Nouvelle Génération: the Tradtional HANBOK

People of higher statuses wore much more ornate and expensive clothes than the commoners did. Certain types of clothing and special colors were reserved only for those of the royal family. Certain symbols denoted various levels within the government hierarchy. (Note: Korea's monarchs have been called emperors or kings, depending on the strength of relations with China at the time. China's court did not tolerate any other sovereign calling himself emperor, so other rulers had to "demote" themselves to king during times of strong Chinese influence.)

Symbols
During the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910), symbols representing the wearer's rank began appearing on the hem of clothes. A dragon represented an empress and a phoenix represented a queen. Princesses and royal concubines wore floral patterns. High ranking court officials wore clouds and cranes. The color gold was also reserved for royalty throughout much of Korea's history.

Hwalot
Princesses wore this ritual attire during the Koryo (918-1392) and Chosun (1392-1910) Dynasties. Images of the 10 noble plants and animals representing longevity, luck, and wealth in Korean culture were embroidered with crimson thread. The noble classes also used it as a bridal topcoat in wedding ceremonies. The extreme cost of making a hwalot forced the common people to use nok wonsam instead.

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Wonsam
During the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910), royalty, high-ranking court ladies, and noble women wore a wonsam, a ceremonial topcoat. The color and decorations around the chest, shoulders, and back represent the rank of the wearer.

hwang wonsam- worn by empress (hwang means gold)	hong wonsam- worn by queen (hong means red)	nok wonsam- worn by princesses^* (nok means green)	Kaesong wonsam- worn by nobility in the Kaesong region
^The nok wonsam* was also used by commoners in marriage ceremonies.

Dangui
The dangui represented minor ceremonial clothes for the queen, princess, or wife of a high ranking government official. Among the noble class, wives wore it for major ceremonies. Royal families had gold trim, while others had plain ones.

Myonbok and Cheokui (King's and Queen's Ceremonial Clothes)
Together, the with myonryugwan (headdress) and gonbok (clothes) comprised the myonbok outfit, the king's religious and formal ceremonial clothes during the Koryo (918-1392) and Chosun (1392-1910) Dynasties. The queen's outfit, Cheokui, originated from the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392). The design is based on a present from China's Empress Hoyja (Ming Dynasty).

Ch'eollik
The ch'eollik was worn by the king and various civil and military officials during the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910).

Hwangp'o
The king wore the hwangp'o for daily clothes during the late Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910). Due to Chinese influence, the Korean king was not allowed to wear gold (hwang). Instead, the Korean king wore hongryongp'o(hong means red). In 1897, with China weakened politically, King Kojong changed his title to emperor and from that time wore hwangp'o.

Aengsam
Students wore the aengsam as formal clothing during the national government exam and governmental ceremonies. The highest scorer (changwon kupchae) on the government test received a special award from the king- a flowered hat called an aisahwa. The person then had 3 days vacation as reward for his excellence.

King's Costume
The King wore a jacket, trousers, and over them a topcoat.
These items made up the three basic items of royal clothing during Korea's old times.
The sleeves, hem, and open area near the neck were trimmed with a wide band of contrasting material. Over the coat, the King wore a golden crown decorated with metal ornaments and pendants made of gold sheet.
He also wore gold colored shoes.

Female Aristocrat's Costume
During the Three Kingdoms period, females wore a jacket over their skirt. During the Shilla period, they switched to wearing their skirt over the jacket. Skirt ribbons were fastened over the breast, influenced by T'ang China fashion. Over this they wore a short-sleeved or sleeveless vest and a long scarf over the shoulders that hung down below the knees. Shoes were of leather or silk. They wore their hair rolled up and fastened with a hairpin and additional ornamental pins. (This costume is modeled after those worn by earthen figurines excavated from an ancient tomb in Yonggang-dong, Kyongju.)

Palace
This scene depicts the legend of Queen Sondok's (634-648 A.D.) prescience, as recorded in the Reminisciences of the Three kingdoms. The Emperor of China presents a painting of tree peony and its seeds to the Queen. After examining the painting without a bee, the Queen predicted that the flower did not have a fragrance, which was later proved to be correct. This scene also shows the features of Shilla palace architecture and some aspects of contumes of the time.

King's Costume
The king wore a jacket, pants, topcoat, white silk-cap with diadems, silk sash, leather belt with gold buckle, and yellow leather shoes. The sleeves, hem, neck, and open front of the jacket were trimmed with a wide band of gold cloth.
You can read about Koguryo

Queen's Costume
The queen ordinarily wore a jacket, pants, and skirt. On ceremonial occasion only, she also wore a topcoat. The color of the jacket was purple with a red silk line and red belt. The skirt was long, wide, and pleated from the waist to the hem. When the band was of multi-colored stripes, each pleat had a different color, as is seen in the costumes of Japan and China. The ceremonial topcoat was purple like the jacket. Bracelets, earrings, and other personal ornaments completed the queen's attire.

