Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Norway

Kingdom and the hats of the Joseon Dynasty

Mira Dahl Aspeli

The Korean drama Kingdom, written by Kim Eun-hee and directed by Kim Seong-hun, is Netflix's first original Korean series and has received Critical acclaim from viewers and critics. Based on the webcomic series The Kingdom of the Gods, it is a political period horror/thriller set during the Joseon dynasty. While the show focuses on Zombies that come to life due to a resurrection plant found in the Cold regions of Korea, the broad dimmed hats worn by nearly all the men in the drama have drawn a lot of interest. The hats worn by the people from the Joseon dynasty normally represented social classes and in this article, I will focus on the represnetative hat of the Joseon Dynasty, the Gat, worn by noblemen.

Social Classes

The costume design worn by the characters of this drama series is based on real Joseon fashion. The original of the gat comes from the Thre
e Kingdoms Period, when it was a hat worn by adult men. During the Joseon period these hats were regarded as an essential fashion piece, and nobility were even required to wear them inside. Although this changed over the years, the society during the Joseon Dynasty was divided in four main classes and by the headgear one could distinguish which class a person belonged to; yangban (nobility and aristocrats), jungin (middle class), pyeongmin (commoners) and cheonmin (outcasts). A diverse range of gat existed during the Joseon period, all worn according to one's social status and depending on the occasion; the paeraengi, the chorip, the baekrip, the jurip, the okrorip, the jeonrip, the bangnip and the sakkat, and the heukrip. The heukrip is the most common one featured in the drama Kingdom due to it being the representative and official hat over the five centuries of the Yi Dynasty's reign and therefore most well-known hat of the era. [Source: (Department of Global Communication and Contents Division, 2014)]

The Heukrip

The prince in Kingdom is seen wearing the heukrip gat wherever he goes. It is a hat only worn by men who have passed the state examination(gwageo), and is a part of the official dress code for baekkwan-ranked officials. The gat is made by cutting high-quality bamboo very thin- like a long thread, making a pattern and forming it into a hat before lacquering it. Due to its form, one can feel the dignity of the scholar as it casts a light shadow on the face, expressing its subtle beauty.

Other types of hats

Hats also came to have different purposes, along with different sizes, shapes and colors. For example, certain headgear was worn to certain ceremonies and there were also specific indoor and outdoor hats. For ceremonies like funerals, a type of white hat covered in white hempen cloth was worn during the times of mourning the Death of one's parent or the King. As shown in the drama Kingdom, military officers would also wear a special red hat that would provided protection against various weather conditions.

[Sources]

Pictures: Korea Cultural Heritage Administraion (http://www.heritage.go.kr/heri/cul/culSelectDetail.do?ccbaCpno=1279900040000&pageNo=1_1_1_1#)

http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=117428

http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0000945

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3059581

https://koreatourinformation.com/blog/2013/12/05/gat-traditional-headgear-in-korea/