Koryo Celadon (Korean Ceramics)

83-year-old Potter Yu is seen creating ceramic vases using techniques developed during the Koryo Dynasty in Korea a thousand years ago. He works with his sons and creates a hundred at a time, with one featuring a carved pattern of a dragon biting its own tale. They bake them all night in the kiln and in the morning they break into pieces any that are deemed "imperfect." At the end a poem is read over shots of the finished pieces and includes these lines:
"Howe'er, this is a dream of a thousand years, Koryo Celadon/
Hue, oh the hue, casting a shadow in secrecy, the laudable hue"

24 thoughts on “Koryo Celadon (Korean Ceramics)”

  1. Pike Evans

    It seems such a waste of beautiful work to break it…even if I do understand their thinking. I wold be very happy to won one of those “rejects”.

  2. Vicky at Authentic Appraisal & Estate Services

    Great to see how the inlay is actually done; what an art!

  3. Korean celadon is my most favorite Korean atrtwork, but I don’t like it as much as the Chinese celadon. However, Korean celadon wins me over the Japanese celadon as I find Japanese celadon to be extremely bland (color-wise and shape-wise).

  4. Kevin Yeoh

    Fantastic insight into the mysterious magical most beautiful green glaze! Tqvm Hope his sons make him proud

    1. rafa6222

      As far as I remember, his sons are, 25 years after his death.

  5. Radek Zemlicka

    I am potter myself sometimes working with stoneware sometimes with porcelain. What is happening after the firing with the selection of good and bad pieces is heartbreaking. What a dedication to a perfectionism. The time spent with every piece, there are days and days of time in it. You are actually not throwing away only the pottery piece you are throwing away a bit of your lifetime, the energy and love you have given the piece. They firing decides what is good or not…. I am not sure this is a good way.

  6. Jen Kim

    Hello! Wonderful video. Would I be able to get permission to use some of it in a short film?

  7. Kaitlin Godair

    I just found an authentic crane and cloud patterned celadon meiping vase at a thrift store for $3. I was so excited because I knew what it was and nabbed it.

  8. I own the vase at 3:34. amazing to see it in this video. How do I find a value for it?

  9. Cartoonsforlife

    Yu Geun-Hyeong 유근형 (April 5, 1894 – January 20, 1993) was a Korean ceramist who specialized in Goryeo celadon ware.

    This film was made in 1979.

  10. SidDrawsStuff

    I think I died a little on the inside when he shattered those imperfect ones

  11. ابو اسحاق

    Please translate your program to Arabic languages to be more useful , thanks so much , F ,F ,J .

  12. Gloria Hanes

    Celadon when the light hits the piece it glimmers like jade! I am fortunate to own one piece which I cherish and preserve under glass.

  13. Rolma Guiland

    Also love this an i am from the caribbeen in 2022 did pottey as a child.

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