Amamori kohiki vase, stoneware (15th–16th century) Rare Joseon dynasty vessel that showcases the simplicity of Korean buncheong ware. The vase is a kohiki type, made of dark stoneware covered in a smooth white slip. It features amamori or rain-spot effects, which are small stains that formed naturally over centuries. These markings give the surface a soft and weathered look that collectors value.

Buncheong dish, Korea, ca. 1400-1600

the slight feeling that things around us are magic & that there is a kind of intentional rhythmical pattern at work in the universe is one of the most beautiful things i can imagine experiencing in life.

buncheong bowl with stamped design, joseon dynasty, national museum of korea

i recently went on a trip to korea and was able to renew a timid but vibrant connexion to a place i have deep ties with. i ate things i had never tried before, spent time with family, drank as many varieties of magkeolli as i possibly could, spent a whole day walking through flea markets, and of course, made sure i could see a lot of institutionalized art, both gallery hopping and slowly striding through some of seoul's main and also nicher museums.

and so, on one rainy afternoon, i entered the leeum museum where i encountered buncheong ceramics for the first time and was left completely awestruck —crying awestruck, going around the whole museum and circling back to that one particular section awestruck. something about the simple colours, essential shapes and repetitive patterns had me returning especially to stamped buncheong ware, i was completely hypnotized and moved by their simple beauty.

buncheong dish with stamped flower design, joseon dynasty, national museum of korea

but since this particular travel was an exercise in real life world building —stretching my imagination to encompass more and more of a reality dependant on another place & culture not so foreign and which almost felt alternate— i put the image of these vessels in a corner of my mind, leaving them untouched to see if any connexions might eventually arise between other objects, moments, stories witnessed and encountered.

a couple weeks later, at 6:30 am, i arrived at the hanazono shrine antique market in shinjuku, tokyo. i wasn't looking to bring anything home, and simply came curious to experience what i understood to be a rich ecosystem of ancient baubles and trinkets —my favourite ! i was taken aback by the things i saw there and ended up buying a few special shibori dyed scarf-like pieces of fabric —obi coverings i was told—, an obi decoration made of seashells covered in dyed fabric and a bowl i was simply looking at with no intentions but was persuaded to purchase by an aggressively convincing stall vendor.

I did not realize how similar it looked to the buncheong wares i saw at the leeum & korean national museums until i got home and had time to sit and mentally review all the things i encountered while being away for nearly a month. this took me down a small rabbit hole of research which led me to learning that buncheong ware slots itself into korean ceramic history right between celadon and porcelain. in the early days of buncheong, it borrowed from inlaid techniques used in celadon pottery and reminiscent of mother of pear lacquer work; its later iterations becoming clay vessels dipped in white slip as a way to imitate porcelain, before slowly disappearing from the korean craft repertoire for a few hundred years.

bottle buncheong with brushed white slip, joseon dynasty, 16th century, leeum museum of art. "this buncheong bottle is decorated solely with a quick brushing of white slip, with no special designs or patterns on the surface. this decorative technique, which highlights the texture of the rough brush made from pig bristles or horsehair, is characteristic of the late period of buncheong wares, as specific designs or patterns were gradually omitted over time. the contrast between the swift brushstrokes and the neatly trimmed form convey a very contemporary sense."

however, while it declined in korea, buncheong ware had become and stayed quite popular in japan its essential yet imperfect shapes aligning with wabi-sabi philosophy. buncheong was first imported from korea to japan, then made locally in yamashiro province and is known today in japan as mishima ware. during the 20th century, contemporary korean ceramicists such as yoon kwang-cho who studied in japan and started reinterpreting buncheong wares in their own body of work.

so this is the story in fewer words: while in japan i was unknowingly persuaded to purchase a mishima chawan bowl, an object derived from a korean pottery style that touched me so deeply i was wiping away little tears in the dark finding out about its existence at a museum in seoul. and every morning i now drink from it, thinking about the complicated historic entanglements as manifested through crafts & colonization between korea and japan. maybe i'll post a picture of it here one day.

 Sung Jae Choi

Buncheong, Slip paintings by Sung-jae Choi

Gyeyal Danbak Sagi. Stoneware slip decoration ceramics. Australian contemporary ceramics.

www.sereneceramics.com

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