KOREAN HERITAGE

A Lasting Ensemble

Clothing has long developed under the influence of the surrounding environment and through interactions with the cultural, political, and economic conditions of the people who wear it. What people wear and how they wear it speak volumes about their everyday lives and aesthetics. This is certainly true for traditional Korean clothing, or hanbok. Established within the particular natural and social settings of the Korean Peninsula, hanbok has undergone a sustained process of transformation over the centuries, but certain intrinsic attributes have remained constant. Traditional Korean attire has always maintained a basic composition consisting of an upper and lower garment. The upper garment takes the form of a jacket (jeogori), and the lower garment a pair of pants (baji) or skirt (chima). This fundamental ensemble is accompanied by an overcoat (po) and a hat (gwanmo). Hanbok provide a rare example of traditional clothing that has kept its configuration unchanged throughout its history. This is a quality that sets hanbok apart from traditional costumes elsewhere in East Asia and other parts of the world. It is believed that hanbok is rooted in the garments worn by the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian Steppe from whom Korean culture is generally considered have descended.

The Korean attire that derived from these Eurasian nomads has survived through the successive historical periods from the first century BCE to the early 20th century to produce hanbok as we know it today. According to accounts in Samguk sagi, a 12th-century historical record of the Three Kingdoms period, and in consideration of murals at tombs built by Goguryeo (one of the Three Kingdoms), people at that time appear to generally have worn a jacket with either pants or a skirt and a hat. They added an overcoat as needed. The jacket was long enough to entirely cover the hips and was enclosed by a waist belt at the front. The neckband (git), center-front area (seop), and cuffs (kkeutdong) of the jacket were made of cloth of a different color from that of the body. Men's pants came in both wide and narrow versions. Women wore either pants or wide-pleated skirts.

The form of hanbok worn during the Goryeo Dynasty can be confirmed in documentary records as well as votive objects found inside Goryeo Buddhist statues. No dramatic changes can be seen in the way people dressed during the Goryeo era compared to the previous period. The jackets worn by both men and women reduced somewhat in length and the previous waist belt was abandoned in favor of ribbons (otgoreum) attached to the front. A distinctive removable white collar was first featured in the jacket during this period. The historical accounts that Goryeo women played a sport on horseback called gyeokgu support the assumption that it was still acceptable for women to wear pants at the time.

The basic makeup of hanbok continued into the Joseon Dynasty. However, there occurred some evolution to reflect the Neo-Confucianist ideology adopted as the governing philosophy for the new dynasty. As women became required to minimize their outdoor activities, their jackets were changed to prioritize aesthetics over practical function. Throughout the history of the dynasty, women’s jackets grew relatively shorter: The jacket had come down to the waistline at the start of the era but had risen to the sternum by the end. Although reduced in length, the jacket still maintained the color contrast between the body and the neck, frontal, and sleeve-end areas that had been introduced during the Three Kingdoms period. Paintings from the 18th century offer many examples of distinctive contrasts between the subdued colors of a jacket's body and brilliant shades found in other parts. As jackets grew shorter, the band of the skirt moved up all the way to the breast. This late- Joseon short jacket combined with a high-waisted skirt is similar to the form of hanbok as we know it today. For men's dress, overcoats gained renewed importance under Neo-Confucianism. While men's overcoats diversified in design, the jackets and pants remained relatively the same as those from the previous period. Women were forbidden from wearing pants outdoors and the pants observed on Goguryeo women in tomb murals were replaced by a form worn under the skirt.

For Subtle Beauty

The underlying aesthetic of hanbok can be represented by its pursuit of natural beauty and the importance placed on subtle dignity. Hanbok value communication and harmony with nature. This aesthetic reflects the traditional perception of nature not as resources to exploit but as part of a greater cycle encompassing humans and non-humans. It is also part of Koreans' long-standing practice of worshipping heaven. Hanbok does not restrict the wearer, but allows room to fit the body. The jacket and skirt are closed with adjustable ties. Multiple pleats are added at the top of a skirt to provide extra flexibility for the wearer to move, as well as adding stylistic refinement to the look. The wind is also taken into consideration when making hanbok. In preparation for the wrapped end of a skirt being flipped inside out by the wind, the fabric lining is selected carefully to produce harmonious color combinations with the outer portion. Hanbok pursue formless ornamentation as well. Fixed adornments like brooches are not used. Instead, ornaments for hanbok, or norigae, hang loose from the ties of the jacket or skirt and move freely as the wearer moves or the wind blows.

Another factor in the hanbok aesthetic can be found in the sense of subtle dignity it exudes. This is supported by the Confucian concept that dressing property is an important way to practice the principle of propriety. In traditional Korean dress, underwear is considered as important as the outer garments. For example, there are many different forms of underwear a woman has to wear inside a skirt in order to dress properly in hanbok. It is believed that the beauty of the garments outside is only possible by properly layering the undergarments. This focus on subtle dignity is expressed through decorative factors as well. Hanbok refrains from, for example, the lace, embroidery, or glittering objects that are popularly adopted in traditional costumes in other parts of the world. Traditional Korean attire uses the colors of a skirt's lining as it shows through the outer fabric as a source of beauty. In men's overcoats, conspicuous decoration is minimized in favor of an aesthetic that is expressed through simplicity. The history tome Samguk sagi relates that the aesthetic of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms, was described as "humble but not shabby, splendid but not extravagant." The subtle dignity embodied in hanbok is born from this deep-seated preference for the beauty of moderation that dates back to the Three Kingdoms.