Now, let’s take a look at the production process of Goryeo inlaid celadon made in Buan!
Before looking at the production process, let’s think again about the reasons why celadon wares were made in Buan. It was mainly because Buan had good quality clay, which is viscous or sticky and fictile (in other words, it’s a fatty clay that tends to keep its shape), abundant firewood, and a convenient sea route for transporting goods to the rest of the peninsula.
The first step in the production of celadon consists in selecting good clay that is viscous and fictile, and then molding the clay on a molding frame or spinning wheel. As you can see, the molded bowl will be decorated with the sanggam inlay technique by cutting lines or shapes into which white clay and kaolin (or china clay) are inlaid together. Kaolin turns black when heated. The inlaid wares are dried in the shade and baked at 600 to 800 degrees, and then glazed and baked again at around 1,250 degrees, resulting in jade-colored celadons.

Now let’s take a look at the model of the kiln. Inside the kiln are dojimi and gapbal. A dojimi is a type of support that was placed under the celadons to protect them from dirt on the floor of the kiln, while a gapbal is a lid that was used to cover and protect them from alien substances falling from the ceiling of the kiln. The completed products are then placed one by one in a long wooden frame whose four corners are tied tightly; while straw ropes are put between the vessels to prevent them from breaking. These bundles are then put in a wooden box for transportation by ship. Nowadays, air caps or styrofoam are used to pack glass or pottery wares safely, but 800 years ago the conditions would have been very different. The package you see here is a reproduction of the packaging condition it was found in when it was unearthed from the seabed.