Ornamental Knife Maker (Eunjangdo)

Jangdo is a small knife carried on the body, used by both men and women for self-defence or as an ornament. Because it was worn at the waistband or on the coat-string together with a norigae (ornamental pendant), it is also called paedo ('worn knife'); a jangdo carried inside a pouch is called nangdo ('pouch knife'). A person with the skill and technique to make such a jangdo is called a jangdojang. Since the Goryeo dynasty, adult men and women carried them for self-protection, and especially after the Japanese invasions of 1592 in the Joseon period, women of the yangban noble class carried them as an essential item to protect their chastity. From the late Joseon period onward, rather than their practical function as a knife, symbolism and ornamentation came to be emphasised, and as they became part of women's norigae ornaments, a variety of elaborate and splendid jangdo came to be made. Jangdo are divided, according to the materials of the handle and sheath, into eunjangdo (silver jangdo), mokjangdo (wooden jangdo) and goljangdo (bone jangdo). By shape, they are classified into iljado (straight-bladed), euljado (curved-bladed), and cheomjado, into which chopsticks are inserted. Where there is a ridge at the point where the handle and sheath meet it is called monggaekal; where there is none, matbaegi. A cylindrical one is called pyeongkal, and an octagonal, faceted one is called palbojangdo or bojaebikal. One decorated with a patterned mount is called gajeunjangseokkal; one inlaid with black copper (odong-ipsa) is called odongkal; and one without any of these is called minjakal. Im Cha-chul of Jinju, Gyeongnam, is skilled at the technique of forging the blade of the jangdo and, in particular, at carving traditional patterns onto eunjangdo, and can be called a rare inheritor of this folk craft skill. Accordingly, Gyeongsangnam-do Province has recognised Im Cha-chul as an intangible cultural heritage holder, preserving the craft techniques of jangdo-making.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jinju, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Intangible Heritage · 시도무형유산