Although the Joseon era was a highly disciplined society that placed great importance on etiquette and propriety, it was also a society alive with humor and warmth. The soban is an object that reflects this sensibility well, having been used across indoor and outdoor settings, from drinking tables for the aristocracy to meal tables for guests. Korean craft objects are not defined by a single fixed function; rather, they possess a versatility through which their meaning expands according to different situations and relationships. Based on this idea, the Cat-Leg Soban replaces the traditional dog-leg structure of the soban with the legs of a cat, bringing a sense of dynamic movement to what was once a static structural form. It visualizes a playful scene, as if a cat were quietly and carefully walking across the curves of a tiled roof.
