Punchong ceramic wares were manufactured at numerous kilns spread over the country. They had to be transported to the central government at Hansung-bu (present Seoul) over different routes, depending upon the geographic location of the kilns. Each Punchong ceramic ware was marked with letters representing either the target government branche, location of the kiln, or the name of the craftsman. The contents of the marked letters appears to have apparent differences between different regions of manufacturing. This paper is to clarify the reason why the contents of letter markings are different between different regions, by studying the locations of the kilns, how the ceramic wares were transported, and where in the central government they were supposed to be used.
This study finds that the differences in the contents of the marked letters between different geographic regions are closely related to the transportation methods and the corresponding routes. The Punchung ceramic wares from Choongchung-do and Chulla-do were safely and conveniently transported on boats along the west coast. The letter-markings on the punchong wares from these areas represented the government branches where the ceramics ware were shipped to. On the other hand, the Punchong wares from Kyusnag-do had to be transported over the rugged Sobaik mountain. Survival of large load of heavy and fragile ceramic through and over the mountain road was a problem. The local offices in Kyungsang-do region was given the responsibility to transport the ceramic wares safely to Hansung-bu. Only the survived ceramic wares were given the credit toward the tribute. For this reason, the Punchong wares from Kyungsang-do wore letters marking the local office in charge.