Sambe

Fiber derived from Cannabis sativa

Sambe (Korean: 삼베), or hemp Fiber, is a traditional fiber for Korean clothing. The knowledge of weaving sambe skillfully is being lost, has been deemed a national treasure, and specific individuals with the ability were designated intangible cultural assets.^[1] Sambe was the primary textile fiber used in clothing for commoners/Sangmin prior to the introduction of cotton to Korea in the late 15th century.^[2] A particularly fine variety is andongpo from Andong, North Gyeongsang Province.^[2]^[3]^[4]

A Korean traditional funeral includes a sambe death dress for the deceased and sambe clothing for mourners.^[5] After commercial relations between China and Korea resumed in 1990, Chinese-made hemp cloth began to replace Korean cloth.^[6]

References

^ Cho 2007.
^ ^a ^b Yi 2008, p. 55.
^ Clarke 2006, p. 54.
^ Chung 2015.
^ Kendall & Dix 1987, pp. 80–82.
^ Koh 2007.

Newspaper sources

Cho, Jae-eun (July 23, 2007), "Weaving way of life faces extinction", JoongAng Daily, Korea
Chung, Ah-young (2015-11-20), "Andongpo: Artisan preserves disappearing craft of hemp fabric weaving", Korea Times, archived from the original on August 11, 2022

Book and journal sources

Hwang, Min-Sun (2006), "Contemporary Hemp Weaving in Korea", Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings, Paper 347 via University of Nebraska at Lincoln digital commons
Clarke, Robert C. (April 2006), "Hemp (Cannabis) Cultivation and Use in the Republic of Korea", Journal of Industrial Hemp, 11 (1): 51–86, doi:10.1300/J237v11n01_07, S2CID 84233476
Koh, Bu-ja (2007), "Sambe – Korean hemp fabrics", in Hamilton, Roy W.; Milgram, B. Lynne (eds.), Material choices: refashioning bast and leaf fibers in Asia and the Pacific, Fowler Museum at UCLA, ISBN 9780974872988, LCCN 2006033706, OCLC 191890941 UW Press page
Choi, Seung Yeun (2014), "The characteristics and changes of traditional hemp textile production of Gurye at Jeollanam-do in modern times (1920s~1980s)", The Research Journal of the Costume Culture, 22 (1), Costume Culture Association: 16–27, doi:10.7741/rjcc.2014.22.1.016
Yi, Pae-yong (2008), Women in Korean History, Ewha Womans University Press, ISBN 9788973007721
Kendall, Laurel; Dix, Griffin (1987), Religion and Ritual in Korean Society, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, ISBN 9780912966915