The Sound of Clay: Kwon O-Hak and the Celadon That Sings
For most of its thousand-year history, Korean celadon has been admired with the eyes. Kwon O-Hak (權五學) asked a different question: what if celadon could be heard?
A craftmaster from the legendary pottery town of Icheon, Kwon has spent more than four decades pushing the jade-green tradition of Goryeo into territory no one had charted before—shaping musical instruments from the same clay that once formed the royal court’s most treasured vessels. His ceramic janggu drums and gayageum zithers are not curiosities. They are the boldest expansion of the celadon language in a generation.
A Lifetime in the Kiln
Kwon entered the world of pottery in 1982, and remains a member of the Icheon City Pottery Union and the Korea Traditional Pottery Association. From the beginning, his path was unusual. Where many masters devote themselves to perfecting a single revered form, Kwon treated celadon as a living material still capable of surprise.
That restless spirit eventually produced his signature achievement: the ceramic janggu, the traditional Korean hourglass drum, reborn in fired celadon. Recreating a vessel meant to resonate—rather than merely contain—demanded a complete rethinking of wall thickness, glaze, and form. A single flaw in the firing silences the instrument entirely.
Celadon Acclaimed by the World
Kwon’s work has drawn attention far beyond the pottery towns of Gyeonggi-do.
In 2004, national broadcaster KBS featured him on TV Masterpiece reproducing a Goryeo celadon janggu valued at 1.2 billion won. The following year, he returned to demonstrate the demanding Reverse Sanggam inlay technique—a reversal of the classic inlay method that requires extraordinary control of the carved surface.
Then, in 2008, the Chosun Ilbo reported that his ceramic janggu had been acclaimed by Bill Gates—a moment that carried this quiet Icheon craft onto an international stage. That same year saw documentary features by KBS International Broadcasting and CBS, the latter spotlighting his ceramic musical instruments.
His pieces have even appeared as treasured props in Korean broadcasting, including celadon tableware and ceramic instrument sets featured in the SBS drama Faith.
A Wall of Honours
Kwon’s mastery is written across more than a decade of national recognition:
- 2007 — Grand Prize, 8th Gyeonggi-do Tourism Souvenir Contest
- 2008 — Grand Prize, 2nd Icheon Pottery Contest
- 2009 — Excellence Award, 1st Mokpo National Pottery Contest; Special Selection, 9th Korea Celadon Contest; Grand Prize, 25th Korea Art Contest for Reunification
- 2011 — Recognition at the 41st Gyeonggi-do and Korea Craftwork Festivals
Each award marks the same rare combination: deep fidelity to the Goryeo tradition, paired with the courage to extend it.
Where Heritage Finds Its Voice
What makes Kwon Oh-Hak extraordinary is not simply technical skill—it is vision. He understood that a tradition only survives by growing. By teaching clay to sing, he ensured that celadon would speak not only to collectors of the past, but to anyone who has ever been moved by sound.
To own a piece touched by his hand is to hold a thousand years of refinement, alive and resonant in the present.
Bring the Legacy Home
Discover celadon masterworks crafted in the great tradition of Icheon.
