Gangjin Goryeo Celadon Kiln Sites

Daegu-myeon in Gangjin is the cradle of Goryeo celadon. Across the valleys of Yongun-ri, Gyeyul-ri, Sadang-ri and Sudong-ri lie more than 180 kiln sites where celadon and earthenware were fired throughout the Goryeo period, and few places gather kilns from the whole dynasty in one area. Visit the Goryeo Celadon Museum in Sadang-ri first, with its excavated kilns and shards, and the fields around it will look quite different.

Why Gangjin?

Daegu-myeon had everything a potter needed. The sea to the south made it easy to ship finished wares to the capital, Gaegyeong, the hills to the north supplied plenty of firewood, and the raw materials, kaolin and silica, were found locally.

The kilns were rediscovered in 1914, excavated many times and designated a national Historic Site in 1963. In 1994 they were placed on UNESCO's World Heritage tentative list, and in 2011 the site received its current name. Together with the kilns of Buan in North Jeolla, they are central to the study of Goryeo celadon.

A different era in every village

• Yongun-ri: 75 fairly well-preserved kilns on the upper Yongun stream, most from early Goryeo. They show how celadon production began.
• Gyeyul-ri: 59 kilns, with many shards of early and late Goryeo inlaid celadon.
• Sadang-ri: 43 kilns on the lower stream, badly damaged by erosion, farming and looting. Yet this is where the finest celadon was fired in mid to late Goryeo, so it reveals the famous jade-green bisaek glaze and inlaid wares at their peak.
• Sudong-ri: six kilns in the fields south of Sadang-ri, mostly late Goryeo, with varied shapes and glaze colours.

Goryeo Celadon Museum

Built on the Sadang-ri kiln site, the Goryeo Celadon Museum tells the story of Goryeo celadon through finds from the kilns. Its collection numbers 30,189 items, 189 of them intact, and the rest mostly shards from the kilns. Audio guides and tablets explain the displays, and excavated kiln remains can be seen around the museum. There is also a celadon-making workshop where you shape your own piece, a shop and a digital museum.

Jade green and inlay: understanding celadon

Goryeo celadon is prized for its soft blue-green glaze, known as bisaek. A glaze containing a little iron turns green when fired in a kiln starved of oxygen, and the colour varied greatly with the potter's control of heat and flame. Goryeo potters also perfected sanggam inlay, carving designs into the surface and filling them with white clay and dark, iron-rich clay. That is why so many inlaid shards turn up at Gyeyul-ri and Sadang-ri.

Bringing celadon back to life

The protected area covers 1,029,640 m². In 1986 an office was set up in Gangjin to protect the kilns and revive lost celadon techniques, and a kiln reconstructed from the excavations can be seen at the National Museum of Korea. The Goryeo Celadon Museum also runs "Play Celadon", a booked play space for pre-school children, and pottery activities such as carving and coiling.

Tripto tips

• Museum hours: 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30), closed on Mondays; if Monday is a public holiday it opens and closes on the next weekday instead. The workshop and shop open every day.
• Admission: adults KRW 2,000, youths and soldiers KRW 1,500, children KRW 1,000. Parking is free.
• Time needed: 1.5–2 hours for the museum and a walk around the kilns; allow half a day with the pottery workshop.
• How to visit: most kiln sites lie scattered in fields and wooded hills, marked only by signboards. See the museum first, then walk around.
• Getting there: drive south from central Gangjin towards Daegu-myeon. Dasan Chodang and Baengnyeonsa are also in southern Gangjin and combine well into a day trip.