Documentary film The Breathing of the Fire records six years of Joseon’s last potter, Chen HanBong, and his daughter and pupil, Chen KyungHee. Master Chen HanBong fought with fire all of his life in an attempt to recreate Korea’s chatsabal (known as kizaemon in Japan), which became a national treasure in Japan despite being made by a Korean potter. He baked pottery for 70 years since he was 14 and made as many as 700 bowls a day. But in the film, he breaks them mercilessly and drops his head while saying he has a long way to go. Despite pouring all of his life into it, a master craftsman like him is still unable to reach his goal because the art of pottery can only be accomplished by playing with the fire’s laws of nature. One can do their best to mold the clay, apply glaze, place it in the kiln, and light the fire, but everything else is out of their hands. There were no written records of how this particular bowl was made as it was meant for ordinary people, so Chen HanBong had no choice but to make his best guesses to figure out the laws of fire.

Master Chen desperately struggles in front of the fire every day. Behind him is Chen KyungHee, who follows him like his shadow. She sticks around quietly behind her father and keeps her place despite her father getting anxious at times. A few years into the shoot, the daughter makes a confession while working a pottery wheel. Her younger brother who was supposed to succeed her father had passed away, so she chose to take his place and carry on her father’s calling... The process of KyungHee’s growth into independence resembles how a piece of pottery is made. It must endure the scorching fire in the kiln several times to be completed. After a long wait, the daughter is permitted to succeed her father. It took her 25 years.

Two years ago on the last day of October, Master Chen HanBong stopped breathing his breaths of fire. I remember how anxious and happy he was to see the chatsabal he longed to see all of his life displayed at a temple in Kyoto. I feel like I can still see and hear his ringing voice, soaked in emotions, as he saw himself on banners fluttering down Jeonju Film Street on the day the film screened at the festival as the JEONJU Cinema Project 2019 selection.

“You can’t make a good bowl without becoming a good person first. A person is like a bowl. If you want to become a good bowl, you need the strength to persevere.”

Ever since Master Chen HanBong’s passing, his daughter Chen KyungHee has been manning the kiln for two years. KO Heeyoung

Breathing Underwater (2016), SEE-SAW (2016), Legend of the Waterflowers (2022)

Dreaming of the Incomplete
The Breathing of the Fire’s first impression is that of the discord between an assertive master and his successor who just can’t seem to get her chance. On top of that, they’re father and daughter. It has been 27 years since KyungHee practiced lighting fire every chance she could find. Despite that, Master Chen HanBong can’t help but interfere whenever it comes to making fire. Near the beginning, he presses his daughter to speak louder as she watches the fire for him. When she asks to light the stoking hole*, he nags and says that she’s terrible at loading the kiln**. The Breathing of the Fire</i> captures two potters in front of the fire who trust each other but are hurt by each other.

The most interesting moment happens when Master Chen HanBong, who has been walking on this one-way road of conviction, admits his incapability. He uses the same clay, glaze, and hands, but his bowls come out in all shapes and sizes. He admits that he still can’t fully understand the art of fire despite working with it for all of his life. A bowl from Joseon went across the ocean during the Japanese invasion of Korea and became Japan’s national treasure. While holding it deep in his heart, he dreams of recreating a bowl just like it. Unable to achieve this, he breaks the bowls that pile up day after day. Perhaps he’s teaching his daughter how to face failure in this world full of disappointments. Near the end of the film, KyungHee is seen starting a fire, and her father keeps on interfering while scolding her. When she gets angry and tells him to move out of her way, it forms an antithesis to the beginning of the film and resonates with us. Their long ongoing conflict somewhat reminds us of how human history has spent many long hours focusing on watching the fire. There are still many bowls to be broken, and KyungHee will carry on the family’s calling. LEE Bora

*Stoking hole: Placed at the entrance of the kiln, the stoking hole serves as a warming chamber. A traditional kiln has five chambers that are connected, and the stoking hole is where the firewood is placed to start the fire in order to warm up the whole kiln.
**Loading the kiln involves throwing the firewood deep into the kiln.

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