joeb-sun (Folding Fan)

Folding fans were used by members of the official “Yangban” class, and sometimes by women of other classes. Korean folding fans were very well-made, and were exported to China and Japan during the Koryo and Chosun Periods. Some had a large number of fine ribs. Fans made of plain white paper were used in ordinary life by lower-class people, as opposed to those made of oiled paper. Such fans could be obtained from souvenir stores.

A closing fan with sixteen inner ribs of split bamboo and two bamboo parent ribs with a burnt design each set into a dark rosewood piece through which a brass rivet with a ring is inserted. Fan face is covered with white paper on one side only and is blank.