Defining Spatial Boundary: The Role of the Dot-Jari in Korean Floor-Based Culture

Abstract

This article investigates the dot-jari (traditional Korean floor mat) as a cultural artefact, examining its role in shaping spatial boundaries and perceptions within Korean floor-based culture. It explores how the dot-jari, through everyday use in interior and exterior environments, facilitates the conceptualisation of spatial and social relationships. Furthermore, it highlights the dot-jari as a significant, yet underexplored element of Korean cultural identity, reflecting the phenomenology of domestic life and floor-based living culture. The research adopts a phenomenological approach, incorporating content analysis with 119 visual documents, including Korean genre paintings, contemporary images, personal archives and text-based documentation. By analysing its diverse usages and cultural significance, the article examines how spatial boundaries are delineated within Korean floor-based culture. Theoretical frameworks, such as Henry Lefebvre’s concept of social space as a product of everyday practices and Mary Douglas’s notion of dirt as a socially charged boundary marker between inside and outside, contextualise the dot-jari’s role in shaping culturally specific spatial identities and experiences. The dot-jari embodies a distinctly Korean approach to defining and experiencing spatial boundaries. Three cultural practices shape its role in spatial perception: (1) removing shoes, (2) materiality and (3) cleanliness. These interconnected elements highlight how habitual activities are deeply embedded in Korean spatial culture and contribute to construction of cultural identity. This article repositions the dot-jari as a key cultural artefact that shapes spatial identity through everyday practices of floor-based living, providing fresh insights into spatial boundaries, everyday rituals and cultural identity, within a phenomenological understanding of Korean spatial culture.