Norigae

What it is

A norigae is a pendant worn with hanbok, the traditional dress of Korea. A woman hooks it to the goreum, the strings tied at the front of her jeogori, or to her chima, the skirt. It serves two purposes at once. It beautifies the outfit, and it is also kept as a lucky charm. Which blessing was hoped for depended on the shape: a long life, wealth, or sons. Within Korean families a norigae was often handed on to the next generation, arriving in a household either from the bride's own people or from her husband's side.

The four parts

Looked at closely, a norigae has four elements. Topmost is the ttidon, a metal hook or clasp that fixes the ornament to the clothing. It can be a separate piece or formed from extra knots, and it comes in several outlines, among them a butterfly, a circle and a square. Below it sits the paemul, the main ornament and the visual centre. Then come the maedeup, the knots, worked in coloured cord. At the bottom hangs the sul, a tassel of coloured silk thread. Sometimes the whole thing is described more simply, as a main ornament, knots and a tassel.

Ornament work and knots

The main ornament, the paemul, is usually made of gold, silver, jewels or precious stone. Its motifs come under five broad headings: animals, plants, everyday objects, written characters and religious signs. A well-known lucky character is the Chinese shou, which stands for long life. Religious motifs are, as a rule, Buddhist. The knots have their own rules. A design with a big ornament calls for small knots, and a small ornament is paired with large ones. The knotting must also suit the weight the finished norigae will bear.

Origins and history

Nobody knows exactly where the norigae began, and the sources do not agree on when it came into wide use. The knotted tassel form known today is traced to the Joseon dynasty. Some accounts link it to an older protective emblem called the jema, used in early shamanism and first worn by children. Others point to the waist pendant of the Silla period as its truer ancestor. Under Joseon, queens and commoners alike wore one, and the ornament also set out a woman's rank. In its earliest sense the word took in small things a woman delighted in, which suggests such charms were liked at every social level.

Sizes, shapes and rank

Norigae came in large, medium and small sizes, chosen to suit the wearer or the place it was worn, and a baby's was far smaller than an adult's. Shapes drew on nature and on ordinary life. A single-ornament type is called danjak; a three-part type is called samjak, which splits further into daesamjak and sosamjak, alike in form but different in their main ornaments. Norigae could sit at the chest or at the waist. The Joseon king Yeonsangun is said to have sorted the rank of his women by how costly and how large their norigae were.

How Norigae is kept

A woman who wears hanbok fixes the norigae by its ttidon, the hook or clasp, to the strings at the front of her jeogori or to her chima skirt. It can sit at the chest or at the waist, and the size is chosen to suit the wearer and the occasion. Below the main ornament hang the knots and the tassel. Inside families, a norigae is kept and handed on, and many came into a household from the bride's own family or from her husband's people.

When and where

Norigae does not belong to one date in the calendar. It is put on with hanbok, on ordinary days and on special ones. The sources note that shape and size were matched to the occasion a woman was dressing for and to the season, so a piece could be right for a particular time of year rather than for a fixed festival.

The norigae belongs to Korea and to the hanbok worn there. It is tied to the Joseon court and to Korean households of every class, since queens and commoners both wore one, and its older roots are placed in the Silla period and in early shamanic practice. It stays strongest as part of hanbok dress.

What Norigae means

A norigae carries a wish as well as decorating the wearer. Shape by shape, the hope changed: long life, wealth, or many sons. It also counted as a good-luck charm, and the older protective emblem called the jema, if that connection holds, points the same way. The motifs repeat the wishes, with the character shou standing for long life and Buddhist signs for blessing. For the families who kept one, it gathered memory too, moving from one generation to the next.

Questions people ask about Norigae

See also

TalchumA Korean mask dance drama in which masked actors sing, dance and mock the powerfulChinese knottingA folk craft of cord tied into lucky shapes, made in China and given as charmsWater lanternSmall lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortunePostpartum confinementA period of rest, nourishment, and seclusion for mothers after giving birth.

Good reading and sources

• Norigae on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.