Earthen Pot

Ttukbaegi, also called tugari, tukbaki, tukbaegi, duksuri or tuksuri, is a bowl used for boiling stew or serving soup. It has a wide mouth and a slight depth, usually with no foot. Despite its crude look, ttukbaegi is resistant to fire and thus adequate for boiling food. Though it has low heat conductivity and requires more time to boil food than an ordinary pot, food cooked hot in ttukbaegi does not easily get cold, which is ideal for serving stew or rice soup. There are two types of ttukbaegi: ash-glazed ttukbaegi and unglazed ttukbaegi. Ash-glazed ttukbaegi is made of red mud, dried in the sun or baked for a short time, applied with lye, and then baked again. It is glossy with a blackish-red sheen and durable. Unglazed ttukbaegi is made in the same way, but without the application of lye. Its surface is coarse and sheenless. The unsophisticated look of ttukbaegi lends a sense of humbleness to it. When someone has an unattractive voice or sings badly, the person is proverbially said to sound like “ttukbaegi being broken.” “The taste of paste is better than the appearance of ttukbaegi” refers to a person who does not have a charming appearance but has a better nature.