Mosi, a traditional Korean fabric likely to gain popularity

Traditional Korean fabric Mosi or fine ramie fabric likely to gain popularity, it came into spotlight with a 69-year-old woman, Bang Yeon-ok weaving mosi, or fine-ramie fabrics for almost her entire life. The skill which she learned 15-hundred years back in the west-central region of Hansan.

A Mosi cloth weaving start with the ramie plant and is one of the oldest fibers cultivated for fabrics, ramie first needs to be peeled off and then split to be made into threads.

It takes great effort to make a fabric out of ramie plants, as there are many steps involved in it. To make a suit, the weaving process itself takes about 10 days.

The handmade, community process of weaving the fabric made it on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2011.

These hand-made ramie fabrics also called jeomapo and jeopo, Mosi are known for being light, breathable and holding shape easily. For this reason, mosi has long been regarded as the ideal fabric for summer attire.

It is made by hand weaving strands of durable bast fiber from stems of the ramie plant, a perennial member of the nettle family. Whenever a garment made of mosi is washed, it becomes more lustrous and white, which gives the clothing a fresh look and feel after each washing.

The ramie fabric gives a beautiful natural silhouette to any design. It goes especially well with dresses, although it’s not too feminine. Mosi can go well with any design, but it is considered to be the best fabric for high-end dresses.

The annual Hansan Ramie Fabric Cultural Festival is taking place this week in the west-central part of the country where people who would like to feel and experience the textiles have an opportunity to do so at the festival.

As the weaving of mosi is an arduous task that calls for an experienced and dexterous hand, it was treasured as a precious fabric. This strong, yet airy natural fabrics has inspired modern fashion designers like Seo Young-soo, who recently held a collection composed of pieces made of mosi fabric.