A place I've meant to visit for quite a while now is the Icheon pottery village. This is a place where craftsmen throw their pots and fire them in the traditional wood burning kilns, like the one shown above, and where they each have a shop showing off their wares.The trip there takes about an hour by express bus either from Seoul or Suwon.
This little shop had some of the best celadon ware on display at quite reasonable prices. Celadon is a glazing technique developed by Chinese potters to mimic jade, that lucky and heavenly stone, in vessels that ordinary people could own. The artists are two brothers, Kim Bu Yung and Kim Ha Yung.The glazes vary from a delicate bluish green to a darker aquamarine hue, and good celadon ware has a depth to the glaze that makes you feel as if you are gazing into it. These ones certainly had that.
This shop, belonging to Hyang Ro Bit, also displayed some of the rami cloth quilting made by his wife. Rami cloth is similar to linen, but is stiffer and more airy at the same time, and is used for summer hanboks, as opposed to silk and brocade for winter ones. Unfortunately the shop itself was not open yet, so I couldn't go in (yes, I know, the door is standing open, but that was to get air into the shop!), and had to content myself by snapping a picture that is less than perfect due to the reflections in the windows.
This shop belongs to one of the female potters, Hyu Li Min, and this display of plants complemented the flowery designs of her work on the big urns in the background.
This shop specialises in kimchi pots. The kimchi pot is made with thick red clay walls, then it is glazed with an iron rich glaze to give the almost blackish brown colour. They come in all sizes - small, ornamental or gift pots to the big, serious ones that will hold the kimchi for a whole family.
If you're ever wondering how to spend a pleasant morning, if you like pottery and pots, and if you want to buy some truly unique pots from the artists, you could visit this delightful place.
