Icheon Wins Excellence Award in Group Category at Gyeonggi-do Craft Exhibition for Third Consecutive Year

Twelve Local Artists Achieve Multiple Awards

The city of Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, announced on the 18th that it received the Excellence Award in the group category at the 55th Gyeonggi-do Craft Exhibition, which was held on the 17th at the Gyeonggi Living Ceramic Museum in Yeoju.

Kim Kyunghee, mayor of Icheon, is celebrating with employees the third consecutive year of winning the Excellence Award in the group category at the Gyeonggi-do Craft Exhibition. Provided by Icheon City

This competition, hosted by Gyeonggi Province and organized by the Korea Ceramic Foundation, is held to promote the craft industry and preserve traditional techniques. This year, a total of 351 works were submitted from 25 cities and counties within the province. Icheon submitted 33 works to the competition.

The city added that, with this award, it has now won the Excellence Award in the group category for three consecutive years.

This year's competition also saw a series of awards for artists from the Icheon area. The work "A Special Day, The Joy of Dining" by artist Kim Namhee was selected for the Grand Prize, the highest honor. In addition, "The Lantern in My Heart" (Na Yonghwan), "Buncheong Inhwa Sipjangsaengmun Box" (Lee Gyutak), "Black Clay Striped Silver-Decorated Tea Set" (In Hyunsik), and "Jangseokmun Box Set" (Kim Seungyong) each received the Encouragement Award. "Distortion" (Woo Eunju) and "Celadon, White Porcelain, and Buncheong Tea Ceremony Set" (Won Yongtae) each received the Special Selection Award. In total, 12 works from Icheon artists received awards, including those by Shin Kyungwook, Kim Somin, Jung Byungmin, Lee Hakyun, and Lee Jaehun, whose works were selected for the final round.

Kim Kyunghee, mayor of Icheon, stated, "We will continue to provide generous support to ensure that outstanding craftspeople and works are continuously discovered, while preserving the identity of Icheon crafts, where tradition and modernity coexist."

Meanwhile, the exhibition of award-winning works from this competition will be held at the Gyeonggi Living Ceramic Museum until August 3. Works that received the Special Selection Award or higher will be submitted as Gyeonggi Province's representatives to the 55th Korea Craft Exhibition, which will be held next month.