Goryeo Celadon Kiln System

Timeline

1. 900–1000Southern Korean Peninsula · Korean PeninsulaThe Goryeo dynasty inherited Silla and Balhae ceramic technology, setting up official and private kilns in the southern peninsula and forming an initial celadon production network, with shapes and glazes influenced by Tang and Song celadons.
2. 1100–1200Gangjin County · South Jeolla ProvinceKilns at Gangjin, Buan, and elsewhere mastered the reduction-fired jade-green glaze (bisaek) and sanggam inlay decoration; products supplied the royal court and Buddhist temples and were exported to Japan and Song and Liao markets, reaching the artistic and technical summit of Goryeo celadon.
3. 1250–1350Buan County · North Jeolla ProvinceWar and political upheaval reduced output at some kilns and shapes grew plainer, yet trade with Japan and local demand continued, and the inlay celadon tradition persisted at certain kiln sites.
4. 1390–1392Gangjin County · South Jeolla ProvinceAs political crises deepened in the late Goryeo period, the celadon kiln system's output and quality declined further; after Yi Seong-gye founded the Joseon dynasty in 1392, ceramic production shifted to Gyeonggi white porcelain, and the traditional Goryeo celadon kiln system ended as a dynasty-level industrial system.