Abstract
The Koryŏ dynasty (918–1392) was the first moment in Korean history that “true national unification” of the Korean Peninsula was achieved under the leadership of Wang Kŏn in 936. Throughout the pre-modern period, the Korean Peninsula had long been plagued by foreign intervention and control, and the Koryŏ dynasty was no exception to this; however, under this newly united dynasty, the Korean people could cultivate a distinct cultural identity that was shaped simultaneously by internal developments and external forces. Nestled between the illustrious civilizations of Song China (960–1279) and Heian Japan (794–1185), the kingdom of Koryŏ asserted much of its sovereignty not through conquest, but through culture. Nowhere is this more evident than in its celadon ceramics, whose jade-green glazes and distinctive visual language articulated the dynasty’s spiritual ideals and political authority, transforming clay into a medium of Korean identity and statecraft. These wares, which speak to the artistic and technical sophistication of Koryŏ artisans, were more than aesthetic achievements—they served as tools for forging and communicating the identity of a previously fractured state navigating constant external pressures. The artistic and ideological functions of celadon set the stage for a closer investigation of how specific motifs, particularly those associated with Buddhist doctrines, were intentionally incorporated—whether that be through incising or inlaying—to reinforce Koryŏ sovereignty and cultural cohesion. By examining celadon wares featuring Buddhist iconography and situating them within the political, religious, and social frameworks of the Koryŏ dynasty, I argue that Koryŏ celadon functioned as a material strategy through which political legitimacy, cultural identity, and ideological cohesion were deliberately constructed and visually asserted in medieval Korean society.