Male Aristocrat's Costume
A male aristocrat wore a jacket, pants, sleeved vest, blue diaphanous silk cap, and leather shoes. The sleeves, hem, neck, and open front of the jacket were trimmed with a band of cloth and a red belt was worn around the waist. Higher level aristocrats wore loose pants and lower ones wore tight pants. In mural paintings of Samsil-chong andMuyong-chong, the figures wore a sleeveless vest over the jacket.

Female Aristocrat's Costume
Aristocratic ladies of this period wore a jacket, pants, skirt, and over them they wore a topcoat. The topcoat was the same basic style as the jacket, except that it hung below the knees.
The sleeves, hem, neck, and open front of the topcoat were trimmed with a contrasting band of cloth. Over the coat they wore a silk belt. The skirt is long and had wide, fine pleats. On the hem was a band of different colored cloth. On their heads they wore a cloth covering.

Chamberlain Costume
The chamberlain wore a jacket and loose pants. The jacket had very tight sleeves and hung to the hips. The sleeves, hem, neck, and open front of the jacket were trimmed with a band of complementary cloth. He wore a tight cloth head covering and leather shoes.

Costume for ladies in waiting
The ladies in waiting in court wore a jacket, pants, skirt, and topcoat. Similar to the costume for the Chamberlain, the jacket had tight sleeves and hung down to the hip. The sleeves, hem, neck, and open front were trimmed with a band of complementary colored cloth. The skirt was wide, pleated from the waist to the hem and so long that dragged along the floor. The topcoat was also trimmed on all edges. Their hairstyles resembled those of maidens, fastened in the back. Shoes were of leather.

King's Costume
According to T'ang China history, the Korean king during the Paekche period wore a purple topcoat with long sleeves and blue pants. He fastened his topcoat with an undressed leather belt and wore black leather shoes and a silk cap with diadems. The personal ornaments were modeled after those excavated from the tomb of King Muryong. The silk belt has a buckle and a pentagon-shaped gold ornaments attached to the end. Gold ornaments were attached to either side of the silk diadem. The black shoes were patterned after gold ones.

Queen's Costume
The queen wore a jacket and pants and a topcoat over them. The body of the topcoat was deep purple trimmed with three-colored silk in a reddish tint. The ornaments are modeled after those excavated from the tomb of King Muryong
: earrings, bracelets, finger rings, and a pentagon-shaped ornament at the end of a silk belt.

Envoy's Costume
Paekche envoys were depicted in floored dress in the Tribute Offering painting of Liang China, dated 541. This model wears a green topcoat and green belt with a deep purple band around the sleeves, hem, and the open front. The pants were orange with a deep-purple band on the hem. The lower ends of the pants were loose. He wore a black silk cap with diadems and leather shoes.

King's Ceremonial Costume
During the late Koryo period, court members made an effort to free themselves from one hundred years of influence by Yuan China. As part of this effort, King Kongmin attempted to return to the traditional costumes worn during the Koryo period. The King wore a crown with 12 pendants and a consume with 12 embroidered designs, almost identical to the one worn by the Chinese emperor. The black topcoat was decorated with sun, moon, star, mountain, dragon, and fire. Embroidered designs of mountains, dragons, and fire on the cloth hung from the breast down to below the knees. The belt is decorated with pieces of jade and broad string.

Queen's Ceremonial Costume
This ceremonial costume for the Queen is made of blue silk which has extensive embroidering with 12 rows of paired pheasants. The neck, hem, and sleeves of the white silk dress worn under the gown are trimmed with a band of red cloth, and the hem is further decorated with embroidered designs. A patch of cloth suspend from the chest to below the knees is bordered with red and decorated with two rows of embroidered pheasants. The belt is decorated with a blue string and metal ornaments. Both ends are decorated with jade ornaments. Her diadem is decorated with seven pheasants and two phoenixes. Her socks and shoes are made of blue silk.

Civil Official's Costume
The costume shown here is based on those worn by Ch'oe Yu-son, son of Ch'oe Ch'ung who was known as Korea's Confucius. The main garment is pink, the wide sleeves and round neck are trimmed in black, and the belt is also black. He is holding an audience tablet.

Royal Court Clothes Details- Three Kingdoms & Koryo Periods