Korean Ottchil: Unique culinary art

Well, I have ordered some English Korean cookbooks and they are on the way! I will post a link to the books on Amazon and you can buy them to follow along if you like and to help in rating recipes that I post. Though I am currently not cooking in the kitchen, I still want to explore some of the Korean culinary world. So as I wait for the books to arrive, I went to a Korean Ottchil artwork museum in TongYeong  that had some interesting culinary items on display and for purchase!

Ottchil is an Asian lacquer that is harvested from the sap of an ‘Ott’ tree. The lacquer is harvested for 6 months beginning in June. Mid-July is considered the best harvesting time and produces the best lacquer. The most interesting thing about the process is that it is 100% natural and no chemicals are used in producing ottchil.

My trip happened to be a unique one since a friend of mine is currently taking an ottchil class by one of the museum curators.  He kindly offered to take my friend and I on a tour of the museum.  He explained the process as well as demonstrated how the ott tree’s bark is cut to harvest the sap. The process is similar to maple sap collection in Canada. Then he showed us some art pieces and explained how the process works. Ott paintings take a very, very, very long time to make as the ottchil is built up in layers and some paintings can contain 10’s of layers that need to be sanded and polished.

Now onto the culinary bit. The museum has modernised the ottchil traditions and began making cups, dishes, and utensils with ottchil finishes. I loved the cups that were there especially the unique cone cups that were patented by the museums owner Kim, Sung Soo (김성수). 

Best of all, you can purchase these unique items in the museum’s store. They are expensive however, about 100, 000 won for 2 cups. The set in the photo costs 590,000 won (about 550 USD). The prices, though high, are not that bad if you take into consideration the cost of production and their uniqueness. If you want a gift to take home that is truly unique and don’t mind the price, I would recommend coming here and reviewing the items.

More information can be found on their Korean website, http://www.ottchil.org/. Here is there address and phone number (there are no English speakers at the museum however):

Kyeong Nam, TongYeong City,
Yongnam Myun, Hwasam Ri #658

Phone: (+82) 055-649-5257

Fax: (+82) 055-649-5357