A Treat at Pottery Festival in Mungyeong

Mungyeong in North Gyeongsang Province is the home of the most traditional kind of Korean pottery, even though other areas such as Gangjin in South Jeolla Province, and Icheon, Yeoju and Gwangju all in Gyeonggi Province have stolen the limelight in past years for their abundant earthenware.

 

Mungyeong is packed with festival-goers last weekend.

The clay vessels of Mungyeong come in various sizes and can accommodate all kinds of food and beverages, giving rise to a handful of names like "tea bowls," "rice bowls" or even "alcohol bowls," reflecting their widespread practical use in bygone days.

 

Visitors enjoy the Tea Bowl Festival in Mungyeong.

A tea bowl festival was held in the southeastern city from April 28 to Sunday. Now in its 14th year, it showcased a diverse range of traditional tea bowls and offered visitors hands-on experience of making them. The venue seemed a perfect match for the festival as the traditional Korean homes there added a sense of antique charm.

 

A pottery exhibition at the festival

Visitors were able to feel the softness of the clay with their hands and feet. Meanwhile, children were entertained by a range of games including treasure hunts for beads hidden in the clay.

The most popular event among couples was making tea bowls together. Ceramists helped the participants fashion clay into bowls using a potter's wheel. Some couples even reenacted the steamy scene from the film "Ghost." Others created mosaic images with ceramic fragments or made rubbed copies of pottery designs.

The festival also showcased over 5,000 works by famous potters, giving a glimpse into Korea's traditional tea bowl culture.

Source:  http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/05/09/2012050901099.html