TAKING PLEASURE: A group of visitors watch a South Korean ceramics artist demonstrate pottery making at the Korea-Indonesia Cultural Exchange Festival at Senayan City shopping mall in Jakarta on Saturday. (JP/Veeramalla Anjaiah)

South Korea kicked off a 10-day cultural festival in Jakarta on Friday, the highlight being a exhibition of Korean ceramics with the theme, "The Light of Millennium of Korean Ceramics".

Organized by the South Korean Embassy in cooperation with Icheon Ceramics Art Association and Indonesia-Korea Friendship Association, the Korea-Indonesia Cultural Festival 2008 is being held at Jakarta's Senayan City shopping mall and will run until Nov. 2.

"The ceramics exhibition, which was organized by the embassy and Icheon Ceramics Art Association, is featuring unique art works. It is the largest exhibition of its kind in Indonesia," South Korean Embassy's Counselor Yoon Moon-han told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The history of South Korean ceramics reaches back more than 3,000 years. The craft is a carefully combined mixture of clay and shaping, designing and burning techniques.

The exhibition features 82 ceramics by 27 artists from South Korea's Icheon, Gwangju and Yeoju areas, Yoon said.

Visitors can witness a demonstration of artisans at work who are ready to answer their questions.

"We no longer use pots in our homes, so it's good Koreans are still preserving this ancient art," Savitri, a visitor who works in a transportation company, said while watching the pottery demonstration.

In addition to its world-famous Korean ceramics, the festival also offers Korean delicacies and Korean traditional music.

South Korea's new ambassador to Indonesia Kim Ho-young, senior Indonesian government officials and public figures from both communities attended the opening ceremony.

Another interesting aspect of the festival is a display of Korean food products and drinks such as ginseng. There will also be a seminar on the efficacy of ginseng Friday at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Kuningan.

A traditional Korean musical performance entitled, "A Korean Night with Sookmyung Gayageum Orchestra", will be performed at the Usmar Ismail Hall in South Jakarta on Thursday and Friday. -- JP/Veeramalla Anjaiah

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