Recreating Koryo Celadon
- Ceramic artist Cho Doo-un gains fame for his jade color pottery pieces


Koryo celadon is made with earth mixed with iron powder and before they are baked in kilns in heat ranging from some 1,250 degree centigrade to 1,300 degree centigrade, they are painted with oil mixed with iron powder from 1 to 3 percent. When they are fully baked in the kilns, they become bluish green in color.
Potter Cho Doo-un, with the penname of Kodang, is a renowned modern ceramic artist, who devoted his entire artistic life in creating this ancient art form. His celadon pieces are considered to be one of the finest of its kind very close to ancient Koryo celadons with that mystic bluish green color, which is why his work are so very much appreciated in Japan. His name is listed in the Japanese fine art publication published by the Japanese Fine Art Club. He held many solo exhibitions of his work in Japan and a piece of his artwork sells for 840,000 yen and above.
The history of pottery traces back to the 9th century during the Silla Kingdom in the Korean Peninsula influenced by Chinese pottery making technique. Some historians presume that the pottery history dates from the latter part of the 10th century during the Koryo Dynasty due to the rise in demand for Chinese celadon among the upper-class people. The pottery technique continued to make progress and by the end of the 11th century, with the emergence of the kingdom's unique pottery making technique and diversification of the products. Large-scale kilns were located in what is now Gangjin, South Jeolla Province and Buan, North Jeolla Province.
During the first half of the 12th century, pure Koryo celadon became the most popular celadon. A Soong Chinese emissary who visited the Korean kingdom recorded in his diary that Koryo produced a perfect celadon. With the diversification of celadon, a new pottery making technique developed in the period called "sanggam." Various kinds of patterns emerged on the surface of pottery pieces and in the middle of the 12th century during the height of Koryo culture, a number of typical Koryo celadon pieces was added including celadon with patterns of painting, flowers, animals, and birds.
However, from the latter part of the 12th century to the early 13th century, Koryo celadon changed in reflection of social and economic changes of the period in which military families replaced civilian bureaucrats as the ruling class caused by the Mongolian invasion. In the 14th century, under the rule of Yuan China, new ruling classes emerged led by new bureaucrats and demand for pottery pieces increased. Punchong pottery pieces began to emerge, replacing Koryo celadon as they had to be mass produced to meet the rising demand.
In a nutshell, the Koryo Dynasty developed pure celadon in the early 12th century with Buddhist society and new titled families as its background and further refined it to give birth to "Sanggam Blue Celadon."
People tend to easily fail to notice the devotion, agony and concentration of an artist when they view art work, even though they admire the work. They, however, would feel the devotion and perspiration that went into celadon pieces produced by Cho Doo-un.
Red flowers, blue bamboo leaves inscribed in white porcelains and the jade color, which presents clean beauty, dazzle the eyes of their viewers.
"I love to play with soil and so I became a potter," recalled Cho, adding he learned the art of perseverance and patience in the process of creating his own art. The renowned potter launched his career by setting up the Dongnam Pottery Research Center in 1968.
At first, he just followed footsteps of other ordinary potters, but as his career progressed, he developed his own celadon pieces in jade color to show for his artistic career spanning more than 30 years.
The Kodang Pottery Research Institute located in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, is the place where Cho devotes all his efforts to create his art work.
Visitors to the institute can see not only his artworks on display but also his personal history and devotion to his art. His name has been listed in an almanac of famous artists in Japan since 1984, showing off his talent for ceramic art.
In recent years, he visited foreign countries more often than in the past. He altogether held 22 solo exhibition of his ceramic pieces in Japan due to the popularity of his pottery in the neighboring country. His works are highly regarded in Taiwan, and other countries in Southeast Asia. What is the reason for his work enjoying such a high esteem in those countries? It is the beauty of the unique color of his pottery, which nobody can imitate, art critics said. Who can produce exactly the pottery of the same color modeled after hnis works for which Cho devoted
his life for more than 30 years? His green celadon being on display at the center are enough to touch the hearts of those who see them with the beauty of their outer lines and the brilliance of the jade color. Kodang emphasizes that the greatest of all the artworks are those which can impress the viewers. "The tasks of potters are how to effectively express the beauty of the color, line and the hue," he stresses. He won many awards during his long artistic career including the gold award at the Cultural Festival, the Korea-Japan Plastic Art Award. He has also been a member of the Korea Art Deliberation Committee. nw