Every nation boasts its own traditional costume.
Colours and patterns constitute major criteria for each costume’s national identity.
The dressing custom of the Korean nation occupies a unique place among its excellent cultural heritage.
The Korean costume, known for its peculiar style and beauty, evolved over a long historical period, reflecting the local climatic conditions, and the way of life and sentiments and tastes of the nation.
The Korean costume comes mostly in light yet gentle colours—white, jade green, light pink and cream. Neutral colours are also extensively used.
For thousands of years the Korean people favoured white clothes, regarding white as a symbol of purity. It is related to their sentiment in favour of pure things. That is why they were called a white-clad nation.
Light-, gentle-, clear- and deep-coloured clothes were popular.
Men wore white paji (trousers) and jogori (jacket), paeja (waistcoat) or magoja (a kind of overcoat) made with cloths of light blue, light brown, grey or other colours. Most of women’s wear were in light pink, light green and pale yellow in springtime, and jade green and light blue in summertime.
Children were dressed in bright- and light-coloured clothes in harmony. Their favourite holiday suit had rainbow-striped sleeves.
The patterns of the Korean costume were diverse according to the fabrics and purpose of clothing.
A range of patterning methods including direct weaving, imprinting, embroidering and painting were mainly applied to silk cloth, and less or very few patterns to other cloths.
There were more decorative patterns in women’s wear than in men’s one.
Costume ornaments were designed more for utility than for luxury. Among them were a sachet of incense, ornamental sword and knickknack.
The Korean dressing custom is often depicted in literary works, films, fine arts, handicrafts and artistic performances, imbuing the local people with a noble sense of national identity.
The Korean dressing custom was placed on the world intangible cultural heritage list.
Ko Chol Hwa
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