The magoja is a type of long jacket worn with

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 ...

, the traditional clothing of

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 ...

, and is usually worn on top of the ''

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 ...

'' (short jacket). It is also called ''magwae'' and while it was originally a male garment, it is now considered a unisex article of clothing. The magoja was originally a

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) an ...

style of clothing, but was introduced after

Heungseon Daewongun Heungseon Daewongun (흥선대원군, 興宣大院君, 21 December 1820 – 22 February 1898; ), also known as the Daewongun (대원군, 大院君), Guktaegong (국태공, 國太公, "The Great Archduke") or formally Internal King Heungseon Heon ...

, father of King Gojong, returned from political exile in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

in 1887. The magoja is derived from the ''magwae'' ( ''magua'' in Chinese) that he wore at that time to protect against the cold weather of the region. Due to its warmth and the fact that it's easy to wear, the magoja's popularity spread throughout Korea. It is also called ''"deot jeogori"'' (). The magoja does not have ''git'' (깃, a band of fabric that trims the collar) or ''goreum'' (고름, coat strings), unlike the ''jeogori'' and '' durumagi'' (overcoat). The men's magoja has ''seop'' (섶, overlapped column on the front) and its length is longer than women's magoja, so that both sides are open at the bottom. Most magoja are made of silk and are adorned with one or two buttons which are usually made from amber. In a male magoja, buttons are attached to the right side, while on women's magoja they are attached to the left. At first, women wore the magoja for style rather than comfort and it was particularly popular among the Kaeseong people. The color for these silk women's magojas tend to be neutral in order to harmonize with other garments such as the ''jeogori'' and '' chima'' (a voluminous skirt), the two main parts of the female hanbok. In spring and autumn, a pastel tone is used for the women's magoja so that wearers can wear it over a jeogori for style. As for men's magoja worn during spring and summer, jade, green, gray, dark grey are used.

References

{{Commons category Korean clothing

See also

References