TYPES (2024)

newborn hanbok

were made from finely woven cotton or cut from adult garments in order to source worn, softer fabric.

– Nubi Podaegi <누비포대기> a quilted baby wrapper whose seams reveal it was repurposed from a pair of women’s drawers [속바지].

–Baenaet Jeogori <배냇저고리> jacket for newborn babies, which was sometimes quilted as well. Instead of a solid ribbon tie, these jackets were tied with individual strands of loose thread to symbolize hope for a long life for the child.

Special occassion

Saekdong jeogori <색동저고리> are worn exclusively by children and feature colorfully striped sleeves symbolizing prosperity and warding off evil spirits.

Kkachi Durumagi <까치두루마기> was a special jacket worn as the outermost layer during Lunar New Years. 까치 [Kkachi] refers to Korean magpie as the birds were considered bringers of good news and are an auspicious symbol in traditional Korean culture. These days the jacket is worn by both boys and girls during their 돌 [dol], first birthday.

boys hanbok

Samkyusam <사규삼 (四䙆衫)> was worn during the coming of age ceremony for young boys. It’s name is derived from the four panel structure of the bodice. The collar of the coat features gold leaf imprints including the Chinese character for longevity <寿>, bat emblems, and other symbols of prosperity.

Hogeon <호건 (虎巾)> is traditional headgear worn by young boys on holidays or their birthdays until they were 5 years old. The cap resembles a tiger and symbolizes wishes of the parent for their son to grow brave and strong.

BRIDE’S INNER JEOGORI <신부의 적삼>

During traditional Korean weddings a bride wore a pink inner jacket called either a Jeoksam or Jeogori. Jeoksam refers to any unlined inner jacket and were typically made of cotton, hemp, or ramie and left the natural color of the fiber. Hence weddings were a special occasion where pink was a designated color to symbolize good luck for the married couple’s future.

KING’S ATTIRE

Myeonbok <면복: 冕服> was the highest ceremonial robe worn by the King during special events such as coronation, ancestral rites, and holidays. The entire ensemble consists of multiple complex layers that were printed with motifs symbolizing wisdom and power such as pheasants, flames, and axes. It was always worn with Myeonryukwan <면류관>: a special crown embellished with strings of jade beads.

Dragon Robe <곤룡포> was the daily attire for the king. The dragon featured on the chest has five claws whereas dragons on hanbok worn by princes had only four or three claws.

ROYAL WOMEN’S ATTIRE

Women in the Joseon dynasty court were also assigned specific hanbok according to their hierarchical positions ranging from queen, to princess, to royal concubine. Commoner women sometimes wore hanbok mimicing the styles of royal female hanbok, but only during special ceremonies or formal occasions.

Jeokui < 적의>

was the highest ceremonial robe worn by the queen during special events such as ancestral rites or royal weddings alongside the king in his myeonbok. Jeok <적:翟> means pheasant- an auspicious traditional Korean symbol- and so the jeokui was uniquely embellished with pairs of pheasants covering the entire body.

Wonsam <원삼>

were both ceremonial robes worn by aristocratic women and were worn by commoners only on their wedding day. Court wonsam was color-coded by rank so that the empress wore yellow wonsam, the queen wore red wonsam, crown princess and concubines wore purplish-red wonsam, and princesses or aristocratic wives wore green wonsam.

Dangui <당의>

was a jacket worn as casual attire by court women that was also worn as formal dress by ordinary civilians. While dangui worn by queens or princesses featured special gilt gold details, dangui worn by aristocratic women consisted of more plain, solid fabric. Dangui are distinguished by the sweeping curved hem with two delicate points at either end.

Galot <갈옷>

are the farming and everyday dress clothes that both men and women on Jeju wore. The first character gal <갈> is derived from the Korean word for persimmon, gam <감>, referring to how these hanbok were dyed using unripe persimmon. Persimmon dyeing strengthens cotton, is odor resistant, and cools the body when worn, which were all important properties for the hard-working farmers of Jeju island.

