Jogakbo

Jogakbo in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jogakbo (Korean: 조각보) is a traditional Korean textile craft that pieces together small scraps of colorful fabric to create a bojagi (wrapping cloth).^[1] It was made primarily by women during the Joseon dynasty and has been reinterpreted in various forms of contemporary art.

Characteristics

The fabric scraps used in jogakbo are typically of a single material such as cotton, silk, ramie, hemp or paper. The pieces are joined using a triple-stitch technique called kkaekki (깨끼). Jogakbo is expanded in a irregular and spontaneous manner until the desired size is achieved. It may feature multiple colors or a single color.^[2] Color schemes frequently draw on the obangsaek (five directional colors: blue, red, yellow, white, and black) and ogansaek (five intermediate colors).^[3] Red and blue were the most frequently used colors as red was believed to ward off evil spirits while blue symbolized life.^[4]

Types

A 2011 study identified five types of jogakbo based on their pattern.^[5]

• Square type: The fabric pieces are square-shaped or isosceles triangles that form a square.
• Radial type: A small square at the center gradually expands outward.
• Cintamani motif type: A pattern created by regularly overlapping circles of the same size at four points.
• Vertical and horizontal types: The vertical type consists of rectangles repeatedly arranged at varying intervals along vertical lines that serve as structural axes. The horizontal type consists of squares and rectangles of various sizes arranged horizontally to create a balanced composition.
• Free-form type: No fixed form.

History

Unlike gungbo (palace bojagi) made from a single piece of fabric, minbo (commoner bojagi) took the form of jogakbo.^[6] It was primarily made by women during the Joseon dynasty using leftover fabric, reflecting the value of frugality.^[2] As women were excluded from formal education at that time, making jogakbo allowed them to express their creativity.^[6] Also, joining pieces of fabric together symbolized continuing good fortune.^[3] Jogakbo was used not only for temporarily storing or carrying objects but also as covers, mats, decorative items, and for religious purposes. Today, it is used as stationery, interior design, and fashion accessories.^[7]

The history of jogakbo dates back more than 600 years. The oldest surviving jogakbo, housed at Naesosa, was made in 1415 and is presumed to have been used as a cover for a Buddhist sutra. Three pieces of jogakbo enshrined inside a Vairocana statue at Haeinsa were made in 1490 and are also considered as one of the oldest surviving examples.^[1]

Modern interpretation

Aesthetic analysis

A 2004 study wrote that jogakbo has natural beauty and apotropaic aesthetics characteristic of Korean clothing.^[8]

Jogakbo has been compared to works of modern art. The arrangement of colors in Kim Whanki’s 1938 painting Rondo has been noted for its resemblance to that of jogakbo.^[9] Huh Dong-hwa, the director of the Museum of Korean Embroidery, compared it to geometric works by Piet Mondrian and Paul Klee.^[10]

Mathematical analysis

As jogakbo is pieced together from square, rectangular, or triangular pieces of fabric, it has been compared to tessellation.^[11] A 2011 study asserted that some types of jogakbo follow mathematical equations: the width of saekdongbo follows the arithmetic sequence ${\displaystyle a_{n}=a+d(n-1)}$ while the spacing and area in mosi-jogakbo grow geometrically according to ${\displaystyle a_{n}=ar^{n-1}}$.^[5]

In contemporary art

Interest in bojagi increased after the 1983 exhibition at the National Folk Museum of Korea by Huh Dong-hwa, which subsequently inspired contemporary textile artists to create works based on the craft.^[12] Textile artist Chunghie Lee made hanbok and shoes in jogakbo style while fashion designer Lie Sang Bong designed a dress inspired by it.^[2] In his 2008 work Baked Painting-Jogakbo (구운 그림-조각보), ceramicist Shin Sang-ho reinterpreted the composition of jogakbo in ceramic form.^[13]

Gallery

• 
  A jeogori (top) made with the jogakbo technique

See also

• Tessellation
• Chinese patchwork
• Boro (textile)

References

1. Park, Yun-mi. "조각보" [Jogakbo]. Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 2026-09-12.
2. "Jogakbo – traditional Korean patchwork". Victoria and Albert Museum. 2024-04-17. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
3. Choi, Woong-chul (14 June 2013). "비정형의 절묘한 미학 - 조각보" [Aesthetics of the Informal - Jogakbo] (in Korean). Korea Heritage Service. Retrieved 2026-08-08.
4. Lee, Jong-bun (1999). "조선시대 조각보의 배색이미지에 대한 감성적 고찰" [A Study on the Psychological Effects of the Color Combination Images of Patched Wrapping Cloth of Choson Dynasty]. Journal of Korean Society of Design Culture (in Korean). 5 (2): 217.
5. Lee, Eun-kyung (2011). "조선시대 조각보의 조형성에 대한 수학적 분석 방법" [A mathematical analysis method for the formativeness of Joseon-era jogakbo]. Journal of Korean Society of Design Culture (in Korean). 17 (4): 487–488.
6. Paik Kim, Kumja (2004). "A Celebration of Life: Patchwork and Embroidered Pojagi by Unknown Korean Women". In Kim-Renaud, Young-Key (ed.). Creative Women of Korea: The Fifteenth Through the Twentieth Centuries. Routledge. p. 166-167. ISBN 9780765611895.
7. Kim, Yeo Kyung; Hong, Na Young (2009). "조각보 의미 분석을 통한 문화상품 개발 방안" [A Suggestion for the Development of Cultural Products through the Analysis of the Significance Patchwork Wrapping Colthes (Jogakbo)]. Journal of the Korean Society of Costume (in Korean). 59 (3): 149, 152.
8. Choi, Yoon Hye; Eun, Young Ja (2004). "전통조각보의 색채, 면구성을 응용한 패턴의 감성이미지 연구" [A Study on the Sensitive Image of Pattern Applied Color & Formative Types of the Traditional Jokakbo]. The Korean Fashion and Textile Research Journal (in Korean). 6 (3): 267.
9. Cho, Kyung-jin (2010). 한국근대미술에 있어 전일주의와 그 특성 연구 [A Study on Totalism and Its Characteristics in Korean Modern Art] (PDF). Korean Design DNA Research Project (in Korean). Korea Institute of Design Promotion. pp. 55–56.
10. Kwon, Mee-yoo (2016-12-04). "Beauty of 'jogakbo' rediscovered". The Korea Times.
11. Lee, Jung-su; Song, Myung-kyun (2006). "조각보의 면구성과 테셀레이션 비교 연구" [A comparative study of the surface composition of jogakbo and tessellation]. Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles (in Korean). 30 (6): 949.
12. Kim, Kyung-hee; Cha, Young-soon (2019). "조각보의 기하학적 형태가 지닌 조형성 연구" [A Study on the Formativeness in Geometric Forms of Jogakbo]. The Journal of the Korea Society of Art & Design (in Korean). 22 (4): 196.
13. Lee, Jeong-hun (2025-12-18). "2025년이 가기 전에 봐야 할 국내 전시는?" [Which Art Exhibitions in Korea Should You See Before 2025 Ends?]. Design+ (in Korean).