History of the Hanbok and the Making of a Resistance
By Grace Hahn
Photo left: National Maritime Museum. Greenwich, United Kingdom (1885)
Hanbok
The word hanbok is a combination of "han" (한), meaning "Korean," and "bok" (복), meaning "clothing." The term emerged in the 19th century, however Koreans had worn white clothing since the Buyeo Kingdom (4th century BC to 494 AD). White was the color of sunlight in an agrarian culture where heaven was worshiped. White clothes and food were used in shamanic rituals. The four main textile fibers traditionally used in hanbok are silk, hemp, ramie, and cotton. Evidence of sericulture (silk farming) in Korea dates back to the neolithic period (10,000-4,500 BC).
What people wore in Korea in the past was the product of adaptation to the country’s weather, its geography, spiritual beliefs, values and many other factors. The sitting culture is very important in the development of clothing in Asia. In Korea, sitting was done mostly in yangbandari or sitting with crossed legs. The hanbok developed through the centuries but always in ways practically and aesthetically suited to sitting cross-legged.
The Three Kingdoms
Silla (57 BCE-668 CE)
Goguryeo (37 BCE – 668 CE)
Baekje (18 BCE-663 CE)
A closeup of the two servants on the right in the mural photo below. Photo: unknown author.
한국어: Susan-ri Tomb of Goguryeo. Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0.
The earliest images of hanbok can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla (57 BC-668 AD). Above are photos from a tomb mural in Susan-ri (4th to 6th century AD), which shows an early version of a hanbok. In the early Goguryeo kingdom, the jeogori (jacket) extended below the knee. Women sometimes wore pleated skirts with pants underneath. The royal female in the mural is wearing a multicolor skirt, while her servants (or ordinary citizens) wore pleated single-color skirts.
The Korean way of life in that period influenced clothing, as can be seen in the painting found in a tomb mural (photo below), in which the horsemen are wearing tight jeogori and pants, comfortable for riding. At the time, the jeogori came down to the hips and was worn with baji (pants).
Tomb of the Hunters, Goguryeo mural. Unknown author.
The Unified Silla Kingdom (668-935 CE)
The Silla Kingdom unified the Three Kingdoms in 668 AD and Unified Silla (668-935) imported silks, linens and fashion from Tang China, as can be seen in the clay figures below. In the history of the hanbok, this is the only time when the jacket and skirt were worn with the skirt wrapped tightly around the bust, on top of the jacket.
Unified Silla Gallery, National Museum of Korea, Seoul. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com. Author Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China.
Models of king and queen of Silla Kingdom are displayed at “National Folk Museum of Korea”, Seoul, South Korea by Nagyman
The Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392)
The Goryeo dynasty maintained relations with China, so that a blend of Tang and Song dynasty clothing with Korean style developed in time for royalty and court officials during ceremonies, while traditional Korean clothing was worn for everyday life.
In the 13th century, the Goryeo dynasty signed a peace treaty with the Mongol Empire and seven women from the Yuan imperial family married kings of Goryeo, so Yuan clothing influenced the nobles: the chima (skirt) was shorter and the jeogori was above the waist and tied at the chest with a ribbon (instead of at the waist, like a belt, as had been the case before the Goryeo dynasty.
During the Goryeo period, the Chinese Tang dynasty custom of wearing the skirt over the top started to disappear and aristocrats began wearing the top over the skirt, even though the Tang style itself was worn until the early Joseon dynasty.
Portrait of Lady Jo ban (1341-1401 AD), Goryeo dynasty. Author unknown
The Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897)
Sin Yun-bok (신윤복; 1758–1813), better known by the name Hyewon, was a Korean Painter of the Joseon period known for his realistic depictions of daily life in his time.
Wolha jeongin, from Hyewon pungsokdo drawn by Shin Yun-bok, or Hyewon. It is stored at Gansong Art Museum, Seoul, South Korea (ca 1805). Author 혜원 신윤복
The word hanbok appeared in the late Joseon period, in fact, the first use of the term appears in an 1881 document in which hanbok is used to distinguish Korean clothing from Japanese and Western clothing. The style of traditional Korean clothing as we know it today became established during the Joseon period, when Neo-Confucianism was established and it dictated what type of clothing should be worn by each social class and on what occasions.
One of the items of clothing that changed most drastically was the jeogori (short jacket), which by the 16th century measured about 65 cm in length. In the 18th century, it was shortened by female entertainers (images below) at the Court to the point where you could see the waistband of the chima (skirt). The jacket continued to become shorter until it came to measure between 28 and 14 cm in the 19th century.
“Dancing together holding with two swords” (title:Ssanggeum daemu) Gansong Art Museum in Seoul, South Korea ( presumed after 1805). Author Shin Yunbok or Hyewon, his artistic name (1758- early 19c).
A part of a painting drawn by Shin Yun-bok. Scanned from 조선사람들, 혜원의 그림 밖으로 걸어나오다 by 강명관, 푸른역사, 2001. Author Klaus314.
