• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.63-73
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• 2007

Korean children's clothes have unique aesthetic characteristics distinguished from other countries'. Our folk beliefs handed down from ancient times always contained fortune - seeking thoughts and particularly mothers' earnest wishes for the happiness of their children were sublimated into the symbolic beauty of their children's clothes. The present study examined children's clothes in the royal family and among the people for 50 years of the transitional period from the late Joseon Dynasty to modern times, by classifying them into ritual dress for new-born babies, festival dress and everyday dress. Male children's clothes included caps such as Bokgeon(복건), Hogeon(호건) and Gulle(굴레) topcoats such as Durumagi(두루마기), Sagyusam(사규삼) Koija(쾌자) and Jeonbok(전복) and others such as Magoja(마고자), Baeja(배자), Joggi(조끼) and Bajijeogori(바지저고리), Female children's clothes included caps and head ornaments such as Gulle, Jobawi(조바위) and Daenggi(댕기) and others such as Durumagi, Jegori and Chima(치마). What is interesting is that old clothes handed down to the present are mostly boys' and few of them are girls'. This is probably because of the strong preference for boys rather than girls that continued until the end of the 20th century. Ordinary people dressed their new - born babies with simple white clothes until Samchilil (the 21st day) or Baekil (the 100thday) but, for these occasions, the royal family prepared clothes as formal as those for the $1^{st}$ birthday among the public. Rainbow-striped garments were more popular among the public than in the royal family. As rainbow colors were known to Korean people to dispel evil power and bring in fortunes, rainbow - striped garments were essential for the $1^{st}$ birthday and festive days. However, they were seldom used in ordinarytimes, and most boys and girls wore plain jackets and plain topcoats. When children's clothes in noble families were compared with royal family's ones, either handed down to the present or found in old literature, no significant difference was observed in the basic composition of everyday dress. In particular, it was found that Andong Kim's family had dressed their children with very formal dress such as Dopo and Sagyusam. Among children's clothes, the most gorgeous one was that worn on the $1^{st}$ birthday, and those for other occasions or festive days were similar or simpler. Colors, patterns and designs used in decorating children's clothes mostly had the meanings of seeking fortunes for children such as long life, wealth and prosperity.