The 13th Workshop for Korean Art Curators, organized and hosted by the Korea Foundation, was held over 10 days from October 24 to November 3, 2011. Under the theme of “Korean Ceramics in East Asia: Their Influence and Development,” the workshop provided lectures and field trips enabling the participants to view major exhibitions in Seoul, share the views of renowned experts, experience pottery making, and tour ancient kiln sites in Jeolla Province.

Rising Participation from German-speaking Countries
In recent years, the number of non-U.S. curators participating in this workshop has grown considerably. A total of 37 art curators and professors from 14 countries took part in this year’s workshop. The participation of seven curators from Germany and Austria was most worthy of note.
The strong base of participants from German-speaking countries can be seen as one of the positive results of a Korean art show that is currently traveling through Germany. This exhibition, which consists of Korean s from German collections, has been organized and sponsored by the Korea Foundation. During the preparations for this two-year event, the museum administrators became more aware of the value of their Korean collections, and this awareness has spurred an institutional motivation to support the curators’ research of Korean art and culture. The German curators, who have always been interested in the arts and culture of Korea, are indeed pleased with this recent development.

collections, and this awareness has spurred an institutional motivation to support the curators' research of Korean art and culture. The German curators, who have always been interested in the arts and culture of Korea, are indeed pleased with this recent development.

A further reason for the German curators’ keen interest in this year’s workshop was its theme, “Korean Ceramics in East Asia: Their Influence and Development,” since a major portion of the Korean collections in Germany is comprised of ceramic works. This year’s workshop thus offered an outstanding opportunity to learn more about the specific features of the existing collections. When presenting Korea in a setting of Asian art galleries, it is essential to point out the connections between China, Japan, and Korea, as well as to identify the unique traditions of Korea’s ceramic culture. The workshop also offered helpful insight into how to evaluate different types of ceramics. This information is extremely valuable for the acquisition of new s to complement the existing collections.

Sharing Research Outcomes

During the first week, the participants gathered at the Korea Foundation’s Cultural Center in downtown Seoul for lecture sessions. The lecture topics, arranged in a chronological way, included: “International Ceramic Exchanges of the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla,” the key lecture by Professor Lee Sung-joo; “International Exchanges of Ceramics during the Goryeo Period” by Professor Jang Nam-won, “Joseon Buncheong Ware and White Porcelain during the 15th-16th Centuries” by Professor Jeon Seung-chang; “International Exchanges in Ceramics during Late Joseon” by Professor Bang Byung-sun; “Changes in the Modern Korean Ceramic Industry– Final Period of Joseon” by Dr. Eom Seung-hui; and “Modern and Contemporary Korean Ceramics and its Development” by Professor Roe Kyung-jo.

The lectures were presented by prominent professors who provided up-to-date scholarship on the reciprocal influences among East Asian ceramic cultures during the Three Kingdoms, Unified Silla, Goryeo and Joseon periods. I was highly impressed by the overall academic level of the lecturers, who made use of the most recent historical and archaeological materials. Ms. Cho Hye-young did an excellent job in concisely translating all ceramic-related terms.

The lectures in the morning were followed by gallery tours in the afternoon. The tours of the Ewha Woman’s University Museum, the Ho-Am Art Museum, the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, and the National Museum of Korea were all very well received. The visits to the National Museum and the Leeum were especially impressive thanks to their stunning special exhibitions on portrait painting and Joseon Dynasty painting, respectively.

The workshop also included a very meaningful session, an international symposium on “The Secret of Joseon Portraits” hosted by the National Museum of Korea in celebration of its special exhibition with the same title. This symposium provided invaluable insights into the field of East Asian portrait painting.

Contemporary Pottery and Field Experience

The second week of the workshop was devoted to a series of field trips. By visiting the ancient kiln sites on Mt. Mudeung in Gwangju, the participants could deepen their understanding of celadon and buncheong ware from Jeolla Province. The visit to the National Museum of Maritime Cultural Heritage in Mokpo generated a great deal of enthusiasm. It was extremely impressive to learn about the East Asian context of the ancient trade of ceramics. Also, our group visited the Cheongju International Craft Biennale, the Gyeonggi International Ceramics Biennnale, and the Mokpo Ceramic Living Ware Museum. It was fascinating to see the latest trends of Korea’s contemporary ceramics, and the various kinds of settings in which they were displayed.

The trips to the ceramic studios of Professor Roe Kyung-jo and Min Young-ki, to the Chilyang Bonghwang Pottery Village, and to the firing of a kiln at the Gangjin Celadon Museum can be regarded as the highlights of this year’s workshop program. It was fascinating to watch a potter at the Chilyang Bonghwang Pottery Village carve the decoration on a piece of onggi ware and the firing of a kiln at Gangjin. It made me realize how painstaking and physically demanding the process of making a ceramic actually is. When looking at a ceramic in a museum setting, you may not always realize the venturous process of its making.

The Workshop for Korean Art Curators is a unique program. As far as I know, no other country organizes a similar workshop for foreign curators. It was the first time for me to participate in this workshop, and I was most impressed by its outstanding quality and by how well the workshop was organized. This was possible thanks to the excellent preparations carried out by the Korea Foundation’s Culture and Arts Department and its team of Director Yoon Keum-jin, Deputy Director Moon Sung-ki, Senior Program Officer Park Shin-hee, Program Officer Lee Young-kum, program intern Park Yu-lee, and translator Cho Hye-young. I congratulate the Korea Foundation for initiating and continuing such a premier educational program for foreign curators.

Maya Stiller Curator, Germany