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Tree-ear
Tree-ear is a plucky orphan living in 12th-century Korea. When he was two years old, his parents died of fever. Some villagers decided that Tree-ear should stay with a homeless man, Crane-man, until a…
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Crane-man
Crane-man is a homeless man with a disabled leg living under a bridge in the pottery village of Ch’ulp’o in 12th-century Korea. He was born disabled, preventing him from doing hard physical labor. When his…
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Min
Min is an elderly master potter living with his wife in the pottery village of Ch’ulp’o in 12th-century Korea. He and his wife had a son, Hyung-gu, who died of fever in adolescence. Min is…
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Min’s Wife/Ajima
Master potter Min’s wife is an elderly woman living in the pottery village of Ch’ulp’o in 12th-century Korea. When Min takes on adolescent orphan Tree-ear as an unpaid employee, Min’s wife not only makes…
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The Royal Emissary/Emissary Kim
Emissary Kim is a royal emissary and ceramics expert charged with giving out royal commissions to the best potters. When he visits Ch’ulp’o and examines the potters’ work, he acknowledges that master potter Kang’s…
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Kang
Kang is a master potter in the pottery village of Ch’ulp’o in 12th-century Korea. Though a less talented potter than elderly Min, Kang is more innovative: he comes up with a new technique, “inlay…
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