Korea's craftsmanship in pottery was once a great source of pride of the country, leading to vibrant trade with Arab merchants during the Silla (57 B.C. - A.D. 935) and Goryeo (918-1392) Dynasties and was envied by neighboring Japan. Now you can see that particular area of Korea's talent firsthand through upcoming festivals in Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province), the province surrounding Seoul.

Yeoju Ceramic Festival

The 20th Yeoju Ceramic Festival, which is to run from May 7 to 25, is especially famous for household ceramics.

The festival takes off with the departure of a sailboat on a river, and goes on to entertain visitors with exhibitions, performances and hands-on experience of making pottery.

Master potters will be there to give live demonstrations of spinning the pottery wheel, engraving and painting. Another eye-catching program is ‘Undergraduate homewares making contest,' where future master potters will pit their skills against each other. An open-air gallery dubbed ‘Gallery of water' will feature eco-friendly ceramics, while the theme park ‘Hangeul (Korean alphabet)' will host an earthenware display, pottery shrine and pottery grave.

For children there is a place to play with ceramic toys, a clay playroom and "Jeungteo" the village of ceramic experience. Kids can not only experience making small pots but also just play with clay, throwing and catching it. A shower room is also ready, to the relief of parents. Other activities include farming, archery and tea ceremony. Those coming on weekends will be in for a special treat, with traditional fireworks in the evenings.

Date: May 7 – 25 (19 days)
Location: 301-1 Cheonsongni, Bungnae-myeon, Yeoju-gun, Gyeonggi-do Province
Transportation :By bus, take bus no. 7 or 10-1 at Yeoju Express Bus Terminal and get off at the entrance of the resort. (10 mins). By Taxi it is 5-10 minutes from Yeoju Express Bus Terminal.
Contact: 031-887-2282
Homepage: http://www.ceramicexpo.org/20th/docs/index.htm (Korean)
Korea Travel Phone:  +82-31-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese) 
For more info:  +82-31-635-7976 (Korean, English)

Icheon Ceramic Festival

Icheon Ceramic Festival, running May 10-June 1, prides itself for its high quality ceramics created by master craftsmen in traditional kilns, reviving the old methods. This year it celebrates its 22nd year, and tourists are encouraged to take an active part in learning more about traditional pottery.

This year's fun programs include drinking tea and racing with teacups, visiting a ceramic rice-cake house, creating pottery shapes with Lego blocks, a photo contest, hot spas and so forth.

An even more in-depth experience includes private pottery rooms in which one can make and bake one's own pottery to take home, video experience rooms that tell the history of pottery as well as clay animation. The latter is popular with children.  The self-made pottery will be baked and sent home afterwards, which is part of the service of the festival. Since the place is also famous for having rice of excellent quality, those who buy rice cakes there will also receive an individual plate to take home for free.

The biggest highlight of all the events is expected to be the ‘Firing in a Traditional Kiln,' during which a potter will explain everything from the nature of a firewood kiln to the process of taking ceramics out after firing. People will be able to observe the strenuous efforts and artistic skill of the potters through the live demonstration.

On the sidelines of the festival there will also be a Korea-China workshop on pottery. This will be a chance for those interested in pottery to learn about Chinese craftsmanship as well.

Date: May 10-June 1
Location: Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do (province)
Transportation
Take an Express Bus to Icheon from Seoul (Gangnam) Express Bus Terminal (time required: 60 min; runs 06:30-22:00, every 30-40 min). Or you can take an Express Bus to Icheon from Dongseoul (Gangbyeon) Terminal (time required: 60 min; runs 06:10-22:40, every 15~20 min).
Homepage: www.ceramic.or.kr 
Training program for foreigners: Click
Korea Travel Phone:  +82-31-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese) 
For more info:  +82-31-635-7976 (Korean, English)

By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net staff writer