Festival promoting South Korea’s ceramic culture faces fury over Chinese-made prizes

Edition:Get unlimited access to the SCMPHIGHLIGHTSNewsBusiness & TechOpinionLifestyleMore +TopicsFocus to tailor your experience and present relevant ads. By clicking “Accept”, you agree that cookies can be placed per our -AllFestival promoting Korean ceramic culture faces fury over Chinese-made prizesSIGN INOrganisers of the Yeoju-ceramic-festival" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="137436" data-entity-type="event">Yeoju Ceramic Festival apologised amid public backlash and calls for accountability2-MIN READ2-MIN1ListenPublished: 12:30pm, 31 May 2026Organisers of South Korea’s renowned Yeoju-ceramic-festival" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="137436" data-entity-type="event">Yeoju Ceramic Festival have apologised after Chinese-made ceramic products were distributed as giveaway prizes at an event intended to promote the country’s pottery heritage, sparking public backlash and online criticism.The controversy emerged after a social media user said on Tuesday that a miniature moon jar received through a festival promotional event carried a “Made in China” sticker.“I honestly doubted my eyes when I opened the package,” the winner said on social media, posting photographs of the prize. “This was an event held under the name of the Yeoju-ceramic-festival" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="137436" data-entity-type="event">Yeoju Ceramic Festival, but what I received was a cheap, low-quality product with a ‘Made in China’ sticker on it, which is worse than something you’d buy at Daiso. Is this right?”The annual festival, held in Yeoju, Gyeonggi province, is one of South Korea’s best-known ceramic events and aims to promote local artisans and the region’s pottery industry.As part of a social media campaign held from May 1 to May 10, visitors who posted photos from the festival on their personal social media accounts were entered into a drawing. Twenty winners were selected to receive miniature moon jars, a traditional ceramic form widely associated with Korean pottery.As criticism mounted, the Yeoju-sejong-cultural-tourism-foundation" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="137438" data-entity-type="organization">Yeoju Sejong Cultural Tourism Foundation, which organises the festival, issued a public apology.“The distribution of low-cost Chinese-made products as prizes under the name of a festival intended to promote Yeoju’s ceramic culture and support local ceramic artists was highly inappropriate,” foundation chairman Lee Soon-yeol said in a statement on Wednesday.03:52China’s young professionals fleeing city life flock to ‘porcelain capital’ amid weak economyThe foundation said the issue resulted from a mistake by an outside marketing agency responsible for operating the event. According to the foundation, the contractor bought two Chinese-made ceramic items online for 6,500 won (US$4) each and shipped them directly to winners without proper review and inspection.The agency also apologised, saying it had failed to adequately verify the products’ origin and quality before distributing them.The controversy intensified after the prizewinner said agency officials repeatedly contacted the winner through text messages, phone calls and direct messages requesting that the post be deleted. The winner said the agency cited the possibility of internal disciplinary action and later offered a personal apology.“What I wanted was not compensation but management and accountability worthy of a festival representing Korea’s ceramic heritage. The organising foundation has now recognised the seriousness of the issue and promised concrete measures to prevent a recurrence. They also said they would send me a genuine Yeoju moon jar,” the poster said.Further Reading“However, I have no intention of deleting my original post. Let’s continue to watch whether the foundation follows through on the improvements it has promised.”The foundation said it has promised to strengthen inspection procedures and improve oversight of promotional events to prevent similar incidents from recurring.