Nearly every Korean alive today — from those in their 20s to those in their 90s — was taught the same oversimplified formula: celadon belongs to Goryeo, white porcelain to Joseon. Students who answered "Goryeo white porcelain" on an exam had their answers marked wrong. But that neat division is incorrect.
White porcelain existed as far back as the Goryeo period. Yanggu-gun, in Gangwon Province, sits at the foot of Mount Geumgang, and a road to the mountain still runs through the area today.
Yanggu has long been home to an unrivaled deposit of "white clay," which served as a prized raw material for white porcelain — a genuine technological innovation of its era — produced there during the Goryeo period. Conversely, it is well established that celadon continued to be made, distributed and exported from Gangjin and Muan well into the Joseon era.
Bangsan-myeon in Yanggu-gun drew attention as a ceramics production center from the Goryeo period onward, with white clay deposits and kiln sites confirmed in the area.
Yi Seonggye built his base in the Hamgyong region near northern Gangwon Province and along the Tumen River, rising to power in the waning years of Goryeo. After seizing control of the kingdom, he commissioned white porcelain from Yanggu, and local artisans crafted the pieces with great care.
Because white porcelain production and distribution in Yanggu had already become well established during the Goryeo period, local artisans had little difficulty fulfilling Yi Seonggye's commission.
The white porcelain pieces were made in 1391, in the final years of Goryeo, and bear an inscription in which Yi Seonggye expresses his wish for the founding of a new dynasty. The works were enshrined on Wolchulbong peak of Mount Geumgang for centuries before being discovered in 1932. They are now held in the collection of the National Museum of Korea, which has featured them in several special exhibitions.
Those pieces, made in Yanggu, are now returning to their place of origin for the first time in 635 years.
The Yanggu Porcelain Museum is marking its 20th anniversary with a special exhibition and a series of cultural events running from Saturday through Sept. 27.
The special exhibition is designed to survey the past, present and future of Yanggu white porcelain, and will feature the five Yi Seonggye-commissioned pieces making their hometown debut — the first time the works have been displayed outside a national museum.
The museum has built a dedicated exhibition space for the occasion, presenting the pieces alongside context on their creation, their historical significance and the social landscape of the early Joseon founding period.
To mark the 20th anniversary, the museum is also mounting a display from its own permanent collection. The show introduces more than 100 white porcelain works representing distinct regional traditions of the Joseon era — including pieces from Yanggu, Bunwon, Haeju and Cheongsong — inviting visitors to compare the aesthetic and formal qualities that set each tradition apart.
In addition, the Yanggu Porcelain Research Institute is presenting a contemporary ceramics exhibition titled "2026 Summer of White Porcelain." This year's edition takes "Today's Jar" as its theme, bringing together works by contemporary ceramic artists who have reinterpreted the traditional jar through their own artistic lenses, blending the formal beauty of classical white porcelain with a modern sensibility.
The opening ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Yanggu Porcelain Museum. Pre-ceremony performances — including a dramatic reading and a percussion performance — will precede the official opening, which will include remarks, congratulatory speeches, an exhibition introduction and a ribbon-cutting. A guided tour of the exhibition will follow.
Visitor participation programs will run throughout the exhibition period. A talk concert titled "2026 Summer of White Porcelain Talk Concert — Yanggu Porcelain Museum at Twenty" will feature a conversation between museum director Jeong Du-seop and Seoul National University professor Heo Bo-yun, who will moderate the event. A workshop on jar-making techniques will offer demonstrations by ceramic artists along with hands-on activities for visitors.
Founded in 2006, the Yanggu Porcelain Museum is a specialized institution dedicated to researching, preserving and exhibiting the history and culture of Yanggu white clay and Yanggu white porcelain. Over the past two decades, it has worked to raise awareness of Yanggu porcelain's value through academic research, exhibitions and education programs.
"The Yi Seonggye-commissioned white porcelain returning home after 635 years is both a piece of Yanggu's history and a symbolic heritage of Korea's ceramic culture," museum director Jeong said. "We hope this 20th-anniversary special exhibition becomes an opportunity to share the historical and cultural value of Yanggu white porcelain with a wider audience."
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