Kkachi durumagi is a children's colorful

overcoat An overcoat is a type of long coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment, which usually extends below the knee. Overcoats are most commonly used in winter when warmth is more important. They are sometimes confused with or referred to as ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natura ...

, which was worn on

Seollal Seollal () is a festival and national holiday commemorating the first day of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. It is one of the most important traditional holidays in both North and South Korea. The celebration usually lasts three days: the day ...

, New Year's Day in the

Lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, t ...

. It was worn mostly by young boys and literally means "a magpie's overcoat". The garment is also called ''obangjang durumagi'' which denotes "an overcoat of five directions". It was worn over ''

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 ...

'' (a jacket) and '' jokki'' (a vest) while the wearer could put ''

jeonbok The ''jeonbok'' is a type of sleeveless long vest in hanbok, traditional Korean clothing, which was worn by military personnel. The unlined jeonbok, which was influenced by a Chinese coat, was worn as the uniform of the military personnel until ...

'' (a long vest) over it. ''Kkachi durumagi'' was also worn along with

headgear Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, ...

such as '' bokgeon'' (a peaked cloth hat), '' hogeon'' (peaked cloth hat with a tiger pattern) for young boys or '' gulle'' (decorative headgear) for young girls.

Etymology and color

The name is composed of the two words in

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 ** ...

; ''kkachi'' referring to

Korean magpie The Oriental magpie (''Pica serica'') is a species of magpie found from south-eastern Russia and Myanmar to eastern China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and northern Indochina. It is also a common symbol of the Korean identity, and has been adopted as t ...

and '' durumagi'', a type of

. In Korean mythology, magpies are regarded as auspicious messenger delivering good news but also a provider of prosperity and development. The date before ''Seollal'' has been referred to as "Kkachi Seollal" (kkachi's New Year's Day). The overcoat was named after the bird to reflect the folk belief because children longed for the cheerful holiday's coming. ''Kkachi durumagi'' is also called ''obangjang durumagi'' because it is composed of five colors, representing five different directions (''obang'') – east (blue), west (white), south (red), north (black), center (yellow). The concept is based on Oriental philosophy. ''Seop'' (섶), the overlapped column of the garment in the center is made of a yellow fabric while ''gil'' (길), the large section of the garment in both front and back side is made of a fabric in yellowish green. For boys, blue color is used for the portions called ''git'' (깃, a band of fabric that trims the collar), ''goreum'' (고름, strings at chest), ''doltti'' (돌띠, embroidered belt) respectively and purple is used for ''mu'' (무,

gusset In sewing, a gusset is a triangular or rhomboidal piece of fabric inserted into a seam to add breadth or reduce stress from tight-fitting clothing. Gussets were used at the shoulders, underarms, and hems of traditional shirts and chemises made ...

). On the other hand, ''kkachi durumagi'' for girls has red or purple colored ''git'', ''goreum'' and ''doltti'' and dark blue ''mu''. The sleeves are made of two sheets of fabrics. The outer surface is made of a yellowish green fabric or '' saekdong'' (colorful stripes) fabric whereas the inner is rose pink in color. In old days, ''kkachi durumagi'' were worn as ''seolbim'' (설빔), new clothing and shoes prepared for

, while at present, it is used as a ''dorot'', a ceremonial garment for '' doljanchi'', celebration for a baby's first birthday.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kkachi Durumagi Korean clothing Children's clothing Coats (clothing)

Etymology and color

See also

References