Kiln Site in Jinseo-ri, Buan
Panoramic View of the Kiln Site in Jinseo-ri, BuanA Panoramic View of theKiln Site in Jinseo-ri, Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun. The Buan Jinseo-ri kiln site was the place where a large quantity of Goryeo Celadon was produced in about 40 kilns during the period from the late 11th century to the 13th century.
-
Location1013, Baekpo-gil Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- CategoryCultural Heritage / Tangible Cultural Heritage
- Korean부안 진서리 요지
- Chinese扶安鎭西里窯址
- Nickname진서리 요지|진서리 청자 요지
- FieldGeography / Liberal Arts
- Contents TypeHistoric Site / Site
- Location1013, Baekpo-gil Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Location of Holder1493, Cheongja-ro Boan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Definition
- The site of kilns, which produced a large number of Goryeo celadon between the late 11th century and 13th century, is located in Jinseo-ri, Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
- Summary
- At this Jinseo-ri Kiln Site, Buan consisting of about 40 kilns located on the hill close to Julpo Bay and the West Sea, they produced a large number of Goryeo Celadon objects between the late 11th century and 13th century. The objects produced were taken on boats to be distributed across the country including Gaegyeong. There was Byeonsan Lumberyard, which was managed by the central government of Goryeo, close to Yucheon-ri. Thus, it was easy for the kilns to get firewood. Kilns could develop here thanks to the availability of good clay used to produce porcelain and the sea routes for transportation. A total of five kilns and many sites where defective celadon products were scrapped have been identified through excavation surveys conducted on Sectors 1, 2, and 5 since the 1990s.
- Development
- The olden-day kiln site in Jinseo-ri, Buan was discovered by a Japanese named Ken Nomori during the colonial period. It was designated as Historic Site No. 70 in January 21, 1963. The site was re-named from Jinseo-ri Ceramic Kiln Site, Buan to Jinseo-ri Kiln Site, Buan with the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Notification in July 28, 2011.
- Location
- The kiln site, which covers the area of Lot No. 98 including 1013, Jinseo-ri, Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun in, is bordered by Boan-myeon to the east, extending over a large area at the foot of the hill next to Gomso Salt Farm. There are about 40 kiln sites in the area, and they are divided into six sectors. Sectors 1/2 are now used as rice paddies and fields. Sectors 3 through 6 are occupied by private houses. Although today, the area was reclaimed and became land, the hill on which the celadon kiln sites were located is close to Julpo Bay, and it was easy to take the celadon objects produced here to across the country including Gaegyeong.
- Background and Result of Excavation and Investigation
- 1. Development in excavation survey
A total of five kiln sites have been identified in Jinseo-ri, Buan-gun through excavation surveys conducted up to 2020. The first survey was conducted by those from the Mahan/Baekje Culture Research Institute, Wonkwang University as part of the work plan for expansion/paving of a detour on the Byeonsan Peninsula in 1990. They identified Kiln No. 18/Sector 5 in Jinseo-ri and a site containing sedimentary deposits. In 1993, the same group of researchers conducted an excavation survey of Kiln No. 20/Sector 5 in Jinseo-ri and identified three kilns and a site containing sedimentary deposits in the work designed to build a detour behind Gomso Elementary School. In 2003, an excavation survey was conducted on Kiln No. 7/Sector 2 in connection with the work for the expansion of the bank of Yeondong Reservoir. A small number of celadon and black glazed porcelain items were collected. In 2019, those from the Jeonju Cultural Heritage Research Institute conducted an excavation survey of Kiln No. 34/Sector 1 in Jinseo-ri and identified a kiln and a site containing sedimentary deposits along with a small number of celadon objects and kiln tools.
