Potter Kim, Gap-young inherits a thousand-year history of ceramics

The Green Celadon’s other name is the ‘breathing basin of well-being’

All things mature. It is the season of heart-fluttering harvest. Like the spirit of a farmer, the fruits of people who concentrate on a single task their whole life shines with beauty. The same is true of the life of a potter, creating the same green celadon passed on by his family, the same pottery he has seen since he was a boy. Potter Kim, Gap-young, the winner of the 2013 Yeonsu-gu People’s Award for Culture and Arts, makes ceramics for a living. Let’s take a moment to have a look.

Writer Kim Ha-neul Photos Jeong Dong-myeon

35 years from making earthenware to resurrecting green celadon

If God created men from earth, a potter might be closest to the providence of Creation. The world of Kim, Gap-young (age: 52), who has been a potter for 35 years now, also started from earth. His father was a potter, and he naturally inherited the family occupation. It was 1978 when he fully stepped into the world of earth. Little did he know an incident was waiting for him, a landmark in his life as a potter.

Potter Kim recalled, “An old site for making green celadon (Historic Site # 211) was found at a golf course at Gyeongseo-dong, Seo-gu. However, the site was somewhat neglected, only a protective tent covering it. The measure for preserving the site was quite superficial. I was afraid that the site will become nominal, falling into a state that people wouldn’t care about at all.”

There have been sites for making green celadon in Korea since the late unified Silla era. These sites have both historic and cultural significance as places where bowls and basins were made and loved by the ordinary people of the Incheon region. Without hesitation, Potter Kim started to resurrect the green celadon by developing enamels and testing them over and over again. His many years of time and effort finally bore fruit in the ‘resurrection of the indigenous color of green celadon.’

This June, Potter Kim acquired ‘Patent No 10-1275348 GLAZE COMPOSITION FOR GREEN CELADON CAPABLE OF EMITTING INFRARED RAY-RADIATING EFFECT AND A MANUFACTURING METHOD OF THE GREEN CELADON’ from the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office. With the ‘hands’ of a potter, Mr. Kim created a way to resurrect the historic and cultural value of green celadon for today’s everyday ceramics.

Green celadon is simpler than celadon and more practical than white porcelain

Although the joy of recreating green celadon was for Potter Kim a revelation, there was something more to it. Mr. Kim noticed that green celadon was different from Goryeo celadon or Joseon white porcelain. With its unique, delicate, and simple color, he found that green celadon could be used for functional and healthy everyday ceramics.

“For more than 30 years, I studied green celadon. I searched for related documents, I picked up fragments from the old site to analyze the components of the earth and enamel, and I made countless trials and errors. I am so proud that the result of such efforts has been reborn as everyday ceramics for modern times.” The green celadon created by Potter Kim has not only appeared in many domestic exhibitions, but was also praised and welcomed by foreigners during the 2010 G20 Cultural Grand Ceremony, Celebration for the Opening of Japanese Culture Center, and Invitational Exhibition for Green Celadon held in Indonesia.

Green celadon could have been buried and forgotten under the earth. After studying it for a long time, however, Potter Kim let the world know about its value and turned it into a modern ceramic that can be used in real life. The green celadon made by Potter Kim includes ornamental artwork and functional vessels such as rice containers, tableware, kettles, and wine glasses. His works are displayed in his workroom at Dongchun-dong, Yeonsu-gu.

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