Saekki

Saekki (새끼) is a rope made of woven straw. It was an important household item used in pre-modern agricultural Korea.

History
Grey stoneware (hard pottery) from the Proto–Three Kingdoms era (2nd century BCE‒3rd century CE) demonstrates evidence of saekki. Ceramic sculptures of jipsin (straw shoes) from Silla (57 BCE‒935 CE) indicates the usage of saekki in this period.

During the Joseon era (1392–1897), sakgye (a guild of the tribute merchants of ropes) was one of the gonggye (guilds of tribute merchants, the government-licensed purchasing agents) that had monopolistic rights for supplying government requirements.

During the Japanese forced occupation (1910–1945), a large amount of saekki along with gamani (straw bags) were looted for military use by the Imperial Japanese Army.

Saekki was widely used until the 1960s. In the 1970s, the use of saekki waned with the spread of plastic, vinyl, and synthetic fiber ropes. Saekki faced a resurgence at the end of the 20th century due to growing interest in traditional handicraft in recent decades.

Uses
Saekki was used to make common items such as jipsin (straw shoes), gamani (straw bags), kojige (A-shaped carrier frames) and goppi (cattle halters). It was also used as geumjul (taboo ropes) to ward off malignant influences in Korean folk religion.