2. Results of excavation survey
As a result of an excavation survey of Sectors 1, 2, and 5 in Jinseo-ri, Buan-gun, the site turned out to be a place where various Goryeo Celadon objects were produced in the late 11th Century–13th Century. The celadon objects made in these sites in Jinseo-ri, Buan contain both those that preceded those made in neighboring sites in Yucheon-ri and those adorned with decorative patterns, using inlaying, extruded impressing, iron, and slipped-painting techniques, which were prevailed around the 13th century. Here, celadon objects were adorned with diverse decorative patterns (e.g., peony, mum, lotus petals, parrot, cloud, crane, lightning, wave/fish, scrolling grape, waterside scenery, etc). Objects unearthed include mostly bowls, dishes, and cups as well as a small number of special celadon ones such as prunus bottles, melon-shaped kettles, bottles with fluted body and ridged mouth, glazed bottles, incense burners, jars, trays, cup stands, waste tea water containers, horn-shaped cups, lotus bud-shaped nail cover, etc.
A total of five kilns have been identified through the excavation surveys. As for Kiln Nos. 18 and 34 in Jinseo-ri, traces of having the kilns repaired have been identified. Each kiln is made up of fireplace, firing chamber, and chimney. Each was a clay-made semi-basement, single-chamber kiln made using the natural slope of the hill. Kiln No. 18 in Jinseo-ri has been the only one that provides information on what the overall shape of a kiln was like ranging from the fireplace to the chimney. Its entire length comes to 21.5m, and the firing chamber is 130-140 ㎝ wide. It shows that it was repaired on a total of four occasions. Especially, traces of the fireplace having been repaired tell us that there was a change in the structure from one without a tiered space in the fire path of the mid-12th Century to one with a low-sloped tier of the late-12th Century and then to a vertical tier by the early 13th century at Yucheon-ri Kiln Site in Buan, indicates the changing of the structure of kiln's fireplace, providing an important clue for studying the history of pottery in Korea.
The excavation surveys conducted tell us that the kiln sites in Jinseo-ri are divided into two groups in terms of the period of operation. They are evenly spread among six sectors. Those operated earlier than the others (late 11th Century–early 12th Century) are Kiln No. 7/Sector 2 and Nos. 17, 23, and 24/Sector 5, where patternless, low-grade bowls, dishes, bottles with fluted body and ridged mouth, and black glazed pottery objects were unearthed. The kilns that were operated later (mid-12th Century-13th Century) are Kiln Nos. 1 and 34/Sector 1; No. 8/Sector 2; Nos. 18, 20, 26, 28, and 30/Sector 5, from which the following were unearthed: celadon bowls, cups, dishes, lids, prunus bottles, dish stands, waste tea water containers, horn-shaped cups, incense burners, lotus bud-shaped nail cover, glazed bottles, etc. decorated with peony, scrolling peony, wave/fish, scrolling grape, lotus, petal, parrot, mum, lightning, waterside scenery using plain, depressed engraving, iron and slipped-painting, extruded impressing, and inlaying techniques.
- Current Status
- Until 2020, excavation surveys were conducted on Sectors 1, 2, and 5 of the Jinseo-ri kiln site in Buan. The areas in No. 34/Sector 1 and No. 7/Sector 2 were covered with soil to preserve the sites. Kiln No. 18/Sector 5 was covered with soil after the survey, and an information sign was set up to indicate the location of a historic site. The area in Kiln No. 20/Sector 5 was covered with soil after the first excavation in 1993. In 2019, the land was purchased, and those from the Jeonju University Museum carried out an excavation survey in 2020 to set up a plan for the identification of characteristics, preservation and refurbishment of the area based on the accurate information on areas where relics are found.
- Historical Significance
- The kiln site in Jinseo-ri in Buan is a large-sized historic site that can provide information on the process of moving from the period for development of Goryeo Celadon to its prime. The excavation survey of Sectors 1, 2, and 5 produced five clay kilns and sites containing sedimentary deposits. Thus, it is a very important historic site for those interested in the process of Goryeo Celadon production in the late-11th Century –13th Century and structures of the kilns. The excavation survey also identified the change in structure between the fireplace to the firing chamber, i.e., from one without a tiered space in the fire path of the mid-12th Century to one with a low-sloped tier of the late-12th Century, which was a period when the glaze used in Goryeo Celadon reached the prime of celadon green color. Researchers believe that the change in structure in the fire path was interconnected with the celadon green color. Thus, the site provides an important clue on the interconnection.