By Bernard Rowan
Korean textiles are beautiful and special keepsakes for me. Of many forms and varieties, I'd like to share a few thoughts about my experience of fabrics and patterns. Arguably an important part of any culture, Korean textiles also tell us a lot about Korea and her society.
When I visit Korea, I marvel at vivid colors that decorate so many Korean palaces, buildings, artworks, and designs. Beautiful colors, bright and subdued hues, and interesting patterns mark Korean textiles.
These days, many depictions of bojagi or wrapping clothes appear online, in Insadong and other art haunts of Seoul and other cities, and in shops and stores. I also recognize the plain and reserved tones of other bojagi used in temples and for everyday wrapping of gifts, parcels and packages. See the various forms of bojagi at the Museum of Korean Embroidery in Gangnam.
A useful if brief page on Korean Textiles in the Encyclopedia of Crafts of the World Crafts Council-Asia Pacific Region (encyclocraftsapr.com) explains the main types of Korean textile methods. These are embroidery, patchwork quilts, quilting and wrapping cloths. Some of the main materials are cotton, silk, and hemp.
The traditional and still widely used form of clothing, hanbok, also expresses Korean textiles. Women wear a jacket or top, skirt, and underskirt, while men wear the jacket or shirt and pants. These may appear with beautiful colors, for the woman's clothes, or in simple and airy forms, suitable for somber occasions or hot weather. I love the brightly colored and ornamented clothes that often are available and seen at weddings.
Several related websites of interest include the Korea Textile Development Institute (textile.or.kr) and the Korea Society of Clothing and Textiles (ksct.or.kr), which also publishes a scholarly journal. It's easy to learn more about Korean textiles through related displays in most of the major museums. I'd encourage a visit to the lesser known but wonderful Chojin Textile Art and Quilt Museum in Jung-gu near Namsan. Also visit is the Hansangso Embroidery Museum in Jongno.
Do a Google search for images of Korean textiles, and one can see many beautiful images and examples of Korean fabric arts and artworks. I enjoyed Sara Cook's gallery at bojagiuk.com and the Alliance for California Traditional Arts' page on the current exhibition by Youngmin Lee and her apprentice, Stephanie Rue.
I have several simple wrapping cloths given me by my senior. They aren't of significant value, but I won't discard them. To me, they show that durable goods have better use value and less negative impacts on the environment. One bojagi does the work of countless throwaway plastic or paper wrappers.
Originally the preserve of "women's work", Korean embroidery reached an art form in Joseon Korea and continuing masters of the art. Korean embroidery reflects delicacy, intricacy, and permanence. It appears on clothes artworks, screens, and household items. The exhibition by Lee and Rue shows Korean continue where and when the arts pass from generation to generation. A great many cultural treasures depend on cultivation by new artisans.
One less well-known textile is mosi, or hansan mosijagi. Ramie weaving is an intangible cultural property. Famous from South Chungcheong province, the ramie plant is durable, and its prepared fibers make for many kinds of clothes. Other textile works named as intangible cultural properties include making hanbok or traditional clothes (chimseonjang) Naju uisaetgolnai (cotton cloth weaving), and South Jeolla Province's hemp weaving (Gokseongui dolsilnai). We already touched on quilting (nubijang), silk-making (myeongju jjagi) and the embroidery arts (jasujang). I hope experts and students of Korean textiles will update many of the Wikipedia pages on these precious arts.
Let's encourage the appreciation and purchase of Korean textile arts and support the work of their practitioners. They form an important and wonderful bridge across generations and peoples. They are living practices on which we depend.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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When I visit Korea, I marvel at vivid colors that decorate so many Korean palaces, buildings, artworks, and designs. Beautiful colors, bright and subdued hues, and interesting patterns mark Korean textiles.
These days, many depictions of bojagi or wrapping clothes appear online, in Insadong and other art haunts of Seoul and other cities, and in shops and stores. I also recognize the plain and reserved tones of other bojagi used in temples and for everyday wrapping of gifts, parcels and packages. See the various forms of bojagi at the Museum of Korean Embroidery in Gangnam.
A useful if brief page on Korean Textiles in the Encyclopedia of Crafts of the World Crafts Council-Asia Pacific Region (encyclocraftsapr.com) explains the main types of Korean textile methods. These are embroidery, patchwork quilts, quilting and wrapping cloths. Some of the main materials are cotton, silk, and hemp.
The traditional and still widely used form of clothing, hanbok, also expresses Korean textiles. Women wear a jacket or top, skirt, and underskirt, while men wear the jacket or shirt and pants. These may appear with beautiful colors, for the woman's clothes, or in simple and airy forms, suitable for somber occasions or hot weather. I love the brightly colored and ornamented clothes that often are available and seen at weddings.
Several related websites of interest include the Korea Textile Development Institute (textile.or.kr) and the Korea Society of Clothing and Textiles (ksct.or.kr), which also publishes a scholarly journal. It's easy to learn more about Korean textiles through related displays in most of the major museums. I'd encourage a visit to the lesser known but wonderful Chojin Textile Art and Quilt Museum in Jung-gu near Namsan. Also visit is the Hansangso Embroidery Museum in Jongno.
Do a Google search for images of Korean textiles, and one can see many beautiful images and examples of Korean fabric arts and artworks. I enjoyed Sara Cook's gallery at bojagiuk.com and the Alliance for California Traditional Arts' page on the current exhibition by Youngmin Lee and her apprentice, Stephanie Rue.
I have several simple wrapping cloths given me by my senior. They aren't of significant value, but I won't discard them. To me, they show that durable goods have better use value and less negative impacts on the environment. One bojagi does the work of countless throwaway plastic or paper wrappers.
Originally the preserve of "women's work", Korean embroidery reached an art form in Joseon Korea and continuing masters of the art. Korean embroidery reflects delicacy, intricacy, and permanence. It appears on clothes artworks, screens, and household items. The exhibition by Lee and Rue shows Korean continue where and when the arts pass from generation to generation. A great many cultural treasures depend on cultivation by new artisans.
One less well-known textile is mosi, or hansan mosijagi. Ramie weaving is an intangible cultural property. Famous from South Chungcheong province, the ramie plant is durable, and its prepared fibers make for many kinds of clothes. Other textile works named as intangible cultural properties include making hanbok or traditional clothes (chimseonjang) Naju uisaetgolnai (cotton cloth weaving), and South Jeolla Province's hemp weaving (Gokseongui dolsilnai). We already touched on quilting (nubijang), silk-making (myeongju jjagi) and the embroidery arts (jasujang). I hope experts and students of Korean textiles will update many of the Wikipedia pages on these precious arts.
Let's encourage the appreciation and purchase of Korean textile arts and support the work of their practitioners. They form an important and wonderful bridge across generations and peoples. They are living practices on which we depend.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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