Incheon Ceramics festival, day two...

The next morning we headed off to the festival proper. We had a GS-mart breakfast: I had one of the weird three-half sandwiches (each half a different kind of sandwich and all crusts neatly excised) and the OAF had some hunks of Gouda cheese, which she was happy to report actually tasted like Gouda cheese. Most Korean cheese is pretty tasteless, and makes pasteurized, pre-sliced, individually-wrapped junk from the US taste pretty darn good. Everything tasted better to a man who still had his digital camera!

We got a cab and hopped up to the place. After returning home the previous evening we had mapped out a plan of attack which was simply to go counterclockwise around the place. We had also been told that at noon there would be a performance of traditional Korean music, gongs and drums, and this stuff is always strongly rhythmic, duh!, and quite interesting.

So we set off towards the Art Museum directly on our right. It was surrounded by gardens, one of which commemorated the war dead (Korea and Vietnam) of Icheon. Then it was into the museum, which charges a measly 2 bucks, and two floors of Korean art, one piece of which I have snapped here.


Then it was up to the Ceramics Museum, on the way to which we passed a house that seems to be made out of nothing but ceramics and which reminded us of something that a hobbit would live in.


The Museum had one room of Korean exhibits, one room of Modern Chinese exhibits, and one room of ceramics which had been awarded international acclaim. In that last room we began to see sculptural works, and works with whimsy and/or political content. This was really grand and we jotted down the names of a couple of artists so we could check them out on the web.

All of this was stunning, but a strict no-photography ban was in effect. As we wandered the grounds we heard traditional musicians playing here and there, but we also heard a cascade of tinkling bells. When we headed out of the museum and down to the music performance we discovered the source of the bells – it was an enormous sculpture-tree, whose branches were covered in ‘leaves’ of bells. A really nice piece.

Rocking the Bells

Below it was a sculpture garden in (literally, “in”) which kids played contentedly.


We watched the traditional musicians play and then it was off to the food court for lunch. Two dishes of bulgogi dam-pap, one coke, and two beers, all for 15 dollars. Festivals in the US might want to explore this whole, “affordability” concept that the Koreans seem to have down. Then we wandered to the crafts pavilion where Yvonne made (with the help of a professional potter) a vase. For 15 bucks you make the vase on the wheel, take it to another table to decorate, and finally leave on a table. The ceramics folks then take your work away and glaze it with a semi-celadon glaze and mail it to you. This was a truly nifty little scheme and, again, the price was right.

I really love (as anyone idiotic enough to have had me shoot their wedding knows) the hand shots. Even without the rest of the body they have a kind of intimacy.

We wandered through tent after tent of ceramics on sale, almost all of it stunning. My favorite piece was a vase that was NOT celadonic, or red with white (these were the main approaches). It was also interesting to note that we didn’t see one piece of sculptural ceramics work for sale.


We also walked through the Icheon City Museum, which was a bit bland compared to the other two museums, although it did have some nice picture of Seolbong Mountain Fortress which persuaded us that we needed to come back and have a go at it on some other weekend.

Tuckered out (well, me, the OAF kept agitating for us to try to make it up the hills to the Fort), we sat by the lake and watched some Royal Marines practice their falling out of boats.

Then it was back to the bus station, ice-cream for the OAF and ham cheese toastuh for me, and a ride back to Daejeon.

Which we now both agreed was boring. ;-