South Korea · Textiles / Patchwork
보자기 (Bojagi) / 조각보 (Jogakbo)
Pojagi is the traditional Korean wrapping cloth — used to wrap and carry gifts, food, books, and ceremonial objects — and in its patchwork form (jogakbo) is one of the most sophisticated textile composition traditions in Asia. Jogakbo is made from small irregular pieces of Korean silk or ramie stitched together in geometric compositions with a specific Korean flat-seam joining technique (saek-dong — color field composition) that produces a stained-glass-like translucency when the cloth is held to light. The composition logic of jogakbo — balancing color, shape, and light transmission across an irregular patchwork — is considered one of the earliest examples of abstract geometric composition in Korean art. The flat-seam joining technique (no seam allowance visible on either side) requires a specific folding and stitching sequence that is the defining technical skill of the tradition.
Risk level: Endangered · Not inscribed internationally; within Korean ICH Living National Treasure system
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