Jipsin (Straw Shoes)
짚신
Woven footwear made from plant fibres such as straw, with construction and use shaped by local materials and needs.
Research note · see sources and scope belowOne-Sentence Definition
Jipsin (짚신) is a type of woven Korean footwear traditionally made from straw or other plant fibres. The word covers practical shoes rather than one single standardized design.
Materials and Everyday Use
The Academy of Korean Studies describes jipsin as footwear braided from rice straw and places it among low-cut shoes. It distinguishes straw shoes from other plant-fibre footwear such as hemp, sedge, kudzu, and bulrush shoes. The source also describes a construction sequence: braid straw into cords, weave a sole to fit the foot, shape the sides, and bind the upper edge. Materials and details differ among these kinds of shoes, so they should not all be called “straw sandals.”
The encyclopedia records straw shoes as practical footwear for field work and long journeys. It also distinguishes other plant-fibre shoes associated with different occasions; for example, hemp-mixed shoes were worn by mourners. These descriptions come from the reference source and should not be projected onto every character in a story.
As a Story Detail
The Jindo woodcutter telling says that the man makes straw footwear on a rainy day. It does not name a particular weave or state that these are jipsin. The linked story note therefore treats the connection as a cautious comparison, not a confirmed identification.
Sources
- Academy of Korean Studies, Encyclopedia of Korean Culture: Jipsin (materials, construction, and recorded uses).