• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.6-21
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• 2022

This paper examines the material culture of the Goryeo-Joseon Period through changes in the design and crafting of the earpick. In Chapter 2, terminology regarding earpicks is presented, and the culture of using earpicks is examined through fragmentary literature of the late Joseon Dynasty. Earpicks were first a personal hygiene tool, and, secondly, they played a symbolic role as a style accessory used by men, analogous to the fan carried by women of the time. In Chapter 3, earpick form are classified by period, and characteristic decorative techniques for each form are examined. During the Goryeo Dynasty, earpicks were sanitary tools, and, according to their form, they were classified into single and complex types. From Unified Silla to Goryeo, there is an angled type of connecting rod, and in the Goryeo period, there appeared earpicks with colorful decorations on the handle, completely forged earpicks with a thin and long shape, and earpicks which were part of multitools. Common decorative techniques include line expression, gold plating, cheophomun on the background, and inlay. Earpicks of the Joseon Dynasty are classified into sanitary tools or ornaments, according to their purpose of use. Sanitary tools are divided into single type and complex type, and earpicks used as ornaments include headdress, norigae, and sunchu. For earpick accessories, headdresses and norigae were used for women, and sunchu was used for men. The decorative techniques of earpicks during the Joseon Dynasty were mainly seen in the headdress earpicks. They were decorated with various colors in the Cloisonné method or bejeweled. Research on everyday tools among crafts is lacking; greater attempts to read the flow of time and approaches to material culture through everyday tools should be made.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.4-23
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to classify the types of tweezers used across time and to examine the social culture of periods through the use of tweezers. Chapter II summarized the terms for tweezers and looked at the use of tweezers in two cases related to the social culture and politics of a period. The first is the use of tweezers for beauty purposes. Men used tweezers as a kind of self-management to maintain their social status and power, and thus they helped develop a wide range of tweezers cultures. People with gray hair are usually old. The perception that we should step down from politics when we are aged has become strong. Therefore, politicians pulled out gray hairs with tweezers to maintain only black hair and show youth, which indicates that their social influence is still strong. The second is the use of tweezers for first aid. Chapter III classified tweezers by type during the Goryeo and Joseon periods. The tweezers are largely divided into basic and composite types. The basic type of tweezers is a form that has been continued since the Three Kingdoms Period and consists of tongs and handles, and a fixed type of tweezers with a fixed ring appeared. Composite tweezers are made by grafting earpick or multipurpose knives. Composite tweezers are all-in-one tweezers with an earpick and an all-in-one knife. Tweezers are usually all-in-one. Among the composite tweezers, rivet separation and ring separation are characterized by separation, unlike the all-in-one tweezers. The method of connecting is divided into rivets and connection rings. The all-in-one tweezers appear only during the Goryeo Dynasty and are characterized by the lifestyle that provides a glimpse of the tastes of contemporary users. The manufacturing takes shape after making a thin metal plate. Decorative techniques are carved on soft metal tweezers, such as silver and bronze with a line, point, and a pressed angle. These tweezers are presumed to have been used by the royal family or aristocrats. However, most tweezers are made of strong bronze or iron. Therefore, the majority of simple X-shaped patterns are sampled or without patterns. The biggest reason why there are such diverse types of tweezers is that the culture of tweezers was widespread regardless of the times. In addition, the basic type of tweezers has been used since the Three Kingdoms Period and has been modified and used together as necessary because the shape of tweezers is a practical daily tool. Study of metal crafts have been limited to royal objects and Buddhist crafts. We hope that research on everyday tools such as tweezers will continue to serve as an opportunity to examine the social and cultural aspects of the times in various ways.