Mortar

Jeolgu, or mortar, is a tool used to grind or crush grains, and was made with a hollowed-out bottom like a bowl. It was also called dogu, dogutong, or jeolgibanga. There were two types of mortar – one with a slim waist and one shaped like an even cylinder. A cylindrical mortar was widely used in the central regions, while southern areas favored the slim-waisted mortar. Grains were poured into the hollowed-out part before being crushed with a pestle. In some cases, a bumpy iron plate was placed at the bottom of the inside for greater efficiency. It was made of wood, stone, or by pouring iron into a mold, and it was referred to by its material, such as wooden mortar, stone mortar, or iron mortar. Most wooden mortars were cylindrical, whereas a slim-waisted version was favored in the southern regions. In particular, households in the southern regions were equipped with multiple wooden pestles of different sizes. Pestles would be hung up on a kitchen wall by a wooden pole with multiple furrows for hanging the slim part of a wooden pestle. With larger mortars for greater workloads, a team of two people would stand face to face on either side of the mortar and do the pounding together with respective pestle. When only one person holds the pestle, then another person would stir up the grains with a wooden paddle called kkeokkeumbae, and the act of stirring up was called kkekkimjil.