If you ask foreigners visiting Korea what they find beautiful,... one of the things
that never fails to be come up is Korea's porcelain work.
For those interested,... there's an exhibition that centers around the prized white and blue
porcelain of Korea... and our Yim Yoonhee joins us today for more on the exhibition.
The National Museum of Korea opened the new exhibition today.
Some of Korea's most important white and blue porcelain works are included, along with some
of Korea's official national treasures.
Take a look.
A beautiful blue dragon, sprawled across the body of a delicate white porcelain jar.
During the Joseon Dynasty, porcelain work saw many transformations, including the use
of cobalt blue glaze laid against the pure white, resulting in these blue and white porcelain
works, also known as Chunghwa Porcelain.
[KOREAN] "This exhibition features Joseon dynasty celadon
and porcelain, highlighting it's value to Korea's history.
Now more can discover the beauty of Korean Chunghwa porcelain."
It's a centuries old technique, that was seen across the Asian continent, but Korea developed
a style of its own.
One of the most valuable works on display is a Chunghwa Porcelain lidded jar with a
plum and bamboo design.
The national treasure shows the Korean artists's unique use of the pure empty space, creating
a more simplistic masterpiece right on the surface of the jar.
But what makes these works so valuable is that the cobalt blue had to be imported from
Islamic countries, so access to the craft was extremely rare.
Only the country's best craftsmen were given the opportunity to use the blue coloring,...
making it all the more popular with the royalty and the wealthy.
[KOREAN] "During the mid to late 18th century, Chunghwa
Porcelain was enjoyed by the aristocrat class, characterized by the simplistic paintings
of the four gracious plants, landscapes, animals, and patterns."
The era of elegant Chunghwa Porcelain was short lived, as Korea endured the Japanese
invasion,... but each graceful brushstroke preserved on these porcelain jars is a priceless
piece of Korea's history.
White and blue porcelain works were also being produced in other countries during the time.
Tell us more about the history of Korea's Chunghwa Porcelain.
As you heard in the report, the blue coloring had to be imported from Islamic countries
at that time, and so you can see that is was an art that dates far back before the 18th
century, which is when it began appearing in Korea.
In fact, it can be traced all the way to 14th century China.
And as it made it's way to Korea, we saw the emergence of a very distinctive stylistic
trait of Korean Chunghwa Porcelain,... which was a much more simplistic yet elegant look.
The white surface was no longer just the canvas, but now another medium the artist could work
with.
How many works all together are being presented?
They've gathered around 500 total works, 10 of which are official national treasures.
Wow, that's quite a large collection considering these works are pretty rare.
Right, so these works had to be borrowed from museums all over, including the Samsung Leeum
and Horim Museums here in Korea, the Idemitsu Museum in Tokyo and others around the world.
So it's really a multi-country display of art.
It seems that Korean Chunghwa Porcelain is prized in other countries as well.
That's right.
And this exhibition gives you a thorough glimpse into the Joseon porcelain culture.
Thank you for that report.
Always a pleasure.