Nakhwajang refers to the art of decorating paper, wood, or leather by burning a drawing (typically a landscape or birds and flowers) on the surface with a heated iron. It is also used to refer to the masters of the art. The origins of pyrography in Korea can be found in a relevant entry (entitled "Nakhwa byeonjeungseol") in the 19th-century encyclopedia Oju yeonmun jangjeon sango compiled by the late-Joseon scholar Yi Gyu-gyeong (1788–1863). Since the early 19th century, the technique of pyrography has been transmitted mainly in the Imsil area of Jeollabuk-do Province.

Korean pyrography is primarily based on traditional Korean painting. It borrows a range of "texture strokes" (junbeop) and other brush and ink techniques from ink wash painting. However, all these traditional expressive methods are executed with a heated iron rather than a brush. Proficiency in manipulating the heated iron is critical to the execution of nakhwajang.