/ by Kim Ji-young

Bojagi is a piece of cloth cut into the shape of a small square to wrap or cover items. Jogakbo is a Bojagi made of tiny pieces (jogak) of cloth sewed together. In the past, Korean women exceeded in the concept of saving resources by making jogakbos; they succeeded in producing a highly elegant world of beauty arranging materials of different colors and shapes into absolute harmony.

The meaning of Jogakbo

Jogakbo is known to have been used by the common people and no copy of the patched handkerchief discovered at royal palaces. One other noticeable fact is that there are no traces of the jogakbo's having been used as though indirectly proving women sewed the pieces of cloth together for the mere sake of delight and fun. Another interpretation of the jogakbo is that the act of connecting many pieces of cloth symbolized the wishes of Korean women for long life.

The main colors of Jogakbo

Jogakbo is usually made of pastel-tones and blue and red. The lighter colors are used as the background and stronger and brighter colors are placed in the middle and main frame.

Special Features in Making Jogakbo

Each stitch sewn to connect the cloth pieces are not hidden but emphasized in Jogakbo and moreover the color of the threads were not the same as the cloth but a distinguished type that stands out from the materials. This suggests that the thread was not merely a means to attatch the pieces of cloth together, but was in itself an essential element in composing the bojagi.

The Artistic Value of Jogakbo