During the Joseon period, the skirt also developed into a much fuller version. In order to achieve this fullness (images above), women of the upper classes wore many undergarments: a petticoat or soksokgot, an underskirt of many layers or mujigi chima (photo below), bloomers or dansokgot.
Variations in hanbok from the Joseon Dynasty were used to signify an individual’s social class, marital status and age - directly reflecting neo-Confucian values and its emphasis on maintaining social roles to achieve societal harmony. It was frowned upon for women, according to neo-confucian ideals, to show their skin or the shape of their bodies, which hanbok helped to prevent.
Mujigi chima. Women’s underskirt. Author unknown
An interesting fact is that hanboks are cut and sewn flat. Unlike western clothing where draping and fitting on a mannequin is how clothes are created. A hanbok is cut and sewn on a flat surface, which reduces wasted fabric and leftover pieces are used to create saekdong (colored stripes) for decorating sleeves or jogakbo, a patchwork used to create domestic wrapping cloth known as bojagi.
Bojagi (wrapping cloth) in Jogakbo patchwork. Author unknown.
The jogakbo style of patchwork is created from scrap pieces of fabric meticulously pieced together. This pattern is believed to have been created by women as a domestic pastime owing to the detailed and time-consuming nature of the task and the fact that none exist from the royal court.
A woman wearing a jogakbo (Korean traditional patchwork) jeogori The photo also features a norigae, a traditional accessory hung from the skirt. (Flickr)
Korean man, 1904. Willard Dickerman Straight and Early U.S.-Korea Diplomatic Relations. Cornell University Library
Koreans who wanted to see debates hosted by the Independence Club in late 19th century
The Events that led to the White Hanbok Resistance
For centuries, China exercised suzerainty over Korea and Koreans paid tribute to the Tang (618-907 AD), Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties. In exchange, China would intervene to protect the Korean rulers when necessary. However, Korea maintained a certain degree of autonomy and independence.
The Power Behind the King
Korea was ruled by King Gojong between 1863 and 1907 and Queen Myeongseong (also known as Queen Min) between 1863 and 1895. Queen Myeongseong was an intelligent woman whom many believed was the real force behind King Gojong. She considered Japan a threat to her country, and believed that Russia could counterbalance that threat by preventing the expansion of Japan in Asia.
Her opposition to Japan ultimately led to her assassination in October of 1895 by Japanese agents. After the Queen’s assassination, King Gojong and crown prince Yi Tae-min left Gyeongbokgung Palace in secrecy and took refuge at the Russian legation, from which he governed for one year. King Gojong sought to modernize Korea, however, he was an indecisive and weak leader who relied too much on advisors, which caused division within the government.
King Gojong. Photo 12 dOctober 1907. (Photo public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Queen Min (later Empress Myeongseong) Unknown author
The Rebels
In 1860, the Donghak movement was founded. Its followers were peasants and farmers against the corruption of the Joseon dynasty and foreign influence in Korea.
In March 1894, the Donghak started an uprising and the rebels defeated government forces in two battles. The government requested the Qing dynasty to intervene, and the Qing sent 2,700 soldiers to Korea.
The Donghak Rebellion provided Japan with an opportunity to intervene militarily by claiming that Japanese citizens were being threatened by the rebels. Thus started the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), with both countries fighting over influence in Korea. The war demonstrated the failure of the Qing dynasty to modernize its military, and dominance in East Asia shifted from China to Japan. “The Donghak rebellion’s most pronounced impact might have come in helping to overturn the millennia-long regional order in East Asia”.
After the Donghak rebellion of 1894, the Korean government implemented the Eulmi and Gabo Reforms in order to address some of the issues that had led to the Donghak Rebellion. One of its goals was to modernize Korea, including promoting Western-style clothing, establishing a modern army, promoting Western-style education, industrialization, as well as limiting the power of the aristocracy.
However, the reforms were ultimately unsuccessful due to a combination of internal opposition and external pressures. The failure of the reforms contributed to the further instability of Korea and paved the way for increased Japanese influence in the country.
Jeon Bong-jun, leader of the Donghak Rebellion, third from left to right. From the book "History of Japan-Korea Annexation about which Image talks" published de Roudoukeizai Sha
The Sangtu : the meaning of a Korean man's long hair
Traditionally, when a boy became a man, his long hair was put up in a top-knot (photos below). According to Lillias Underwood, an American missionary who arrived in Korea in 1888, “No matter how old one is, without a top-knot he is never considered a man, addressed with high endings (honorifics in speech), or treated with respect.”
Neo-confucianism arrived in Korea during the Goryeo dynasty in the 10th century and brought a series of very strict social hierarchies and social norms. Among them, the importance of the relationship between a parent and a child. Confucianism taught that the hair on a man’s entire body belonged to his parents. Therefore, hair remained uncut and represented Filial piety: respect, obedience, and care for one's parents and ancestors.
Men wearing white hanbok and sangtu (Unknown author) Public Domain.
(LEFT) Man’s Sangtu hair style. 2024. Author: Gyulaizsoka.
(RIGHT) Santu-gwan or top-knot cover. Author unknown.
