Korea boasts an unexcelled cultural tradition of pottery. Deep-rooted in the nation's long history, Korean ceramics are world-renowned. In turn, ceramics have greatly influenced the lifestyle of the Korean people.

Pottery includes earthenware, ceramic ware, stoneware, and porcelain. Historical studies suggest that man first started making earthenware in approximately 10,000 to 6,000 B.C. The oldest kind of Korean earthenware found thus far dates back to 6,000 to 5,000 B.C.

Korea's earliest earthenware was made by firing clay at a temperature of 600 to 800 degrees centigrade or sometime even 1,000 degrees centigrade. The oldest earthenware included those that were just dried without firing. This type of earthenware was only made for a certain period of time. Later on, as man's ingenuity increased, not only was the way of kneading clay improved, but kilns also began to be built that could withstand the heat needed for firing.

Ceramics are produced by firing clay at a temperature ranging from 900 to 1,000 degrees centigrade, which is then glazed. This process includes oxidization that turns the color of earthenware yellow, brown or red, and celadons and porcelains into yellow or brown.

Stoneware is fired in a kiln whose temperature exceeds 1,100 degrees centigrade. In this process, oxygen is limited to a minimum. Some stoneware is coated with either natural glaze or artificial glaze. This method of firing transforms the color of earthenware into grey, greyish and bluish-black, that of celadon into beautiful greenish-blue, and that of porcelain into mystic light blue. Porcelain is ceramic ware that is made of very pure white clay. It is shaped and glazed with feldspar before being fired at 1,300 to 1,350 degrees centigrade. For that reason porcelain is translucent.

Koreans began to make porcelain in the Neolithic era (7,000 to 8,000 years ago). In the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668), Koreans produced much more refined versions of earthenware that were fired at a very high temperature. Of exceptionally high quality were Silla and Kaya earthenware that was fired at over 1,200 degrees centigrade. The surface of this earthenware is greyish-blue and is extremely sturdy, almost like iron.

With the beginning of the Unified Silla era (668-935), the ground was laid for producing ceramic ware. Potters soon took to making celadon in earnest and eventually some white porcelain. In the Goryeo era (918-1392), the art of making celadon developed greatly, and celadon of extremely high quality was produced. In addition to Goryeo celadon, other kinds of pottery including iron-glazed and black-glazed pottery were also produced.

The unique, exquisite color of celadon, obtained through an arcane method of firing with reduced oxygen, first appeared in the 11th century and was subsequently further refined. In the 12th century, pure celadon emerged as the most sophisticated Goryeo celadon, and was used mainly by aristocratic households and Buddhist temples.

Goryeo pottery reached its peak in the first half of the 12th century. During the reign of King Injong (r.1122-1146), the firing method further advanced to produce celadon whose almost mystic bluish or gray-green color, often described as 'king-fisher green', defied comparison. The subsequent reign of King Uijong (1146-1170) saw remarkable advances in the technique of inlaying and drawing designs on celadon. In short, Goryeo celadon is widely acclaimed as the best and finest type of pottery for its subdued yet clear, high-spirited bluish-green color, its graceful, flowing curves, and its vivacious shape. Furthermore, the celadon, with its poetic inlaid designs and especially its inlaid copper whose color is artfully transformed to look red, the first technique of its kind ever known in the world, represents the apex of Goryeo pottery.

The 13th century Mongol invasion of Goryeo brought a decline in pottery. As a result, the color, shape and decorative designs of celadon items changed. Celadon pieces took on a mostly dark greenish and opaque glaze and lost much of their graceful shape. Inlaid patterns became rough and were often omitted. Thus the quality to Korean pottery had climaxed with Goryeo celadons as the Joseon era (1392-1910) began to unfold.

Joseon ceramics consisted of two major categories: a type of stoneware called buncheong pottery and white porcelain. A product of the early period of the Joseon era, buncheong pottery, made for wider use by the masses, is expressive of indigenous Korean folk art. During the period from the final years of the Goryeo era to the early years of Joseon, celadon gave way to buncheong pottery on which designs were inlaid, stamped, or painted with iron pigment, or scratched into the slip coating. The glaze on buncheong pottery is light blue, and their shapes differ from celadon.

In the period from the late 13th century through the 15th century, Joseon white porcelain, a variation of celadon and Goryeo white porcelain, was also produced. In addition, a new version of Joseon porcelain that was quite different from traditional Goryeo pottery was produced. Thus, together with Goryeo ceramics, buncheong pottery and the new version of Joseon white porcelain, formed the mainstream of Korean pottery through the 16th century.

