Onggi : Korean Traditional Earthenware

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Preface

Chapter 1. Onggi: An Introduction
Definition of Onggi
History of Onggi
The Various Uses of Onggi

Chapter 2. Materials and Tools for Making Onggi
Materials for Making Onggi
Facilities and Tools in Workshops
Kilns and Tools for Firing

Chapter 3. Making Onggi
Process of Making Onggi
Preparing Clay and Glaze
Shaping and Glazing
Firing

Chapter 4. Enjoying Onggi
Jangdokdae, Platform for Storing Onggi
Treasure Houses, Onggi in Storerooms
Onggi Furnished in the Kitchen
Onggi in Everyday Life
Jeju Onggi Shaped by Mother Nature
Spontaneous Decorations on Onggi
Distorted Onggi
Contemporary Onggi

Appendix
List of Masters
Crafts & Design Map
List of Plates
Bibliography
Collaborators
Index

Hang-ari, or jars, show considerable regional variations, and are distinctive in each of the provinces of Gyeonggi-do, Chungcheong-do, Jeolla-do, and Gyeongsang-do. Among the different types of onggi, hang-ari jars show the most distinct regional characteristics. Onggi from the central region, including Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheong-do Provinces, are similar, being slender without a swollen belly, but jars from Chungcheong-do Province are wider than those of Gyeonggi-do. Jars from Gyeongsang-do and Jeolla-do Provinces are distinctive in that their bellies are swollen, although they vary in details. Gyeongsang-do jars have a big belly but the mouth is very small, tapering in rapidly from the shoulder. On the other hand, Jeolla-do jars have a large mouth with a diameter wider than the base, and the upper belly is swollen with wide shoulders and a round body. This feature of Jeolla-do jars, which have a larger capacity, may be related to the area’s fertile fields that produce abundant crops. -from ‘Chapter 1. Onggi: An Introduction’

The glaze for onggi is an alkaline-based glaze. Wood ash is mixed with water and yakto. Yakto is a form of compost high in iron produced by fungal breakdown of tree leaves and roots. It is mostly obtained in mountainous areas with pine forests. Wood ash is made mainly from pine trees, and usually mixed with yakto in the ratio of 1:1, though it may be adjusted in certain cases. Good yakto melts thoroughly, but when yakto does not fully melt more wood ash is added to lower the fusing point. Onggi are covered with glaze, but jilgeureut and puredogi are not glazed and instead are surfaced with soot. In particular, when puredogi are fired, salt is introduced into the kiln and melts into the surface along with the soot, which creates a thin film and fills in the porous walls performing nearly the same as a glaze. This makes the vessel walls impervious to water. -from ‘Chapter 2. Materials and Tools for Making Onggi’