It looks like abstract art. It began as a wrapping cloth.

Bojagi is the Korean word for a wrapping cloth. A jogakbo is the patchwork kind, assembled from smaller pieces of fabric. A practical way to make use of cloth became a composition of colors, shapes and visible seams.

TWO WORDS, ONE USEFUL DISTINCTION

Not every bojagi is patchwork. Use bojagi for the broader category and jogakbo for a wrapping cloth pieced together from fabric scraps.

BEFORE IT REACHED THE MUSEUM

These cloths could bundle belongings, wrap gifts or cover dishes of food. Look at the pattern, then imagine the flat rectangle folded and tied around an everyday object.

Sources & context

2026-09-18