three Kingdoms period were further improved during the Goryeo Dynasty.

During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), Korean dancheong work was further developed and diversified. The general characteristics of dancheong during that period were a more expressive style and featured a complex unit pattern and decorative composition, along with more luxurious coloring.

There were a number of different types of dancheong; even in one particular building, patterns might be differentiated according to the part of the building they were located in. Nevertheless, dancheong patterns were systemized in consistent order. The system of patterns was categorized into four different types based on the structural characteristics and positions within the decorative composition. These four types included morucho, byeoljihwa, bidanmuni and dandongmuni.

Colorful dancheong, where diverse and vivid colors intertwine.

Morucho, also called meoricho, was a pattern used in painting both ends of supporting beams (such as the ridge of a roof) or corners of a building (such as the tip of eaves). Although the pattern of morucho differed based on the era and the building, its basic patterns consisted of a green flower, water lily, pomegranate, bubble, and whi (feather), although it should be noted that the whi pattern was not featured in Goryeo era dancheong. Using one sample pattern, morucho was repeatedly used in all the same parts of a building. Naturally, it occupied the largest amount of space and was most noticeable. Morucho was therefore the basic dancheong pattern used in almost all types of buildings. During the 18th and 19th centuries, morucho developed quite diverse styles, showing the vivid characteristics of Korean dancheong technique.

Byeoljihwa refers to decorative painting that utilized a storytelling technique and occupied the gap between two morucho. It differed based on the characteristics of the building, and was not used in palace construction; instead, it was most often employed in the construction of temples.

The content of Byeoljihwa consisted of auspicious animals (such as dragons, horses, lions, and cranes), the sagunja ("the Four Gentlemen" or plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo), or scenes from Buddhist sutras. Though unrelated to the content of the sutras, the prevailing state of society of the time was also often depicted in temple byeoljihwa.

Bidanmuni refers to the diverse coloring of rare and elegant designs or geometric patterns, and was used in various parts of the building, particularly in temples, while dandongmuni involves the design of a single flower plant or animal, or the application of a single geometric pattern in one section.

The colors of dancheong reflected the characteristics of the period. During the Goryeo period, parts of a building exposed to outside sunlight, such as pillars, were painted in red, while protruding corners of eaves or ceilings not exposed to sunlight were painted in greenish-blue, so as to enhance to the contrast of brightness and darkness. This application was known as the sangnok hadan (green-top, red-bottom) principle.

During the Joseon Dynasty, red, orange, blue, yellow, green, and seokganju colors were used profusely. Seokganju, also called juto, denotes red clay or ocher that yields a dark red or reddish brown pigment typically used for dancheong and pottery. This mineral pigment, basically ferric oxide of ferrous sulfate, is noted for its resistance to sunlight, air, water and heat. These were also mixed with white, Chinese ink color and other ingredients to derive various other colors. The colors were separated by insecting of white lines, thereby enhancing the distinctiveness of the pattern's outlining and coloring.

Ordinarily the order of colors used was determined by the characteristics, size, and appearance of the building. Usually, however, two to six colors were used following a set rule. For instance, when a gradual reduction of colors was desired from six colors, colors immediately after the first and immediately before the last colors were eliminated first to achieve a 5-4-3-2 order. Coordination of colors for dancheong consisted primarily of juxtaposing different and complementary colors. A technique of alternating a warm with a cold color was used to make the different colors more distinct from each other. Traditionally, typical pigments employed for dancheong were derived from pyeoncheongseok, a kind of copper ore, for dark blue and navy blue colors and from malachite for dark greenish blue. These pigments were preferred because of their vividness, durability and relative serenity. In addition, the vermilion pigment produced from clay, also a popular color for dancheong, was mostly imported from China's western regions and was hence highly valued.

The painting of dancheong was done by dancheongjangs, artisans skilled in the work of dancheong. A dancheongjang artisan was referred to by a number of titles: hwasa, hwagong, gachiljang, or dancheong. When the artisan was also a monk, he was referred to as a geumeo or hwaseung.

For palace construction, dancheong was done by a governmental office, the Seongonggam. Seongonggam artisans exclusively carried out dancheong work for palaces and other places, such as guest houses and government buildings. Temples, on the other hand, had their own resident dancheongjangs. In addition to performing dancheong work , however, the temple artisans also engaged in production of other works, including Buddhist painting and sculpture. Although there were two different categories of dancheongjang for palace and temple painting, the technical procedures related to dancheong work were the same. The patterns and coloring systems were therefore identical for the two categories.

At the beginning of a project, a pyeonsu, or head artisan, was chosen by the initiating party of the construction project. The pyeonsu then selected the format of dancheong for the pertinent building and chose the patterns to be used. From the mixing of colors to instruction about construction procedures, the pyeonsu was responsible for the completion of dancheong in its entirety.

Upon the beginning of dancheong work, a sample pattern was created for use in generating the same pattern of the pertinent parts of the building. This procedure was called chulcho. A bluish-green color was used as the base color, after which the pattern was placed on the desired spots of the building. This is done by pounding a powder sack over a paper transfer on which the design was outlined with pin holes. This work was referred to as tacho.

After the above procedures, coloring could finally be done. When coloring, each artisan painted only one color. The number of artisans employed in painting equalled the number of colors used in the design. Through such construction procedures, dancheong work was executed efficiently.