• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.57 no.9
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• pp.16-31
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• 2007

This study is about the costume depicted upon the fraction of fresco which was excavated from Kumseong-li, Hwadae-Gun, Hamkyungbuk-Do, North Korea in 2004. According to the characteristics of its relics, this tomb was reported to belong to Parhae Dynasty(698-926). The fraction of fresco only shows below part of the knees of a man. A light red colored robe reaches down to his ankles on the back, whereas front part of it looks tucked up, which is likely to have slits on both side seams. Although tightly wrapped shins were reported as a pair of gaiters, there is no decisive evidence on the fresco. I suggest another possibility that this man wore slim pants. Also in order to figure out if these shins are considered as gaiters, I proceed comparative research on the historical sources about gaiters of countries and eras adjacent to Parhae. Consequently the idea that people of Parhae might have used gaiters turned out to be acceptable. The black boots show rather basic style: the toe tips are not pointed up, boot leg doesn't look either wide or long. These boots can not be identified with Ammohwa(暗摸靴) which the envoy Yang(楊) gave the protocol Miyakoyoshika(都良香) at his official visit to Japan, because Ammohwa has not yet been properly defined.