Flail

This is a farming tool used to beat the ears of crops and shake off the grains, and was used on barley, wheat, beans, mung beans, adzuki beans, millet, or buckwheat. A flail is held in a standing position, with two hands holding the handle, then pulled back over the user’s shoulder before being swung to strike the ears of plants to shake off the grains. A flail consists of jangbu, tip, adeul, and chima. Jangbu refers to the handle, and the tip is the adjoining part of the handle and adeul. Adeul is the branch attached onto the tip, and chima refers to the string binding multiple adeul. Such names differ by region. This farming tool was an essential harvesting equipment for farming households, but it has become obsolete since farming equipment have become mechanized. Mass-produced iron flails are still used occasionally, and some farming households in remote mountainous regions still use the traditional flail.