The () is a traditional
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n
wig
A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...
worn by women. Historically, were expensive accessories worn only by women of high social standing, alongside . They were decorated with
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...
objects,
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
,
jewels,
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
,
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...
,
jade, and other expensive materials. Certain decorations were reserved for royalty.
History
Historically, women of high social backgrounds and wore , with larger and heavier wigs considered to be more aesthetically pleasing. Due to the expense of purchasing a new , some lower-class families took up to 6–7 years preparing a new wig for their new daughter-in-law.
Use of the flourished in
Goryeo
Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...
, the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
,
Balhae
Balhae ( ko, 발해, zh, c=渤海, p=Bóhǎi, russian: Бохай, translit=Bokhay, ), also rendered as Bohai, was a multi-ethnic kingdom whose land extends to what is today Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East. It ...
, the
Gaya confederacy
Gaya (, ) was a Korean confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period.
The traditional period used by historians for Gaya chronology is AD 42–5 ...
, and
Gojoseon
Gojoseon () also called Joseon (), was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary founder named Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean P ...
. became so popular that in 1788, King
Jeongjo of Joseon
Jeongjo of Joseon (28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800), personal name Yi San ( Korean: 이산; Hanja: 李祘), sometimes called Jeongjo the Great ( Korean: 정조대왕; Hanja: 正祖大王), was the 22nd monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea ...
prohibited and banned by royal decree the use of , as they were deemed contrary to
Confucian values
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...
of reserve and restraint.
[The Traditional Art of Beauty and Perfume in Ancient Korea by Guest Contributor Pauline http://www.mimifroufrou.com/scentedsalamander/2008/04/beauty_perfume_in_traditional.html]
In the 19th century, women began to wear the , a small hat that substituted for the . However, still enjoyed vast popularity in circles and traditional weddings.
were known for their relatively heavy weight, totalling around with accessories; one record reports an incident where a heavy wig led to the death of a 13-year-old bride, as the heavy wig compromised her neck as she was getting up to greet her father-in-law entering the room.
Gallery
File:Empress Sunjeong of the Korean Empire.jpg, Empress Sunjeong
36-year-old Empress Sunjeonghyo in 1930.
Empress Sunjeonghyo,or literally known as Sunjeong, the Filial Piety Empress (Hangul: 순정효황후, Hanja: 純貞孝皇后; 19 September 1894 – 3 February 1966), of the Haepyeong Yun clan, was ...
of the Korean Empire, 1909
File:Korean hairpin-Tteoljam-01.jpg, Modern representation
File:Gache002.jpg, 18th-century illustration of a gache
File:Gache004.jpg, Illustration from the late 18th-century
See also
*
References
External links
Brief information about {{transl, ko, gache
Korean headgear
Wigs
Hairdressing