South Korea : Day 2 : Gangnam, the 'Kimbab' & beautiful teaware

After breakfast on day 2 I accompanied Seong Il on a visit to potential exhibition space in a private gallery in Gangnam-gu, an affluent area of Seoul, made famous in the west by ‘Gangnam style’, a track by Psy. Incidentally he is far from a one hit wonder in South Korea!

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Following this fascinating insight we travelled onwards, this time to another artist’s studio outside Seoul. This husband and wife work with metal to make more beautiful objects. I was truly being treated! After browsing the studio we had lunch, which initially consisted of a  ‘kimbab’-  basically a large seaweed rice roll around various vegetables (think a very large sushi style roll). This was followed by a Korean version of wagashi (apparently becoming trendy to take , but not traditional). We of course had tea!

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After lunch we headed out on a four hour trip down country to Boseong, where Seong Il’s studio is to be found.  The studio is on the ground floor of his house and is a shared space with his wife Yihyejin.  The two signs below mean 'tea, pottery, house (right to left)' and 'Nosan pottery studio - glass, mountain, pottery, studio'

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The space consisted of a shop and Tea House with the studio behind and then a store room with the kilns in it. This also has the clays SI uses alongside all the ingredients for the glazes he makes

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The first and smallest kiln is an electric one. Taking about twelve hours to reach temperatures of above 1250 this works by electricity causing the coils of wire set into the walls of the kiln to heat up. Incidentally  these coils need to be replaced around every 100 fires. The second kiln is a beast of a machine and is gas fired. Bigger than the electric one this one has an arched ceiling. The causes the heat created by burning gas jets coming out from the floor either side to be pushed back downward towards the chimney vents which finally draws it out. This results in efficient firing

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Whilst looking at this kiln Seong Il talked to me about where the name he uses for his store (cone 9) came from.  He showed me a Seuss of small bent over cones discarded on top of the kiln. These are placed in the entrance of the kiln to test the exact temperature, as the gauge fitted to the front can only  give a general idea. This needs to be 1250 celcius for stoneware. The bend achieved by the cone indicates too hot, too cold or perfect as it bend perfectly at t this temperature. Cone 10 is a higher temperature and the last temperature possible. This also provides a double meaning about working. Cone 10 represents the end of firing end of pottery. He us working forward to it, hence cone 9. He explained to me how this showed a respect for the fact that he believes he is not yet complete as a potter

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One of Seong Il's favourite clays to work with is California black mountain clay imported from USA. He uses this one in particular because it is the right chemical composition. It is strong and doesn’t bend when fired : ideal for teapots. 

In the main room two potter’s wheels stand facing each other. Seong Il sits at his and demonstrates is silent smoothness. Apparently this wheel works in analogue and some  modern ones are digital. Making pots is more analogue - the power of hands and the skill of movement is critical - therefore analogue makes more sense.

After the tour we sat surrounded by amazing pieces of tea ware, drinking tea and chatting about the trip and also our book ‘Tales of the tea trade’ which we wrote in partnership with many people across the tea world including Seong Il -you can see us here with the copy of which I had brought to give to Seong Il [it now sits on his welcome desk!]

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An interesting conversation developed when Seong Il talked about how, in reality, not a lot of Koreans drink  tea. Coffee is drunk widely, but tea is either in bags for some of the population or served loose in small pots.  The proportion of people drinking tea in this second way is extremely small - Seong Il's worry is that this style stops people developing an interest in tea because they don’t understand it. However, as we know, this style results in the best flavours and the truest experience.  I shared our experiences of the tea house around how we try to present loose tea in a way that respects its origins and traditional preparation but also feels accessible, not elitist, enjoyable.   Ultimately we have found that if presented with an open heart and mind it is often the beauty of the tea preparation and the items that accompany it that captivates people and ignites a love of the world of fine tea.  On that positive note it seems wonderful to us that, in Korea, people new to tea may experience the true potential of tea through the work and efforts of Seong Il and his network of tea makers, potters and artists who have treated me with an open heart and huge warmth for which I am eternally grateful.