![Korea-Jeju-Museum-14](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Korea-Jeju-Museum-14.jpg)
''Manggeon'' is a kind of 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 ...
headband
A headband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. T ...
worn by men to hold their hair in place after the
topknot is done. It is usually made by weaving dyed
horsehair
Horsehair is the long hair growing on the manes and tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wallc ...
(馬尾毛). In Korea, Artisans who specialize in making ''manggeon'' are called ''manggeonjang'' (망건장).
History
According to the legend, earliest people who wore Wangjin were the
Daoshi
A daoshi (道士 "master of the Tao"), translated as Taoist priest, Taoist monk, Taoist master or Professional Taoist, is a priest in Taoism. Along with Han Chinese priests, there are also many practicing ethnic minority priests in China. Some o ...
. One day, The
Hongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...
of
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
wore common clothes to visit the folk and he saw a
Daoshi
A daoshi (道士 "master of the Tao"), translated as Taoist priest, Taoist monk, Taoist master or Professional Taoist, is a priest in Taoism. Along with Han Chinese priests, there are also many practicing ethnic minority priests in China. Some o ...
wore Wangjin on top of his head. The Emperor asked the Daoshi what is it and then the Daoshi answered: "This is Wangjin, wear it on top of your head, then your hair will gather together"「此曰網巾。裹以頭,則萬髮俱齊。」. The Emperor was really satisfied with this answer that contained meaning of united the country. After the Emperor returned to his
palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
, he ordered that all the men in the country must wear Wangjin on their head. Afterwards it spreads to Korea and it became the Manggeon in Korea.
The Korean manggeon was originally imported from China but over time developed into a new clothing item with distinct features. Unlike Chinese wangjin which covered the top of the head like a cap, Korean mang-geon is a circular headband that has two strings at each end of the band. The practical development of a headband form can be seen in the way Korean-style top knots called
sang-tu were secured by using the string ties of the mang-geon.
Due to the abundance of horse farming in
Jejudo, Korean mang-geon was popularly made with horse hair alongside thin human hair which was considered luxurious. The manggeon could also be made out of human hair.
Korean Mang-geon started as a mesh headband and then a popular version seen in
K-dramas with a distinct forehead mesh was invented soon after. Both types of mang-geon were used until mang-geon fell out of practice due to state-enforced
Short Hair Act during the Korean Empire and Japanese occupation and the increased use of westernized hair.
With the Korean headband form different types of decorations developed. Precious decorations on the mang-geon were used to secure
Gat to the head and to secure the loose ends of the headband. The materials used included gold, metals, bone, horn and jade, which showcased the social status of the wearer.
In addition, each Korean region had its own characteristics:
Tongyeong
Tongyeong () is a coastal city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. In 2010, it had an area of and a population of 139,869 people. It is divided into 1 eup (town), 6 myeon (township) and 11 dong (neighborhood). Chungmu city and Tongyeong cou ...
manggeon was delicate and of good quality,
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
manggeon had the good pyeon-ja (lower set of strings),
Nonsan
Nonsan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at . The origin of Nonsan's geographical names is said to have come from the small garden " Nolmoe, " which rises in the middle of farming fields, where rice paddies ...
manggeon had the best backview, Hwangdeung manggeon had the best frontview, and
Gimje
Gimje () (''Gimje-si'') is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea.
History
The Gimje area is located on the "great plains" of Korea and has been cultivated since ancient times.
Nations of early date ascended in the year 200. The Baekje Kingd ...
's manggeon had good da-ang (top set of strings).
Contemporarily, there are still traditionally inclined people who wear their hair in sang-tu and adorn with mang-geon, as well as Korean national historical intangible cultural asset masters who create the old fashioned mang-geon with traditional methods which include the use of horse hair and human hair.
Influences
The use of horsehair as material in the making of the Chinese wangjin is believed to been introduced from Joseon to the Ming dynasty.
See also
*
Wangjin
is a kind of traditional headgear worn by adult men in the Chinese Ming Dynasty. In ancient China, the was usually made out of fibres or horsetail or could be made out of mixed fabrics such as silk or linen. The Korean of the Joseon period w ...
*
Hanbok
The (; term used in South Korean standard language, South Korea), also called ()
n North Korean standard language, North Korea and China, is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term which is used to refer to traditional ethnic Koreans, Korean ...
*
Gat
*
Tanggeon
''Tanggeon'' () is a type of Korean traditional headgear worn by men, which is put under a ''gat (hat), gat'' (formal hat), and worn over their topknot (Sangtu (Korean topknot), sangtu). It is usually made of dyed horsehair or cow hair. Artisans ...
*
Jeongjagwan
References
External links
{{Commons category
Korean headgear