Homi (tool)

Key takeaways

Homi (tool) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Homi (tool) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Homi (tool) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Homi (Korean: 호미), also known as a Korean hand plow, is a short-handled traditional farming tool used by Koreans. It is a farming tool that removes grasses from paddies and fields. It is also used when plowing a rice field, planting seeds, plowing up soil, and digging potatoes in fields. It is a farming tool similar to the hoe. It is an important extension of agriculture from the ancient times because the homi was excavated in the Bronze Age historic site of the Pyeongnam Mangsan Daepyeong-ri and the early Iron Age historic site of Yangpyong, Gyeonggi Province. Homi is distributed nationwide, but they are characterized by locality. In other words, homi is classified into plowshare-shaped (보습형), sickle-shaped (낫형), and triangle-shaped (세모형) depending on the natural conditions of the local area and the characteristics of agricultural management.

Design Homi is made of iron and consists of a blade, a tang, and a handle. The blade is the iron plate used to dig or pull grass. The handle is made from a circular piece of wood and is located at the end of the tang. The tang connects the blade to the handle. The shape of the blade is usually an inverted triangle as the lower part is pointed and the upper part is broad.

Etymology The name of the tool tends to vary according to region. Some common names include homaengi (호맹이), homei (호메이), homu (호무), hommi (홈미), homani (호마니), heome (허매), heomi (허미), and huimi (희미). The name of the tool can also vary depending on its shape, the shingles, the clogs, the shovels, the ear homi, there are gyeongjigi (경지기), makjigi (막지기), gotjigi (곧지기), gwi-homi (귀호미), nal-homi (날호미), pyeong-homi (평호미), dongja-homi (동자호미), bupae-homi (부패호미), byeotsoe-homi (볏쇠호미), susuip-homi (수수잎호미), kkaennip-homi (깻잎호미), yonggang-homi (용강호미), byeorugae (벼루개), gakjaengi (각쟁이), golgaengi (골갱이), and byeokchae (벽채).

Classification

By shape

Plowshare-shaped Boseup-hyeong (보습형, plowshare type): In the case of boseup-hyeong homi, it is also called non-homi (논호미, paddy field homi). The pointed end of the blade and the broad blade are effective for digging soil and turning the soil upside down. The blades strength gives it the ability to weed a rice paddy. Boseup-hyeong homi is often used in paddy farming, and is wrapped with straw or hemp cloth to prevent slipperiness caused by damp soil. It can be seen mainly in Gyeonggi Province, Chungcheong Province, and some parts of North Jeolla Province. Boseup-hyeong homi, which weighs about 400 g (14 oz), enables a man to weed a rice paddy of 300 pyeong, which is roughly ~1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft), per day.

Sickle-shaped Nat-hyeong (낫형, sickle type): The blade is longer than the width like a sickle and its tip is sharp. It is convenient to use where many obstacles are present such as gravel. It is called bat-homi (밭호미, non-paddy field homi). It has fewer blades than boseup-hyeong homi, the angle between blade, and the homi is gentle. It is mainly used in South Gyeongsang Province, Jeju Province, South Jeolla Province, island regions, and mountainous regions.

Triangle-shaped Semo-hyeong (세모형, triangle type): This type takes the shape of a long triangle with the length of the bottom is longer than both sides. The blade and handle of this type is the longest allowing people to stand up. This makes it convenient to uproot the grass of a wide field like barley, corn, and wheat. It is not suitable to use on paddy fields as the power to plow up the soil is weak. It is mainly used in northern parts.

By use

For paddy fields Non-homi (논호미, paddy field homi) has a sharp blade. The top width of the blade is about 10 cm (3.9 in) and the length is ~20–25 cm (7.9–9.8 in). The blade is convex. Therefore, using this homi can turn over the soil well. It is of great use when making a furrow or pulling out the weeds in a rice paddy. Its handle is wrapped in Saekki(hangul: 새끼=straw rope) to prevent wet hands from slipping. The homi in the central region has a wide blade. The southern homi has a narrow blade and a pointed tip. Tools with four ends at the end of blade are called non-homi. It is mainly used in Jeolla-do to plow up the soil between the furrow and pull out the weeds.

For non-paddy fields Bat-homi (밭호미, dry field homi) has various shapes. It is used for all crops except aquatic rice. It is lighter and smaller than the non-homi. There are two kinds of homi: Oegwi-homi (외귀호미, single-ear homi) and yanggwi-homi (양귀호미, double-ear homi). The end of oegwihomi's blade is pointed like non-homi. Oegwihomi in the seaside district has more smaller and pointed blade. This phenomenon is noticeable in rainy regions. The homi of Jeju Island called golgaengi (골갱이) has a sharp and small blade like hooks. This is because the roots of crops fall deep into the ground in rainy region.

History and tradition

History Homi was a unique tool of Korea, as homi was called "Eastern hoe (東鋤; the "East" referring to Korea)" in the Essays on Rural Life and Economy written by Seo Yugu during the years 1806–1842. It stated homi as a useful tool in the Eastern nation (Korea). It can be seen in the relics from Anapji in the Unified Silla period, and the shape of homi in the Goryeo period is the same today. The homae reported in Farming in Korea and homi from the painting of Gisan show that the short homi of old times is much longer than the current homi. The name of long handle homi which pulls out the weed was changed to gajiip-gwaengi (가지잎괭이) or susuip-gwaengi (수수잎괭이). In Guui-dong ruins, 7 iron homi was excavated. The neck of the homi was made with iron plate to insert the handle. The blade was made in trapezoidal or rounded rectangle shape. In the Goguryeo era, the neck of a homi blade was short and the blade was slightly outward curved. The edges of the blade are rounded. It was excavated mainly with U-shaped ironware. Homi was found not only in the tomb but also in many historical sites such as buildings and castles. As the region entered the unified Silla period, the blade of homi has changed from wide shape to narrow and sharp shaped as it is today. In Anapji, wide bladed homi assumed as long handle homi was excavated with nat-hyeong (sickle type) homi having narrow blade. This nat-hyeong (sickle type) homi is most similar to today's homi.

Tradition

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Homi (tool)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Homi (tool) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Homi (tool) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Homi (tool) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Homi (tool)

In research: Homi (tool) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Homi (tool) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Homi (tool) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Agriculture in Korea, Farming tools, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Homi (tool) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Homi (tool) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Homi (tool) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Homi (tool) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Homi (tool) in simple terms?

Homi (Korean: 호미), also known as a Korean hand plow, is a short-handled traditional farming tool used by Koreans. It is a farming tool that removes grasses from paddies and fields.

Why does Homi (tool) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Homi (tool)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Homi (tool).