Wrap · Carrying
Shoulder bundle
A small cloth bundle slung from the shoulder on a strap, the traditional luggage of travellers on foot and peddlers.
- For
- Travel on foot; peddlers (보상)
- Wraps
- Clothes and belongings
- Cloth
- laid as a diamond
- Closed with
- Double-tie (square knot by two ties)
- Level
- Easy
'끈을 달아 어깨에 매는 작은 봇짐은 괴나리봇짐' (namu.wiki). The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says 보상 peddlers 'carried goods wrapped in bojagi in the hand or slung by a 질빵 on the back', hence 봇짐장수.
- 1Pile the belongings in the centre of the cloth.
- 2Tie the near and far corners together over the pile.
- 3Tie the left and right corners together over the first knot.
- 4Attach a strap (끈) or carrying sling (질빵).
- 5Sling it over the shoulder or onto the back.
History & tradition
Joseon to early 20th century; travellers and peddlers
A 봇짐 is any load wrapped in cloth; the small one hung from the shoulder by a strap, the 괴나리봇짐, became the stock image of a traveller setting out on a long road. Bundles were used by everyone from peddlers to scholars. The 보상 peddlers of late Joseon, who sold finer wares, carried theirs in the hand or on a 질빵 strap, which earned them the name 봇짐장수; their guilds were suppressed under Japanese rule.
The word survives in speech, often mispronounced 개나리봇짐, and in period dramas.