Abstract
Since brought into from the economic life of nomads, the felt, the target of this study, has been developed in various ways of giving the functions of class symbol as well of protection against the cold and of ornamentation. Therefore, the study on how the felt was developed in Joseon Dynasty and how different culture from nomadic tribes it formed is significant in comprehensively under,;landing the economic, social and natural environmental factors in the Dynasty. The felt named "Jeon" has been constantly appearing in Korea from the ancient time, but it was not produced actively in the early part of Joseon Dynasty. That's why it was not a climatic condition suitable for sheep-breeding, and the government managed sheep-breeding but it aimed primarily at not producing clothing materials but having memorial ceremonies. Since sheep-breeding was not widely spreaded, production of Jeon was limited and some part was imported from China, so it was one of rare valuable goods. Therefore, the felt of wools named "Yangmojeon", the colored felt named "Chaejeon", etc. were used as liking items in the high-class society, and their materials and components were a little different depending on the official post. On the other hand, people in the low-class society used to wear the felt hats made of cattle feathers and miscellaneous fur, named "Jeonlip" and "Beougeoji". Since the middle of Joseon Dynasty, use of the felt was divided into two groups according to the users and the function, along with successful spreading of cotton and development of market economy. The function of Jeon to protect against the cold was replaced by cotton, but the felt hats of Beongeoji, Jeonlip, etc. were worn by common people continuously. As seen above, it is considered that the felt culture in Joseon Dynasty was formed very differently from the nomadic culture, because of its historical and sociocultural characteristics, and it had unique developing progress among all available fabrics.