FEMALE DIVER SUITS <해녀복>

Jeju Island is famous for female divers <해녀> who plunge as deep as 30 ft into the ocean at up to minutes at a time to collect seafood delicacies. Nowadays these divers wear water-resistant wetsuits, but traditionally they wore a special diving hanbok

diving suits Mulsojungi <물소중이>

These romper-like hanbok were made of cotton. The bodice was either a tight rectangular band held up with a single shoulder strap or a tank-top with an open side seam. The bottom was a hexagonal-shaped short with a bias-cut crotch gusset for optimizing freedom of swimming movement. The hanbok diving suits were secured with knot buttons along the side seam and fabric ties at the waist.

diving jacket muljeoksam <물적삼>

During colder months female divers would layer on a jacket that resembled jeogori with center front buttons instead of a wrap tie front. In addition, to protect their heads female divers would sometimes wrap special towel bands around their head or wear special caps called Kkaburi <까부리>.

gwanbok <관복>

refers to all official uniforms worn by government. Everyday wear such as the danryeong <단령> were typically black or dark blue colored and featured an embroidered badge indicating the officer’s rank. Jobok <조복> were red-colored gwanbok worn during ceremonial events.

gugunbok <구군복>

was the uniform worn by military officials when serving in the public. The ensemble features a yellow jacket with bright red sleeves worn under a long black vest that has a singular tie closure at the center chest and center back slit making it convenient for horseback riding. In contemporary Seoul, gugunbok can sometimes be seen worn by guards at the palaces such as Gyeongbokgung.

simui <심의>

originated from the late Goryeo-period but continued to be worn by Confucian scholars throughout the Joseon Dynsaty. The jacket is distinguished by its canvas-like white body framed by black contrast bands at the hem, sleeve cuff, and neckline. The bottom portion features 12 panels that represent the 12 months of a year. The simplicity of Simui reflected the austerity and discipline that Confucian scholars were expected to embody. Simui were also worn as comming-of-age attire or used as funerary shrouds.

RITUAL ROBES <제복>

During ancestral services performed at the Royal Ancestral Shrine, Jongmyo <종묘>, court officials were required to wear special ritual robes. These hanbok resembled ceremonial attire but were distinguished by a detachable round white collar with hanging square tassel, which symbolized the earth. The outer robes were typically a dark color such as deep purple or black, and were worn over a red skirt and inner white robe.

rank badges <흉배>

The ranks of civil and military officials during the Joseon dynasty were identified through elaborately embroidered patches. Civil servant badges featured winged animals whereas military servant badges were decorated with four-legged creatures. Despite a unified code of symbolic animals, each rank badge was unique since it was hand-embroidered by the court-official’s wife or other female members of the household.

Upper Undergarments <웃옷>

Heoritti <허리띠> were bands made of cotton or calico that were wrapped tightly around the chest to prevent exposure of bare skin between the jeogori and skirt waistband, especially as the length of the female jacket shortened throughout the Joseon dynasty. During winter months these chest bands were sometimes quilted for extra warmth.

Jeoksam <적삼> were inner jackets that resembled outer jeogori in silhouette, but were slightly smaller in size and made of single layer un-dyed silk, cotton, or linen. Inner jackets usually fastened with a button instead of breast tie. These thin jackets sometimes served as outerwear during hot summer months.

sok-sokot <속속곳>

were the inner-most drawers worn over traditional panties <다기속옷>. Since they were the garment that came in most contact with bare skin, they were usually made of unlined cotton, hemp, or ramie. The drawers opened from a side slit reinforced by a triangle gusset, and featured wide pant legs with no crotch opening.

sokbaji <속바지>

came in various forms. Some sokbaji were just two pant legs that overlapped at the crotch but were not connected. Other sokbaji resembled men’s pants but with a 3/4 side panel for easy access. On some drawers the legs tapered straight down whereas others curved before the hem.

dan-sokot <단속곳>

were usually the outer-most drawers that had direct contact with the chima skirt. These drawers had wide pant legs and a low crotch to accommodate all the previous inner layers. As the undergarment most likely to be exposed, these underwear were made of more expensive material such as silk or fabric with woven motifs.

MUJIGI CHIMA <무지기치마>

During the Joseon dynasty, royal and upperclass women could afford an additional undergarment layer to add extra volume to their bottom silhouette. Mujigi chima were petticoats consisting of three, five, or seven layers of tiered skirt panels. Some skirts had pleats concentrated at the waistline whereas other skirts carried pleats all the way down to the hemline. Color variations included younger women wearing multi colored tiers whereas older women wore single colored mujigi chima, and sometimes layers were dyed a gradient that was saturated at the hem and slowly faded upwards toward the waistband.

Gojaengi <고쟁이>

were special drawers worn in place of sokbaji during the summertime. Gojaengi also consisted of two overlapping leg pieces, but were usually made of single-layer hemp or ramie to accommodate hotter weather. Lattice window cut-outs along the waistband provided extra ventilation and comfort.

Jangot <장옷>

were the only form of outerwear hanbok for women, worn mostly by the upperclass during the Joseon dynasty. Featuring two sets of adjustable ties, Jangot could be worn as jackets but more often were draped over the head as shrouds for women to cover their faces when going outside due to strict Confucian values restricting women’s appearance in the public sphere.