Patchwork with no set scheme, extended piece by piece until the cloth reaches the size needed.
Meaning
Free type (자유 'free').
Used for
Table covers, wrapping cloths and larger covers
No fixed scheme: rectangles and triangles of varied size joined freely. Patches are first joined into squares, then extended irregularly to size.
In other cloths
RamieSilkBlue and redFive colours
History & tradition
Joseon to mid-20th century; ordinary households
Many jogakbo follow no scheme at all: the maker joined scraps into small blocks and kept adding irregular pieces until the cloth was big enough. The 2021 study argues these pieces often show the strongest design because the apparent randomness is guided by the maker's eye. The label itself is a researchers' term.
Free-form is the model for much contemporary art bojagi.