King Gojong's Sangtu
In December of 1895, in front of a small group of Korean and Japanese officials, a Japanese barber cut off King Gojong’s sangtu, followed by the crown prince and the Daewongun (King’s father). After the royal family, government officials, soldiers and police had their hair cut off. People on the street had their hair removed by force by the police, often with swords. Men walked the street holding their long hair in their hands and weeping.
After the Japanese forced King Gojong to abdicate in 1907, “the cabinet voted that the succeeding Emperor Sunjong should have his top knot cut at the August coronation ceremony. The government spread the news of Sdunjong’s hair amputation throughout the country, and urged commoners to follow the example of their Emperor (Mackenzie 1908: 48-50).
However, after the Donghak Rebellion was brutally suppressed by the Korean government, many Koreans formed resistance groups called the Righteous Army, a continuation of the Donghak Movement that continued the fight for independence between 1895 and the end of WWII. They too were mostly peasants and soldiers, but included some members of the Yangban class (aristocracy, officials, and scholars) who opposed the haircutting edict and wore white hanbok as they participated in guerrilla warfare against the Japanese. Nevertheless, some members of the Righteous Army wore Western clothing. In fact, An Jung-gun, the Korean independence activist who assassinated Itô Hirobumi, Japanese Resident-General in Korea in 1909, in the photo below appears with short hair and Western clothing. However, he is said to have changed into a hanbok five minutes before his execution. It is possible that the story is a myth, yet it remains a symbol of Korean nationalism and resistance to Japanese colonial rule.
An Jung- gun (1906). Author unknown.
On November 2, 1905, when the Eulsa Treaty was signed, the Japanese legation issued a document entitled “Proclamation of Prohibition upon wearing either white or plain clothes”. The Koreans did not respond to this order, even after they were colonized in 1910. The Japanese Colored Clothes Campaign was implemented shortly after Japan annexed Korea, as part of a broader effort to suppress Korean nationalism and assimilate Koreans into Japanese society.
In 1919, after a decade under the brutal military rule of Japan, a series of independence movements broke out. In February, Korean resistance leaders in Manchuria and Korean students in Tokyo issued independence declarations. These were followed by the explosion of the March 1st Movement.
Photos of the March 1st Movement are filled with crowds dressed in white clearly linking the white hanbok with resistance.
By the 1930s, the white clothes prohibition became a concrete policy. Police would stop people on the streets and carry out house searches, spraying ink or stamping slogans on the white hanbok. Those who wore white were ineligible for food rations, education, and were denied access to public spaces and buildings.
As part of Japan's policy of cultural assimilation, Ordinance No. 20 (commonly called the "Name Order") became law in 1940. The Japanese forced Koreans to adopt Japanese names. The goal was to obliterate the Korean language, culture, and history. Speaking or writing Korean was prohibited in all educational and official settings. The assimilation policy denigrated the Korean people and culture as inferior to those of Japan, who posed as “civilizers” who “enlightened” the colonized.
The initially passive refusal to change an established lifestyle grew into a wilful act of resistance and everyday clothes became a political statement. Meanwhile, Japan hurtled towards the Pacific War (1937-1945), imposing a mobilization of Koreans through military conscription, forced labor and sexual slavery. By this stage, Koreans equated the suppression of the white hanbok with the suppression of the Korean people.
The white hanbok continued to be a symbol of resistance against Japanese rule even after the end of World War II. It was not until the Korean War (1950-1953) that the wearing of white hanbok began to decline.
The hanbok today is seen as a symbol of Korean heritage and identity.
CULTURAL PRIDE
The Modern Hanbok
Hanbok and K-pop
The Hanbok at Paris Fashion Week
Min Toongi, singer and rapper in BTS, Dressed in hanbok for a music video. His robe is embroidered with dragons, traditionally exclusively worn by kings. His hair worn in sangtu.
Modern hanbok by Danha Kim at Paris Fashion Week 2022. Transcendence Collection
Hyunjin, rapper and singer of the group Stray KIds, dressed in a modern version of a hanbok and his hair in sangtu.
The Great Goryeo Collection. Designer: Leesle. 2024. Korea
References
Dooley, Diane, The Land of Hats. Gwangju News, September 15, 2021.
Hyung, G., Fashion and Modernity: Changing Meanings of Clothing in Colonial Korea. Journal of International and Area Studies 75, Volume 1 1, Number 3, Special Issue, 2004, pp.75-93
Kim, Seok-hee. JOSEON IN COLOR: “Colored Clothes Campaign” and the “White Clothes Discourse”. The Review of Korean Studies Volume 14 Number 1. March 2011.
Lee, Yeseung, The White-clad People: The white hanbok and Korean nationalism. Westminster School of Arts, University of Westminster, London. 2022.
Mackenzie, Frederick Arthur, 1908, The Tragedy of Korea, London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Neff, Robert, The Politics of Hair. The Korea Times, Jan 5, 2020.
Seo, Bong-ha, White Hanbok as an Expression of Resistance in Modern Korea. Yong-in Songdam College. (2014).
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