This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Asia from the KU Center for East Asian Studies.

Book your tickets now: the Onggi (ONG KEE) Expo 2009 in Ulsan South Korea is coming up. And the potters of Oegosan (OE KO SAN) Village are preparing for it in a big way: they are going for a Guinness world record by creating the world’s biggest onggi jar. When done, the jar will measure 6 feet in diameter and 18 feet in circumference. Onggi is a traditional pottery technique that uses long slabs of clay rather than coils. The slabs are placed edge to edge then attached by pounding them with a paddle. Onggi storage jars are particularly good for pickled and fermented foods such as kimchee, the spicy fermented cabbage dish served with every meal in Korea. A lot of kimchee could fit in this jar. A world record amount, perhaps? Two records with one jar? Hmmm. Hello, Guinness? Are you listening?

From the KU Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.