Reply To: Lead Free Onggi

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#77064
Maangchi
Keymaster

I wouldn’t worry about it.

In the 1960s and 1970s, some bad onggi makers used to use some cheap chemical called gwangmyeongdan (광명단) in onggi glaze to make it shiny. It contains lots of lead.

The onggi with gwangmyeongdan is so shiny it almost it looks like its manicured. But they don’t use it anymore because since the 1980s it’s been illegal. It was a big issue at the time, and I read many Koreans stopped using onggi for a while. These days they use onggi again because the glaze is safe. You see that article was written in 1981.

I myself have many onggi at home. The surfaces are shiny but still natural looking.