Namaksin (Korean: 나막신) are traditionalKorean wooden shoes made for wearing during muddy and rainy conditions.Namaksin are known as close-toed shoes made of one piece of wood. There was a misconception that these traditional clogs came not fromAsia but from theNetherlands in the past, but in reality, there had been clogs at least fromThree Kingdoms period of Korea, which were similar togeta, Japanese clogs. Those oldnamaksin were called "pyeonggeuk (平屐)". It is presumed that clogs ofBaekje went to Japan, and it became the origin of geta. Clogs in Baekje had three holes like geta, but clogs inSilla had five holes. How people tied its strings in that era is unclear. In the Three Kingdoms period, there were two types of clogs: open-toes shoes, and close-toes shoes. As time went by, the latter became primary as namaksin. These shoes were worn by Koreans of all ages and social positions, usually in the rainy seasons.[1]
