Not on display

Traditional Womenswear (Hanbok), 한복

Hanbok
1980 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A white jacket worn with a blue skirt, as seen here, was the dress of a married woman. Traditionally a woman of comfortable means would wear an undyed white ramie jacket, an indigo-dyed skirt of ramie, and under-garments also of undyed ramie. Ramie (a fine fibre derived from the shrub Boehmeria nivea) is an extremely finely woven and delicate type of cloth. Together with hemp, ramie was used widely by commoners before cotton was produced in Korea. At the royal household, however, it was rarely used for outer garments, but mainly for underwear. Instead silk fabrics of superior quality were woven exclusively for the royal household. Indigo, the colour of constancy and symbolising east was popular during the Choson dynasty (1392-1910AD) and widely used by aristocrats and commoners alike. Blue skirts and blue bed covers were, for example, an essential part of a girl’s dowry.

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read Hanbok – traditional Korean dress Simply meaning 'Korean clothes', 'hanbok' was introduced in the late 19th century by Koreans as a term to help differentiate their everyday dress from a recent influx of western-style clothing. A century later, western clothing had overtaken hanbok as the main style of dress worn by Korean...

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 4 parts.

  • Under Jacket
  • Petticoat
  • Skirt
  • Jacket
TitleTraditional Womenswear (Hanbok), 한복
Materials and techniques
Woven ramie
Brief description
Traditional dress for a woman in four parts, woven ramie, the skirt dyed with indigo, Korea, 1980
Physical description
Traditional dress (hanbok) for a woman, consisting of an undyed white woven ramie jacket (FE.55:1-1991), an indigo dyed skirt of woven Andong hemp or ramie (FE.55:2-1991) and under-garments also of undyed woven ramie.
Dimensions
  • Width: 143cm (Note: Width (of jacket): shoulder to shoulder Length (of jacket) Length (of skirt))
  • Length: 31cm
  • Length: 125cm
Credit line
Given by Mrs Jung-so, Minja
Object history
Registered File number 1991/2453.

The outfit was given to the Museum when Rose Kerr and Beth McKillop vistied the donor's home in November 1991. The donor said that this garment was suitable for a married woman to wear.
Summary
A white jacket worn with a blue skirt, as seen here, was the dress of a married woman. Traditionally a woman of comfortable means would wear an undyed white ramie jacket, an indigo-dyed skirt of ramie, and under-garments also of undyed ramie. Ramie (a fine fibre derived from the shrub Boehmeria nivea) is an extremely finely woven and delicate type of cloth. Together with hemp, ramie was used widely by commoners before cotton was produced in Korea. At the royal household, however, it was rarely used for outer garments, but mainly for underwear. Instead silk fabrics of superior quality were woven exclusively for the royal household. Indigo, the colour of constancy and symbolising east was popular during the Choson dynasty (1392-1910AD) and widely used by aristocrats and commoners alike. Blue skirts and blue bed covers were, for example, an essential part of a girl’s dowry.
Bibliographic reference
McKillop, Beth. Korean Art and Design. London: V&A Publications, 1992, p.130, fig. 57
Collection
Accession number
FE.55:1 to 4-1991

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Record createdApril 5, 2000
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