Abstract
Onggi, described as a 'breathing' type of pottery' has significantly influenced the traditional food culture of Korea. It is known that Onggi is an optimal type of storage for fermented foods such as soy sauce, salted seafood, and Kimchi, as air or liquid can penetrate through the body of this material. These foods gain flavor due to the breeding of aerobic bacteria at the beginning of the fermentation process. In this study, Onggi materials from five regions, Gangjin, Yeoju, Ulsan, Yesan, and Jeju, were collected and analyzed to determine their chemical and physical properties before and after sintering. The differences in the raw materials of other mining regions are examined in terms of their chemical and mineralogical compositions, specific surface area, particle size, and particle distribution. Among them, the Gangjin raw material has the greatest mean particle size of $92.29{\mu}m$, as well as the widest particle size distribution. Differences in the levels of $SiO_2$ and $Fe_2O_3$ are shown among Onggi raw materials. However, the crystalline phases formed after sintering are identical, except for the Jeju samples. At all sintering temperatures tested here, Gangjin Onggi showed the greatest porosity, leading to complete air permeation through the body within 90 minutes. These results taken together indicate that air permeation is strongly related to the pore structures in the Onggi body. This is assumed to affect the fermentation behavior.
