Chung Youngrak
정영락
Born in 1972, Chung Youngrak studied ceramics at Ewha Womans University, completing a BFA in Ceramics in 1997, before earning a Master of Science in Ceramic Technology from Myongji University in 2002. She operates Youngrak Pottery (영락도기) from Yeoju-si, in Gyeonggi-do — a region that has been at the centre of Korean ceramic production for centuries.
Her practice is rooted in onggi — the unglazed or naturally ash-glazed earthenware made continuously in Korea for over a thousand years, used for fermentation, storage, and the rhythms of daily life. In 2019, Chung Youngrak was certified as a trainee of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Onggijang, the official living lineage of Korean earthenware making. In 2022, she was awarded the title of Yeoju-certified Master Ceramic Craftsman.
Within this tradition, she has built a body of work in which onggi becomes something more than a functional vessel. The four seasons of Korea are her primary subject: spring rains and quiet gatherings, summer thunder, the deepening blue of autumn skies, the stillness of winter snow. The forms draw on a millennium of craft; the surfaces hold time, weather, and presence. Nothing is superfluous. Everything accumulates.
Works by Chung Youngrak are held in the collections of the Korea Ceramic Foundation, Korea House, the National Intangible Heritage Center, and Changdeokgung Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She has exhibited internationally at MAISON&OBJET Paris (2022), the Korea Cultural Center Osaka (2025), and at KCDF Gallery and Gallery Insa1010 in Seoul. In 2023, she received the Best Activity Award from the Korea Heritage Agency.
Collections & Awards
Best Activity Award, National Intangible Cultural Heritage Program, Korea Heritage Agency
2022
Korea Ceramic Foundation, Korea House, National Intangible Heritage Center, Changdeokgung Palace
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2022 Special Selection, The 9th Korea Onggi Competition
2022
Excellence Prize, The 5th Beautiful Korean Ceramics Competition
2017
Artist's words
“The onggi pottery that captivated me in my youth and led me to study ceramics has remained the central theme of my life — something I have persistently and almost stubbornly devoted myself to through the countless repetitions of the changing four seasons.
To me, onggi felt like people gathering together and whispering softly in the spring, while in winter it resembled piles of stones silently enduring the passing years beneath the snow. Therefore, it was only natural for me to wish to capture within onggi the energy of Korea’s four seasons — the lush summer rainstorms and thunder, the deepening autumn skies, and the crimson glow of sunset.
Nature and what is natural are one and the same. Thus, I hope that my own actions may also become so — though shaped by human hands, endlessly natural, leaving no trace behind within nature itself.”
A selection of Chung Youngrak's current works
CHUNG YOUNGRAK 정영락
Mother Earth Series · 2025
A large, grounded onggi jar from Chung Youngrak's Mother Earth series. At 42 cm wide, the form is expansive and unhurried — its dark, combed surface holding the memory of ash fire and repeated making. This is onggi at its most elemental.
Material: Onggi clay (earthenware)
Dimensions: H 32.0 × Ø 42.0 cm
Year: 2025
CHUNG YOUNGRAK 정영락
Mother Earth Series · 2025
A low, wide onggi vessel from Chung Youngrak's Mother Earth series. The dark, rough-textured surface is marked with incised arcs — spare, gestural lines scratched directly into the clay, suggesting spring grasses or water rising. Close to the ground, the form holds its presence quietly.
Material: Onggi clay (earthenware)
Dimensions: 32.0 × 33.0 × 20.0 cm
Year: 2025
CHUNG YOUNGRAK 정영락
Mother Earth Series · 2025
A near-spherical onggi vessel from Chung Youngrak's Mother Earth series. At 36 cm wide, the form is full and still — its smooth warm surface moving between dark brown and amber where the fire has passed. Nothing decorates it. Nothing needs to.
Material: Onggi clay (earthenware)
Dimensions: H 28.5 × Ø 36.0 cm
Year: 2025
Recent exhibitions
Canvas Embracing Nature: The 9th Solo Exhibition, KCDF Gallery, Seoul
2025
Onggi, Embracing Nature, Gallery Insa1010, Korea Heritage Service, Korea Heritage Agency
2024
MAISON&OBJET, Paris, France, Korea Heritage Service, Korea Heritage Agency, Paris
2022
Special Exhibition: Yeoju Ceramic Publications – Chung Youngrak, Yeoju Ceramic Cultural Center
2023
Mandala Within Me, The Star Gallery & Ipo Onggi Kiln Site, Yeoju Sejong Cultural Foundation
2022