Koreans have used pottery from 7,000 to 8,000 years ago. Since ancient times, they used to make pottery by firing clay at a temperature of 1300 degrees Celsius. They produced unique, original and beautiful pottery. They traded extensively with China and adopted Celadon’s manufacturing skills.

Korean pottery is healthy and alive due to its natural good disposition. Korean potters believed in nature and sought to be a part of it. So they lived in the deep recesses of the mountains to give their products a natural touch and used simple colors with liberal techniques to mold the clay before making the pottery.

Korean pottery can be studied in terms of three empires. These three empires that provide the foundation for Korean pottery history also reflect the pottery culture during this time. These three kingdoms are: Silla, Goguryeo, and Joseon. Korean potters produced crude household items, as well as highly sophisticated statues of imperial figures, guardians, horses, escorts of the dead in the mausoleum of the kings, as well as the nobility.

1. Korean Pottery in the Silla era (668-935): Pottery was simple in color, design, and silhouette at the time of the unified Silla era. Celadon was the main product. Little by little, in the 14th century, Bakeja porcelain items were developed that had a vibrant glaze. These were made of highly refined clay. Bakeja items were fixed with feldspar and carefully baked in very large fresh ovens. Bakeja products flourished enormously until the Joseon dynasty came to power.

2. Korean pottery in the Goguryeo era (918-1392): During this era, some of the best small-scale pottery works were made in Korea. At this time potters made foliated designs, key frets, geometric shapes, elliptical panels, stylized fish and insects, and began to use incised designs from this era. The enamels used were of different shades of Celadon. For the stoneware and storage items they used black and brown enamels.

3. Korean pottery in the Joseon dynasty (1392 to 1910): It can be called the golden age of Korean pottery. Korean pottery was highly developed, and pottery was produced on a large commercial scale for export. The quality of the ceramics also improved considerably. They followed the Chinese Ming dynasty in the evolution of their improved range of ceramics and are similar in certain respects to Chinese items. Storage pottery, celadon, and white porcelain were the same with only minor variations in glazes, designs, or weight. Ming’s influence was also felt in blue and white matter through the use of cobalt blue enamels.

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, many Chinese potters migrated to Korea and brought colorful and vibrant pottery of special shapes that was discarded by Korean potters who preferred to make simple and less ornate products.

Korea exported most of its pottery to Japan and mainly from the Busan area. Climbing ovens were largely exported.

There were two forms of export: through the treatment and deliberate immigration of potters or through the invasion and theft of pottery.

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