Icheon Ceramic Village

Icheon has several hundred kilns and studios spread over a few villages, and it became the centre of Korean ceramics because the kilns supplying the Joseon court worked in this area and the clay and pine wood were here. Potters keep to the old techniques: inlaid celadon under its jade glaze, the loose brushwork of buncheong, and the plain white porcelain jars that later painters made famous. A few still fire in stepped kilns built up a hillside, most use gas. Studios are open to visitors, throwing classes are easy to arrange, and imperfect pieces sell for a fraction of gallery prices. The town belongs to the UNESCO network of creative cities for crafts.

What you actually see

• The climbing kilns - stepped wood-fired chambers built up a slope.
• Celadon inlay - cranes and clouds cut into the clay and filled with white slip.
• Moon jars - plain white porcelain thrown in two halves and joined at the waist.
• The seconds tables - flawed pieces from working studios at a fraction of the price.

When to go

The ceramics festival runs in spring, usually late April into May, and is when the most studios open their doors and the biggest sales happen. Outside it, weekdays are quiet and some studios close without notice, so call ahead or stick to the main craft complex. Half a day is enough unless you book a throwing class.

Honest expectations

Without the festival it can feel deserted, and the villages are spread far enough apart that walking between studios is tedious without a car. Quality varies enormously: alongside serious work there is a lot of tourist-grade ware at inflated prices. Getting fragile pieces home is your problem. English is limited in the smaller studios.

Nearby

Icheon's hot spring baths are in town, and more kilns and a ceramics museum lie north around Gwangju in Gyeonggi.