[Episode 2] - Process Master's Signature - A Journey to Plant Light in Pottery ! The Process of Making the Stunningly Beautiful and Noble Korean Traditional Pottery 'Joseon White Porcelain' - Lee Hyang-koo
The process of making matt inlaid 'Joseon white porcelain' finished with the ' Bakji ' technique.
' Bakji 'technique - A pattern technique in which the white clay of the background other than the pattern is scraped off and a transparent grayish-blue glaze is applied to create a contrast between the pattern and the background
1. Regarding the Master Craftsman - After graduating from middle school in 1969, the spoiled youngest first started making pottery in Samcheonpo, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea.
There were a couple of famous factories in Samcheonpo, one was a pottery factory for making pottery and the other was a textile factory for manufacturing textiles. At the young age of 17, he started making pottery at a pottery factory with ‘pottery molding (the process of making pottery by manpower by turning a wheel with feet)’. The pottery factory he went to was a pottery factory that opened right after Korea was liberated in 1945. At that time, it was not a time when the factory doors were always open and there was work, as it is now, but when orders came in, the factory doors were opened and if there were not many orders, the factory was closed. In the 1960's and 1970's in Korea, ceramics that were used throughout life, such as bowls, rice bowls, and kitchen utensils, were mainly made in pottery factories. He worked hard for a month and received it for the first time in him life. He's Father said ' Our youngest son is so praiseworthy. Huh, haha.’ The image of them smiling and praising him is still good and remains like a picture in he's heart. During the two years he worked hard, he realized he had talent. Around that time, he heard a request to come and work at a ceramics factory in Seoul, Korea, and moved to Seoul. He worked at a pottery manufacturing factory in Seoul, and after earnest pottery training in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, he moved to the present Icheon, Gyeonggi-do, where he received the Korean government's certification as a 'ceramic master' in 2005 and settled down.
In the video, a luxurious matt 'Joseon white porcelain' was produced with a ‘matte glaze’ developed by a master craftsman Lee hyang-koo
Another story in the heart of the rest of the master can be found in the video.
2. What is 'Yijo white porcelain' and 'Joseon white porcelain' ? -
'YIjo white porcelain' , 'Joseon white porcelain' is one of the representative pottery of Korea.
Joseon white porcelain is a pottery that symbolizes the ‘eol (spirit) ’ of Koreans, a ‘white-clad nation’, and it is called the pottery made from the Joseon period ( Year 1392-1910 (during 510 Year) ) after the Goryeo period. Literally, it is pottery made using white pigment. It has been popular since the Joseon Dynasty after the Goryeo Dynasty (the name given to Korea's pre-Joseon era). In the early Joseon Dynasty, all the vessels used by the Korean royal family were 'white porcelain', so the use of 'white porcelain' was taboo for the common people. Gradually, the use of white porcelain became more widespread among noblemen (nobility), and as the demand of the people increased, the use of white porcelain became widespread.
There are three major types of white porcelain in the Joseon Dynasty: ‘blue and white porcelain’, ‘pure white porcelain’, and ‘iron white porcelain’.
‘Blue and white porcelain’ was rare and was a very luxurious pottery form during the Joseon Dynasty, as it was painted in blue color with ‘cobalt (ashes)’ mainly imported from China.
Next, ‘pure white porcelain’ literally means pottery without any patterns or pictures on the pure ‘white porcelain’ itself. ‘Moon Jar’ is a representative example. This ‘moon jar’ has no manufacturing technique or history in Japan or China, and it is a pottery with a rich and neat feeling unique to Korea.
And ‘Cheolhwa White Porcelain’ is a pottery made by using iron oxide pigment, which can be obtained anywhere, instead of cobalt pigment, which is difficult for Joseon potters to obtain.
3. The beginning and development process of Korean ceramics - Earthenware was first made and used in Korea from the Neolithic Age 6,000 years ago. After the Unified Silla Dynasty, Goryeo celadon was created by referring to and developing ( Chinese Tang three colors celadon). Later, during the Joseon Dynasty, white porcelain was made. During this period, most pottery was made. Since then, Korean pottery and ceramic technology have had a great influence on neighboring countries.
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