Ceramic Arts in Korea

Since ancient times, Korea has been famous for its ceramics. In fact, while many travelers visit Japan for its pottery, they often overlook the reality that Japanese ceramics, which spread north through Japan via its southern island of Kyushu, was actually “introduced” from Korea. Honestly, “introduced” is too mild a term. When the Japanese invaded Korea during the 16^th Century, they abducted the great Korean potters and forced them to work in Japan. One Korean potter taken to Japan at this time was referred as “the god of pottery.” Korea's great Ri Sam-pyeong, known in Japan as Kanegae Sampei, actually established the world famous pottery village in Arita, Japan, near Fukuoka City. Yi was originally from the Geum River Basin in Korea. As recently as 1990, a memorial was set up at the entrance to Donghaksa Buddhist Temple in Gongju, South Korea, with the inscription paid for by the people of Arita, Japan.

It took centuries for the Koreans to regain their ceramics superiority, but it can be considered a reality today. South Korea, which is smaller than 39,000 square miles, is home to the largest number of ceramics museums in the world. In Jeollanam-do, in the southern Province of Gangjin, is the Gangjin Celadon Museum. Visitors can take a 40-minute tour and enjoy an hour-long Celadon making experience. Additionally, they can explore the area, which is home to 188 celadon kiln sites. Also in the south, in Gimhae, near Busan, Korea's second largest city, tourists will find the Clayarch Gimhae Museum. Opened in 2007, this museum focuses only on architectural ceramics.

Three other ceramics museums are all located outside of Seoul, within a half-hour of each other. These include: the Gyeonggi Ceramic Museum, exhibiting and researching historical Korean ceramics; the Icheon World Ceramics Center (also called “The Cerapia”), exhibiting the work of contemporary ceramic artists—including many living “intangible cultural properties”, and the Yeoju World Ceramic Livingware Gallery, focusing on useful ceramics for the home, such as dishes and tea-ware. Together, these three museums are all situated within Gyeonggi Province, near the “ceramics town” of Icheon, about an hour’s drive south of Seoul. The area is often referred to as “Icheon Ceramics Village”, because it was the center of traditional pottery for about 500 years, during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Today, there are 80 pottery factories, 300 pottery kilns (many open to the public), numerous privately run galleries like the Hanhyanglim Gallery & Jay Collection, with its outstanding Ongii kimchi pots, and even a ceramics theme park. Icheon is especially famous for the World Ceramics Exhibition Foundation’s World Ceramic Biennale Korea (WCBK), the largest ceramics festival in the world, which has been held here every two years since 2001. The next WCBK will be held for about two months in autumn 2015 (exact dates TBA).

Of course, a complete Korean ceramics tour must also visit several key galleries in Seoul, including: the studio/gallery of Ms. Kim Yik Yung, near the imperial palace; the Tong-in Gallery; and the Hyundai Gallery, the most high-end is the three, but not exclusively ceramics focused, located near the Folklore Museum, which is also worth visiting for ceramics aficionados. For those who just want a taste of Korean ceramic culture, Hanna Tour offers an “Icheon Ceramics Village tour”. Independent travelers can journey to Icheon from Seoul’s Dong Seoul Bus Terminal in about an hour for about $4. A newer bus also runs hourly (until 10 p.m.) from the Seoul Express Bus Terminal, located in Central City near the JW Marriott Hotel. A taxi from Icheon Intercity Bus Terminal to Icheon Ceramics Village costs just 3,000 won, or about $3. Arthur Park, a retired ceramics professor from Wayne State University, offers reasonably-priced immersive, small-group ceramic and other cultural theme tours to Korea from the USA via his company Morning Earth Tours.

May 29, 2023