Straw Mat

Meongseok, or straw mat, is a tool used to dry grains, and it had different names based on region, such as deokseogi, deokseok, or teokseogi. It was made of straw and mainly used to dry grains, but on special household occasions such as a banquet or a funeral, it was spread out in the yard underneath tents for receiving and serving guests, or generally spread out on the floor in poor households. Its shape is generally similar regardless of the region except for the size, and it is usually large enough to hold five mal (1 mal = 18 ℓ) of barley for drying. A similar kind of mat called duteurae mat or dori mat was woven in the same manner, but in a circular shape. A round straw mat was generally used in the same way with an ordinary straw mat, but was relatively smaller. It was made with sufficient width to spread out three mal of barley. In the past, there was a punishment called meongseok mari (mat rolling), which used a straw mat to roll up those who committed a wrongdoing or criminals who did not repent to be beaten.