Chipsin (Korean: 짚신) are Korean traditional sandals made of straw. Koreans have worn straw sandals since ancient times. They are categorized as i (Korean: 이; Hanja: 履; shoes with a short height), and the specific name can vary according to the materials used, as with samsin, wanggolsin, ch'ŏngol chisin, and pudŭlsin.[1][2]

In the Joseon period, chipsin were worn mostly by commoners, working farmers. The shoes were meant for walking, and wore down quickly. A full day's worth of walking would often wear out a pair. As such, most people knew how to make the shoes themselves. This was even true of middle and even upper-class women; it was not "considered lowering for her to engage in making of straw shoes".[3]

They are very similar, especially in form, to mit'uri, which are also traditional Korean woven shoes. The difference lies primarily in materials; chipsin are typically made of straw, while mituri are made from hemp,[4] Cyperus exaltatus (Korean: 왕골), or cattail.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "ko:짚신" (in Korean). Empas / EncyKorea. Archived 2007-03-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  2. ^ "ko:짚신" (in Korean). terms.naver.com. Archived 2022-01-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  3. ^ Neff, Robert (2019-10-19). "Jipsin: These shoes are made for walking". The Korea Times. Archived 2023-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  4. ^ "ko:미투리" (in Korean). Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  5. ^ "ko:우리역사넷". contents.history.go.kr. Retrieved 2023-12-31.