Sokgot () is a collective noun for various types of traditional

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

undergarments Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

. They were worn as part of a

hanbok The (; term used in South Korea), also called () n North Korea and China, is an umbrella term which is used to refer to traditional ethnic Korean clothes, including the traditional clothing of the (Korean Chinese), an officially recognized ...

before the import of Western-style underwear. Women usually wore several layers of undergarments, the more layers they had the richer they were. Undergarments were considered very important, thus it happened that the quality and material of the underwear was better than that of the visible outer layers.

Types

There were several types of ''sokgot'': underskirts were generally named ''sokchima'' (), while underpants were referred to as ''sokbaji'' (). Under a

jeogori (; ) is a basic upper garment of the , a traditional Korean garment, which has been worn by both men and women. Men usually wear the with a '' baji'' or pants while women wear the with '' chima'', or skirts. It covers the arms and upper part of ...

, ''sokjeoksam'' () and ''sokjeogori'' () were worn. A clothing item similar in function to today's

panties Panties (in American English; also called pants, undies, or knickers in British English) are a form of women's underwear. Panties can be form-fitting or loose. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genit ...

was called ''dari sokgot'' (), which was a wide band of cloth pulled through in between the legs and tied with ribbons at the waist. Above this came the lowest layer of underskirts, called ''soksokgot'' (). One of these layers was a ''mujigi chima'' (), which itself was sewn of several layers at knee-length, its function was to give shape and volume to the chima, raising it. Above this a ''daesyum chima'' () was added. Noble women also wore a ''noreunbaji'' (), a kind of additional underpants. Male undergarments were significantly simpler, under the pants a pair of ''sokgoui'' (), underpants were worn, while ''jeoksam'' () came under the ''jeogori'' in winter, and was worn on its own in summer.

References

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External links

Photo of a ''sokjeoksam''

Photo of a ''soksokgot''

Photo of a ''mujigi chima''

Photo of a ''daesyum chima''
Korean clothing Undergarments