Clothes for Women

Clothes for women consist of jogori (coat), trousers, chima (long skirt) and overcoat.

Jogori for women is mainly the same as that of men’s in the form, but generally shorter than the latter in length and beautiful for the good harmony of its colour and patterns on it.

Women’s jogori seen on the mural paintings of Koguryo tombs generally drooped to the lap, but became short in the period of the feudal Joson dynasty (1392–1910). In the present age, it has developed to be convenient with the gradual elimination of the feudalistic formalities and complexity from clothes in general.

What is distinctive in women’s jogori is hoejang (colourful strips of cloth for trimmings).

Originally, hoejang was for keeping the jacket clean by frequently replacing a part, which gets dirty earlier than other parts, with another strip of cloth; it became an important means of decoration in the days of the feudal Joson dynasty.

Strips of purple or other colours different from the ground colour of jogori were sewn on the cuffs, collar, strings and armpits. This was called samhoejang; green was regarded as the best ground colour.

Women’s jogori was classified into unlined, lined, quilted and padded ones according to season.