Dan Hwang (단황, pronounced Dahn-Hwahng) is one of four inks in the Minhwa (민화) collection from Colorverse. Released in late 2022, these inks are from vol. 4 of the Project series and are closely related to the Kingdom collection. Minhwa is traditional Korean folk painting, particularly popular during the Joseon dynasty and focuses on people, culture, and nature.

The name Dan Hwang describes sweet yellow. On many uncoated papers, I think that’s accurate. However, this ink really comes alive on coated papers. It’s bolder and becomes more of a very creamy light orange yellow.

On coated papers, it’s a much stronger, more practical ink, especially in broader nibs. It has a very nice, darkened stroke edging that makes it a usable ink for reading and writing. With fine nibs and uncoated papers, it’s too faint (almost a lemon juice yellow) to be practical for writing. At the same time, this is an ink inspired by art, and for artistic projects I can see this being very popular.

Writing performance with broader nibs and coated papers is nice. It’s razor-sharp with no feather or spread. The edging really makes it pop. There was little or no show-through on any of the six papers I used for testing, and drying is quick.

Dan Hwang is beautifully packaged and comes in the 30 ml bottle. You can find it for US$15 a bottle. In broader nibs and the right papers, this is a delicious, unusual ink. If that doesn’t work for you, maybe choose another.