The Moment Clay Becomes Porcelain... 500 Years of Artisan Hands at Cheongsong Pottery Village

From Artisans’ Workshops to Children’s Pottery Wheels
A Craft Festival Completed by the Hands of Visitors

On September 12, at various spots throughout Cheongsong Baekja Ceramics Village in Cheongsong-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, the hands shaping clay and the gazes of visitors observing the artisans' work intersected.

Beyond Exhibits to Lifestyle Culture: Cheongsong Baekja Shows Potential as a Regional Tourism Asset Madang Nori

Photo by Byunggun Kwon

The "2026 Cheongsong Baekja Festival," which opened on September 11, focuses on presenting Cheongsong Baekja, with its 500-year history, not just as a traditional craft on display, but as a living culture that can be seen, created, and used. The festival will continue until September 13.

One of the most notable spaces at this year's festival is the artisan workshop.

At the Cheongsong Baekja Training Center, a "visible workshop" allows visitors to closely observe the process of porcelain making by artisans, along with a guided tour of the workshops. By publicly displaying not only the finished products but also the stages where clay gradually takes the shape of pottery, the festival has improved accessibility to traditional crafts.

At the Cheongsong Baekja Experience Center, visitors can participate in pottery wheel and hand painting programs. Family visitors can touch the clay themselves, paint designs on the porcelain, and take part in the actual creation process.

From the artisan's workshop to children's potter's wheels... A craft festival where visitors create works themselves
Photo by Byunggun Kwon

Games set up throughout the festival venue help bridge the gap for visitors who may find porcelain intimidating. Programs such as finger curling, moon jar cornhole, and stamp missions extend traditional crafts into areas of interactive experience and play.

The exhibition spaces highlight further transformations of Cheongsong Baekja.

There are a Cheongsong Baekja photo exhibition, a display of works by the Cheongsong Baekja Research Association, and collaborative exhibitions with contemporary artists. These events go beyond simply preserving traditional production methods, showing how baekja can be incorporated into modern life and art.

Cheongsong Baekja is considered one of the four major regional kilns of the Joseon Dynasty, alongside Haeju Baekja, Hoeryeong Ceramics, and Yanggu Baekja. Combining the unique local materials of Cheongsong and the craftsmanship of regional artisans, it is a cultural heritage that has been maintained for over 500 years.

Juwangsan-myeon Play Group Madangnori
Photo by Byunggun Kwon

A key point of this year's festival is that it connects this heritage not just to preservation, but also to hands-on experiences, performances, and consumer activities.

During the festival, the Cheongsong Baekja shop is offering all porcelain products at a 20% discount, and customers receive Cheongsong Sarang local gift certificates based on their purchase amount. The craft market and food stalls are also designed to ensure the experiences gained at the festival lead seamlessly to local consumption.

At 6 p.m. on September 12, a grand opening event will be held, featuring calligraphy performances and other shows. Throughout the festival, there will also be merchant-themed madang plays, puppet shows, and street art performances based on the history of Cheongsong Baekja and local stories.

Prior to the opening ceremony, the Jugwangsan-myeon pungmul troupe is promoting the festival.
[Photo by Byunggun Kwon]

This year's festival has also been selected for the "Miso Festival" support program, an initiative by North Gyeongsang Province to foster small but competitive local festivals.

The significance of the festival cannot be explained simply by the number of visitors. The real challenge for Cheongsong Baekja is to determine who will learn and consume the craft skills that have been handed down locally for generations, and how these skills can be passed on to the next generation as part of their culture.

The competitive strength of a 500-year-old tradition does not merely lie in its age. Only when the artisan's skill meets contemporary life and leads to tourist experience and consumption does a cultural heritage truly become an asset for the region's future. The Cheongsong Baekja Festival is particularly notable as a venue where the focus has shifted from "porcelain that must be preserved" to "porcelain to use and enjoy together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.