His right index finger tells the entire story before he utters a single word. Unable to straighten naturally and stuck resting lifted upward, misshapen from more than six decades of pressing down on hand planes, it is the quiet, undeniable badge of a craftsman who has spent a lifetime shaping raw timber into pieces of living history. At 75, Shin Wan-sik bears the physical toll of 60 years dedicated to an ancient craft. He commands 70 percent of Korea's domestic baduk board market through his company, Six Brothers Baduk. Baduk is more commonly known internationally as "go." Virtually every landmark event in modern Korean baduk has unfolded over his creations. Recently a custom board made by Shin was presented by Korean President Lee Jae Myung to Chinese President Xi Jinping during an APEC summit in Gyeongju in 2025. His influence reaches far beyond diplomatic gifts: One of his boards was used in the historic match between Lee Se-dol and AlphaGo, as well as the personal boards favored by legendary masters Cho Hun-hyun and Lee Chang-ho — the real-life inspirations behind the film "The Ma