At a glance
| Booth | R7312 |
| Country | KR |
| Website | www.icheon.go.kr/eng |
Company profile
ICHEON CITY is a municipality in Gyeonggi-do whose basic information page reported a population of 233,286 as of November 2023, including 222,652 nationals and 10,634 foreign residents. The same city statistics list 104,222 households, a population density of 501 people per square kilometre and a total area of 461.4 square kilometres, of which 167.8 square kilometres are agricultural land and 160.1 square kilometres are forest. Icheon’s administrative structure is listed as 2 eups, 8 myeons and 4 dongs, with 5 bureaus, 1 center, 4 officers, 2 subordinate organizations, 2 business offices, 41 divisions and 14 eup, myeon or dong units. The city page records 98,672 housing units, 439.4 kilometres of roads and a water-supply coverage rate of 97 percent. Its business statistics list 1,234 companies employing 46,309 people, including 8 large companies with 22,045 employees, 26 mid-sized companies with 4,765 employees and 1,200 small businesses with 19,499 employees. These population, land, infrastructure and business figures provide the municipal context in which ICHEON CITY carries out industrial, employment and education programs. ICHEON CITY is also identified as Korea’s representative ceramic-culture city and a UNESCO Creative City for Crafts and Folk Arts. Icheon was designated in July 2010 as Korea’s first UNESCO Creative City for Crafts and Folk Art, in recognition of its ceramic infrastructure, festivals and organizations supporting professional ceramic work. The city’s ceramic ecosystem includes a large population of ceramic artists and related-industry participants as well as educational institutions and researchers connected with ceramic culture. Through the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, Icheon promotes Korean traditional pottery culture internationally while participating in cultural exchange and cooperation with other creative cities. On June 12, 2018, Icheon was elected the first chair city for Crafts and Folk Art among Korean creative cities at the subnetwork annual meeting in Krakow, Poland, and it served as chair city until September 2021. The city continues to explore exchange projects with other creative cities after its chair-city period, linking cultural assets with international cooperation. For semiconductor workforce development, ICHEON CITY operates the Icheon Semiconductor Convergence Education Center based on the expertise of the Korea Polytechnics semiconductor convergence campus, described as Korea’s only semiconductor-specialized university. The center provides customized semiconductor professional education across life stages from students to older adults, with the stated goals of easing workforce shortages at semiconductor companies in the city and supporting employment in Icheon. ICHEON CITY also uses participation in domestic and overseas exhibitions as part of its broader investment-attraction promotion activities. The November 2023 municipal statistics list a budget size of KRW 1,532.7 billion, including KRW 1,267.6 billion in the general account and KRW 265.1 billion in special accounts, with financial independence stated at 39.77 percent and fiscal independence at 51.07 percent. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network information on the city page reported 295 member cities in 93 countries as of 2022 across crafts and folk arts, literature, film, music, design, media arts and food.
Exhibits
Icheon’s pottery history is presented within the wider development of Korean ceramics, beginning with earthenware on the Korean Peninsula about 10,000 years ago and progressing through high-temperature firing and harder earthenware by the Three Kingdoms period. By the 9th and 10th centuries, Korea had developed celadon and white-porcelain production, and the 12th century Goryeo period produced jade-green celadon, inlaid celadon and copper-red celadon. The ceramic tradition later moved through Buncheong ware to Joseon white porcelain, with the Saongwon branch Royal Kiln established around 1467 to produce fine white porcelain for royal and government use. Icheon itself has evidence of pottery production reaching back to the Bronze Age, and early-16th-century records identify white jade and pottery among the area’s specialties. Kiln remains from the Joseon Dynasty can still be found around Icheon, and the local traditional-ceramics sector regained stability after Korean Liberation in 1945 and the Korean War period. Icheon’s location near Seoul, availability of raw materials and firewood, use of traditional kilns and arrival of potters from different regions helped the area develop as a center of Korean ceramic culture. The annual Icheon Pottery Festival has been held since 1987, and the city’s 2010 UNESCO Creative City designation contributed to internationalization of Icheon pottery and expansion of the local ceramic industry and culture. Today about 420 workshops across Icheon produce celadon, white porcelain, Buncheong ware, clay pots and figural ceramics, with many small workshops maintaining handmade methods such as potter’s wheels and wood-fired kilns. The city recognizes Korean ceramic masters and Icheon ceramic masters, while emerging artists continue to develop new forms and techniques alongside traditional processes. The history page notes that after the Royal Kiln was privatized in 1884 and traditional ceramics later lost continuity during the Japanese occupation, the craft recovered after liberation and the Korean War, preserving techniques with relatively limited outside influence. It also describes an 18th-century revival of Korean white porcelain during the reigns of Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo from 1724 to 1800, when large pieces with delicate decorative patterns were produced.
Capabilities and products
- operation of a semiconductor convergence education center
- investment-environment visits and customized consultations