Buncheong pottery is different in both shape and other characteristics from white porcelain. Buncheong pottery varies greatly in its decorative designs, whereas white porcelain is made entirely of white clay and has no decorative designs on it. Overall, the color of Joseon pottery tended to be white.

The Japanese invasions of the Korean Peninsula in the late 16th century dealt a major blow to Korean pottery. During the invasions, numerous kilns were destroyed, and many Korean potters were taken as captives to Japan. All this caused a major setback to the development of Korean pottery, while these captured Korean potters eventually gave a major boost to the rise of the ceramics industry in southern Japan. In particular, the devastation by the Japanese invaders virtually brought an end to the production of buncheong ceramics, one of the two principal pottery styles of the Joseon period.

From the first year (1392) of the reign of King Taejo to the 27th year (1649) of the reign of King Injo of the Joseon era, buncheong and white porcelain constituted the main stream of Korean pottery, although buncheong became increasingly dominant during the 15th century. However, beginning in the second half of the 16th century, the production of buncheong pottery dwindled and virtually ceased before the 1592-1598 Japanese invasions took place. No buncheong ware was produced after the Japanese invasions. Buncheong basically resembles Goryeo celadons in its form and shape. Yet, characteristically, buncheong exhibits sprightly, daring and often humorous yet gracious lines.

The shade of high-quality white porcelain produced in the earlier Joseon period is pale blue, reminiscent of the clear skies shortly after daybreak following a night of snowfall. The serene, dignified beauty of a white porcelain with no decorative design on it is virtually unrivalled.

This kind of white porcelain reached its heyday in the late period of the Joseon Dynasty, although similar types of white porcelain appeared in some quantities in the early period of the same dynasty.

During the reign of King Sejong (r.1418-1450), white porcelain with under-glaze designs in cobalt blue was produced, though the quantity of such porcelain was relatively limited. Beginning in the second half of the 15th century, Korean potters produced white porcelain with underglaze designs in ferrous iron oxide. By the mid-17th century, the underglaze designs on such porcelains became more simplified and stylized, mostly depicting plants and flowers, such as chrysanthemums, as well as dragons. All these designs elicit the aesthetic beauty that is typically Korean.

This white porcelain underwent a major change in shape and design during the middle period of the Joseon Dynasty, more specifically from 1651, the second year of King Hyojong's reign, to 1751, the 27th year of King Yeongjo's reign-a period that followed the Japanese invasions of the Korean Peninsula (1592-1598) and the Manchu incursions into Joseon (1627 and 1636-1637).

White porcelain ware produced in that period became increasingly pure white in color and took on flat sides. The underglaze designs on the porcelain became less elaborate and more impressionistic in perfect harmony with both the color and shape of the porcelain. Much of the white porcelain, including flatsided jars, produced in the period was particularly noted for their luminous whiteness; hence they were known as 'snow-white porcelains.'

Some of the white porcelain also produced during that period is especially famous for their paintings of orchid designs emphasizing their unadorned beauty. In the middle to later period of the 15th century, there appeared white porcelain that exhibited the patterns of stylized paintings. These decorative patterns drawn on white porcelain became further simplified, accentuating their thematic expression in a unique manner.

In the period from 1752, the 28th year of the reign of King Yeongjo, through the end of the 19th century, the final period of the Joseon Dynasty, an even greater variety of pottery was produced. However, as imperial Japan began to make increasingly overt attempts to occupy the Korean Peninsula in the late 19th century, a massive quantity of Japanese pottery products flooded the Korean market. Subsequently, the capital-rich Japanese set up large-scale pottery factories, causing the Korean pottery craft to decline rapidly.

Ceramic products mass-produced by the Japanese in Korea consisted mostly of artless porcelain pieces manufactured with machines, in sharp contrast with Korean ceramics that had been handmade and fired in traditional kilns. Nevertheless, Korean potters continued to produce fairly large quantities of traditional jars, such as those used to store drinking water, soy sauce, or kimchi, Korea's traditional pickled vegetable dish.

Today, Korean potters are making enormous efforts to recreate traditional pottery of highly artistic quality through kilns which have been rebuilt in the country side. The most notable kiln sites include Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do province, and Gwangju-gun and Icheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do province.