• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.19
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• pp.53-68
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• 2018

Hanging scrolls and handscrolls are common mounting for East Asian painting and calligraphy in which wooden Chukmok with Chukdu of various materials are attached either at the top and bottom or at each side of a work. Hanging scroll paintings or calligraphy can be hung for appreciation and rolled up for preservation. The Chukmok and Chukdu of a hanging scroll were made from different materials and were known by distinct names in Korea, China, and Japan. In Korea, the wooden Chukmok were called sanghachukhoengmok(上下軸橫木), which means horizontal wooden bars for the top and bottom axes. The wooden Chukdu were called Chukdu(軸頭), meaning the head of an axis. These Chukmok and Chukdu were made of Korean red pine, nut pine, or shiny xylosma. In China, the rod was called zhougan(軸杆) and zhoutou(軸頭), and they were made of Japanese cedar, sappan wood, or red sandalwood. In Japan, the top rod was called hassou(八双; 八裝) and the bottom jikugi(軸木), and they were made of Japanese cedar, red sandalwood, or crystal. In Korean hanging scrolls, the cross section of a Chukdu is either flat or round, and it can be either patterned or patternless. The designs include concentric circles, two circles, and three circles. Among the portraits of meritorious subjects analyzed in this study, three examples feature concentric circles on Chukdu with a flat cross section, which coincides with most of the king's instructions housed at the Jangseogak Archives. This suggests that flat Chukdu with a concentric circle pattern were used for binding most of the paintings of meritorious subjects commissioned by the royal court.

• Archives of design research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.317-326
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• 1999

The Korean traditional color passed down over countless generations has surpassed both surpassed both time and space and continue today to breathe life into its people's everyday. In order to clarify the characteristics of Korean traditional color blue and red, we investigate the names of them and measured the color tones of textile remains in Chosun era. The characteristics of Korean traditional color blue and red have been surveyed by means of the examination of color names in many famous literatures in Chosun era. Korean terms for color tones were characterized by enormous variety of epithes crowned on them. The color names mentioned contain many unaccountable epithes which were characterized also deep colors and light colors were dominant in it. As a means of enhancing possibilities within limited colors, the commoners increased the names for varying tones of blue color group(32kinds) and red color group(40kinds). These "blue(indigo dyeing)' and 'red(safflower dyeing)' in Chosun era were shown very high frequency in use and the costume colors in Royal Court. With combination of these various blue and red colors they represented a thought of color based on Yinyang Theory and created a polished aesthetic taste. The color samples of textile remains in museum were measured and designated by Munsell color system and the ISCC-NBS color designation system. THe appeared rates were derived on Chosun era and features of colors using on the period were discussed. We aim to present specific recipes in indigo dyeing and safflower dyeing for using our apparel product and folk art.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.508-533
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• 2019

This study investigated the Sachanbalgi, which record the royal feasts given by the royal family of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. These records are contained within the Gungjung Balgi, which recorded the types and quantity of items used in royal court ceremonies. The Eumsikbalgi is the general name for the records of food found within this document. Using these Eumsikbalgi, and in particular the Sachanbalgi, this study investigated the food eaten and bestowed by the Joseon royal family. The Sachanbalgi describes four categories or occasions of feasts: royal birthdays, childbirth, royal weddings, and funerals. These records allow us to reconstruct who the attendees were and what the table settings and food were for instances not directly indicated in oral records, books, or other documents. The food at these Sachan (feasts) was diverse, being related to the specific event, and its contents varied based on the position of the person who was receiving the food. Usually, Bab (rice) was not found at a Sachanbalgi, and only on two occasions were meals with Bab observed. Specifically, it was served with Gwaktang (seaweed soup) at a childbirth feast. There were seven kinds of soups and stews that appeared in the Sachanbalgi: Gwaktang, Yeonpo (octopus soup), Japtang (mixed food stew), Chogyetang (chilled chicken soup), Sinseonro (royal hot pot), and Yukjang (beef and soybean paste). Nureumjeok (grilled brochette) and Saengchijeok (pheasant), and Ganjeonyueo (pan-fried cow liver fillet) and Saengseonjeonyueo (pan-fried fish fillet) were eaten. Yangjeonyueo, Haejeon, Tigakjeon (pan-fried kelp) and other dishes, known and unknown, were also recorded. Boiled meat slices appeared at high frequency (40 times) in the records; likewise, 22 kinds of rice cake and traditional sweets were frequently served at feasts. Five kinds of non-alcoholic beverages were provided. Seasonal fruits and nuts, such as fresh pear or fresh chestnut, are thought to have been served following the event. In addition, a variety of dishes including salted dry fish, boiled dish, kimchi, fruit preserved in honey, seasoned vegetables, mustard seeds, fish, porridge, fillet, steamed dishes, stir-fried dishes, vegetable wraps, fruit preserved in sugar, and jellied foods were given to guests, and noodles appear 16 times in the records. Courtiers were given Banhap, Tanghap, Myeonhap, wooden bowls, or lunchboxes. The types of food provided at royal events tracked the season. In addition, considering that for feasts food of the royal household was set out for receptions of guests, cooking instructions for the food in the lunchbox-type feasts followed the cooking instructions used in the royal kitchen at the given time. Previous studies on royal cuisine have dealt mostly with the Jineosang presented to the king, but in the Sachanbalgi, the food given by the royal family to its relatives, retainers, and attendants is recorded. The study of this document is important because it extends the knowledge regarding the food of the royal families of the Joseon Dynasty. The analysis of Sachanbalgi and the results of empirical research conducted to reconstruct the precise nature of that food will improve modern knowledge of royal cuisine.

• Bangmulgwan gwa yeongu (The National Museum of Korea Journal)
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• v.1
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• pp.258-277
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• 2024

Kings of the Joseon Dynasty composed poems exploring their thinking about the governance of the country or personal feelings. Kings Taejong (r. 1400-1418), Seongjong (r. 1469-1494), Yeongjo (r. 1724-1776), and other kings bestowed poems upon their officials and had them compose response poems using rhyming words. Such literary exchanges between sovereign and subject were called gaengjin. The vast body of surviving materials related to gaengjin includes chronological materials recording the words and acts of kings, Yeolseong oeje compiling writings by Joseon kings, the so-called gaengjin albums that kings specially produced to commemorate officials' composition of response poems, and literary collections by officials who took part in the composition of response poems. Gaengjin albums were produced immediately after the king's bestowal of a poem and the officials' composition of response poems. They provide diverse information about the background, content, and participants of literary exchanges. Many of these albums are held in the collection of the National Museum of Korea, Gyujanggak Archives at Seoul National University, and Jangseogak Archives of the Academy of Korean Studies. A majority of the extant gaengjin albums were produced during the reign of King Yeongjo. This paper analyzed chronological materials on the gaengjin literary exchanges that were officially conducted 200 times during the fifty-two-year reign of King Yeongjo. It also explored the drastic increase in gaengjin literary exchanges between 1769 (the forty-fifth year of the reign of King Yeongjo) and 1776 (the fifty-second year of the reign of King Yeongjo), the period corresponding to King Yeongjo's latter years. The paper introduced sixteen items (albums, books, hanging boards, and folding screens) related to the gaengjin literary exchanges held in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries from the collection of the National Museum of Korea. Among them, it shed light on the production backgrounds, contents, and characteristics of the eight gaengjin albums produced during the reign of King Yeongjo. The materials related to the gaengjin literary exchanges created during the reign of King Yeongjo are valuable in that they improve the understanding of various aspects of the respective period, including joyous events of the state (or royal court), the administration of state affairs, and literary activities among the sovereign and subjects.