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| A small shoe shop in a village, circa early 1900s. Robert Neff Collection |
By Robert Neff
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| Jipsin peddlers in city streets, circa early 1900s. Robert Neff Collection |
These were straw shoes worn by most people. They were made for walking ― not for status ― and because of their construction and use, white stockings (socks) were usually not worn with them.
They were extremely cheap ― less than a penny a pair ― but did not last long. On treks through the countryside, coolies (porters) often went through a pair daily. Fortunately, they were readily available in markets or sold on the streets by peddlers.
According to an article published in the Korea Review (an English-language magazine) in 1901: "Ladies of the upper class can make straw shoes only but middle class women can make any kind."
The article went on to note that it was not "considered lowering for her to engage in making of straw shoes." The author felt that it seemed "a little singular that the Korean lady should be able to make the commonest and lowest kind of footwear when it would be entirely beneath her dignity to make the better kinds of shoes, such for instance, as those which her husband would wear in town."
The upper crust of society were not the only ones to make shoes. Inmates in Seoul's prisons made jipsin and sold them so that they could "buy such articles of food as they wanted." Farmers, during the winter, often made straw shoes to pass the time and augment their incomes. In one case, it also saved their lives.
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| Children at a shoe shop, circa early 1900s. Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection |
According to the Seoul Press (a pro-Japanese newspaper published in Korea), in early winter 1907, a large group of uibyeong (independence fighters), tired of fighting and wanting to return to the more sedate life of farming, turned themselves in to the Japanese authorities.
The Japanese commander was suspicious of their claims to have once been farmers and so, "in a Solomonic fashion," declared that each man was to make five pairs of straw sandals ― failure to do so could result in their deaths.
Within a short time, each of the men presented five pairs of straw sandals and the commander was satisfied that they were genuine farmers. After a stern warning, the men were released and, possibly, walked away in one of the pairs of shoes that had saved their lives.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
