Posts tagged with "hanbok"

Celebrating the Year of the Dragon

Posted by Linda 2 Comments
Feb 4 2012

In Korea, Lunar New Year (설날; transliteration: “Sohl-nahl”) festivities have come and gone. It’s been more than a week since 설날, but since this traditional holiday’s essence is family and community, Koreans will continue to ask each other, “How did you celebrate Lunar New Year?” or, “How do you celebrate New Year’s Day?” (“당신은 어떻게 설날 기념하나요?”; transliteration: “Dangshin-eun eotteohge sohl-nahl ginyeomnayo?”)

당신은 어떻게 설날 기념하나요? I would love to hear how you celebrated 설날, especially if this was your first 설날 experience! I have heard from a lot of friendly Korean language enthusiasts via this blog and on Twitter. Specifically, last week, I received requests for how to say “Black Dragon” on our Twitter account (twitter.com/koreanlanguage). Also, I received requests for a list of Lunar New Year greetings and instructions for 윷놀이 (Yutnori) . Listed below are the answers to your questions:
  • Black dragon = 흑룡 (transliteration: heugl yong)
    Black dragon year = 흑룡 해 (transliteration: heugl yong hae)
  • A useful list of Korean Lunar New Year greetings is posted below and on my Scribd account: http://scr.bi/ApdZkF.
  • And, easy to follow directions for 윷놀이 are posted on my Scribd account: http://scr.bi/zVfWU0 . (Note: 윷놀이 is a traditional Korean game played on 설날. It is played with family, and is popular with kids and adults alike.  윷놀이 is played with four wooden sticks, four tokens, and a board. Playing this game ensures harmony with nature, as the sticks represent the four seasons.)

I hope you enjoyed 설날 as much as I did—I embed myself into as many 설날 activities as I could this year. On my quest to be “more Korean”, I did the following:

  • Cooked 떡만두국; duk mandu guk
    (Details & a recipe are listed in our previous blog article titled, Korean New Year: A Traditional Soup Recipe.)
  • Wore a new outfit
    (It is customary in Korea to wear a new outfit on 설날 for “new beginnings”!)
  • Cleaned my home
    (It is customary in Korea to clean your home on 설날 Eve.)
  • Brought my shoes indoors
    (Bringing shoes indoors on 설날 Eve prevents restless spirits from “filling shoes”.)
  • Played 윷놀이 with a group of adults and children!
  • Wore a Hanbok, i.e., tried one on!
    (Most modern South Koreans will not wear a Hanbok on 설날, but parents will often dress their young children in Hanboks on 설날.)

If you have any questions, or if you would like to share your thoughts or photographs with this community, please post them on this blog—or send me a “tweet” via Twitter. You might meet a new friend! : )

P.S.  Next week, I will write about Korean Calligraphy!

Hanbok

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Sep 15 2011

Hanbok (한복) is the name for a type of traditional Korean clothing. In particular the hanbok for ladies has changed over the decades. Take for example the jeogori (저고리), which is the upper garment of the woman’s hanbok that covers the entire length of the arms and the upper body. In the early part of Korean history, the jeogori used to cover the waist, but over the years many women have preferred to have it tailored above the waist.

One of the reasons why the jeogori became shorter was because in times of war and other crises like food shortages, it was prudent to use less fabric for clothing. As wars ended the fashion for having shorter jeogori continued and women would wear sometimes add more extravagant elements to the hanbok. For example, the Kkeutdong (끝동) refers to the cuff of the sleeves of the hanbok. The kkeutdong was often of a different color than the rest of the hanbok. In the photo, the kkeutdong is the part that is blue.

It used to be that only the king and his relatives could wear hanbok with geumbak (금박) on it. Geumbak is a type of gold leaf design on the hanbok that indicated the person’s high ranking or royal status. Nowadays anyone who can afford to have a hanbok with a geumbak design can wear it. A skilled artisan must apply the geumbak to the hanbok, which is why hanboks with authentic geumbak designs are very expensive.

 

The goreum (고름) of the hanbok is like the ribbon or coat strings of the hanbok. If you look at the photo you can get an idea of how to tie the goreum of the hanbok. Usually the goreum of the hanbok is made of a solid color, but in the Jeoseon Period women who were prostitutes/dancing girls wore a special goreum that was decorated with flowers to indicate their occupation as prostitutes/dancing girls. However, this rule doesn’t apply to today’s hanbok!

Another way women distinguished themselves from other women was by the git (깃) or the fabric that lined the band of the collar. Women related to royalty would wear a git lined with geumbak and women who weren’t related to royalty but were of high status wore a git of a different color than the jeogori. In the photo, the git is the fabric that has the gold leaf design right next to the white lining of the color. Men’s hanbok has changed very little over the years, but women’s hanbok continues to evolve still to this day!

Hanbok (한복)

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Nov 24 2008

For special occasions and other formal events it’s not unusual to see Korean people wear a hanbok (한복).  For women, a hanbok (한복) consists of a fluffy skirt called a chima (치마) and a jogori (저거리), which is a short jacket with long sleeves.  The collar of the jogori (저거리) is v-necked and lined with a white band.  Older women tend to wear dark colors such as brown and gray.  However at weddings older women will wear light pastel colors similar to the color sky blue and light pink.  In general, women 50 years old and above will wear subdued colors.  It’s not considered fitting and proper for a women of mature age to wear bright colors.  However it’s quite alright for children and younger women to wear bright colors such as yellow, red, gold and green.

Hanboks (한복) can be quite expensive.  They tend to start at around $200 and cost more depending on the design and quality of silk used.  For example some hanboks (한복) have a different color cuff at the end of the sleeves.  Sometimes the cuff is lined with white rabbit fur.  My favorite hanboks (한복) are the ones with print on them.  The prints can be of various design, but they tend to be subtle so as not to overpower the dress.  The most popular prints are of Chinese characters.  A lot goes into the designs made for animals and plants.  Stichers spend hours sewing intricate details, often by hand.  Sometimes oil paints are used.  The oil paints take just as long and look very polished.

For men, hanboks (한복) tend to be a lot less elaborate.  (This is why it’s more fun to be a girl!)  They consist of baggy pants called baji (바지) and a jogori (저거리) but more in the shape of a vest.  The baji (바지) and jogori (저거리) are of different colors and sometimes they have Chinese print on them.

In the old days only nobles could wear a hanbok (한복) of different colors.  People born of low rank were required to wear a white hanbok (한복).  Today, only people who are in a state of mourning wear a white hanbok (한복).  Even if you don’t wear a hanbok (한복), it’s nice to just have one as a decorative piece in your home.  You’ll certaintly get questions about it from your guests.  So go ahead and get one!

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