Sewing Imbued with Devotion, Love, and Hope

Chimseon refers to the sewing techniques used to create clothes and accessories. Artisans skilled in these techniques are known as chimseonjang. Metal objects dating from the Silla Kingdom that resemble today’s needles have been excavated in Korea. Mural paintings from Goguryeo Kingdom tombs and records in Samguk sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms) indicate that advanced sewing was already being practiced at that time. Korean women have historically been expected to master sewing, and they typically learned how to do so at home. Within the royal court, a dedicated agency oversaw sewing, ensuring that royal sewing techniques were preserved and transmitted. The tradition of chimseon was developed throughout the Goryeo and Joseon periods and has been carried forward to the present day.

History of Sewing

Sewing developed together with humanity. The oldest sewing-related artifacts in Korea are a needle and a spindle whorl discovered at a Neolithic archaeological site. The excavation of a textile fragment and a threaded needle, both estimated to date back some 2,600 years, further suggests that sewing was practiced in Korea even before that time.

Koreans of the past greatly valued propriety and believed that proper manners began with keeping clothes neat. Accordingly, sewing was regarded as one of the key virtues for Korean women, along with chastity, appearance, language, and weaving. They paid careful attention to every single stitch when creating clothes. They observed auspicious days for drying clothes and avoided inauspicious ones. On the Winter Solstice, they made beoseon (traditional Korean socks) for their fathers-in-law and asked them to step on them in the belief that the socks could absorb their yang energy. They took care not to soil their own clothing while sewing and prepared all sewing equipment and materials in advance to ensure nothing was missing. Each stitch was imbued with these women’s devotion, love, and wishes. Making clothing at home was traditionally considered the responsibility of women. In the case of the royalty and nobility, however, the female members did not participate in garment production. Skillful sewing artisans were employed as state or private craftsmen to provide their clothing. Even commoners relied on adept artisans for garments used in coming-of-age ceremonies, weddings, funerals, and ancestral rites.

Ten chimseonjang (sewing artisans) were employed by the Gongjo (Ministry of Public Works) as state handicraft technicians, while sixty-four sewing artisans were designated as local handicraft technicians and assigned to one of two locations. Garment production was a complicated process involving multiple steps and specialized techniques, including sewing. The creation of clothing required collaboration among various artisans, including a jesajang who spun thread; a cheongyeomjang and a hongyeomjang who dyed thread or fabric; a jikjojang and a neungrajang who wove cloth; a doryeonjang who polished the fabric; a jaejakjang who cut cloth; and a geumbakjang and a jasujang who respectively decorated cloth with gold foil and embroidery. Among them, the most essential artisan was a chimseonjang to oversee the sewing and determine the garment’s silhouette, dignity, and functionality.

When choosing cloth for a garment, a chimseonjang responsible for the sewing took into account a variety of factors: the season in which the garment would be worn, the age and social standing of the wearer, whether it was intended for daily use or for special occasions, prevailing clothing trends, the wearer’s personality, the locations producing high-quality cloth, the quantity and quality of cloth, the potential for discoloration or shrinkage, and the choice of material for the garment’s inner lining. In other words, traditional sewing artisans simultaneously fulfilled the roles of a designer, cutter, and tailor. Only those with exceptional skills and an inherent sense of color and beauty could become accomplished sewing artisans. However, with the advent of sewing machines in the 1900s, hand sewing was largely replaced by machine-based mass production. This shift provided new opportunities for women, for whom sewing had traditionally been an exclusive domain, to advance in society. At the same time, it also posed a threat to the survival of traditional sewing techniques.

Characteristics of Sewing in Korean Clothing: A Flexible Culture Embracing Humanity

Men’s hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) basically consists of baji (trousers), a jeogori (jacket), a po (overcoat), and a hat, while a woman’s outfit is composed of a chima (skirt), a jacket, and an overcoat. This fundamental structure—dividing the outfit into upper and lower garments—shaped several important features of the sewing.

Among these features, first, the upper and lower garments are cut and sewn separately. Second, the clothes are initially flat. When these flat garments are worn over three-dimensional bodies, they tend to appear loose. Drapery folds are often created along the body’s curves. Professor Lee Eo-ryeong explores this aesthetic of flexibility in Korean clothing in his book entitled Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, stating:

The waist of Korean trousers is unusually wide, providing flexibility that allows anyone to wear the pants. Thus, if a wearer gains weight, the waist can be loosened, and if the wearer loses weight, it can be tightened … Clothing is meant to be worn by people. Many Western garments retain their three-dimensional forms even when they are taken off, and they must be hung on hangers. In contrast, all Korean garments only take on three-dimensional forms when worn and return to their original flat state when removed. This is why Korean clothes are never hung, but folded. Korean trousers, jackets, and skirts do not possess fixed forms; rather, they are fully shaped only when worn by people. In the case of Western clothing, if a garment’s measurements arrive incorrect, the wearer must accommodate the garment by having it tailored or re-sewn. This practice—akin to the tail wagging the dog—has led to a kind of human alienation. On the contrary, the ample room in the waist of Korean clothing can be viewed as a symbol of a flexible Korean mindset that continues to take people into account.

Third, exquisite and elaborate hand sewing techniques have been developed. Fourth, although the shoulder lines of jackets and overcoats are straight and their overall structures are spacious, a curved line connecting the armhole and underarm—an area that undergoes significant movement—is attached with a gusset. The hems and slits of underpants are meticulously sewn, and the button loops or knotted buttons for single-knit jacket-like garments are made by weaving rolled-cloth strings, resulting in fastenings that are both durable and neat in appearance. Fifth, most Korean upper garments have sleeves long enough to cover the backs of the wearer’s hands. The multiple layers of undergarments worn beneath wide skirts create a large and voluminous silhouette. Sixth, in the case of edged garments, their corners are crafted into a diagonal shape, likely to ensure balanced placement of the corners. The most important areas in the sewing of traditional Korean clothing are the hemline and the neckline. The quality of needlework in these two areas determines the overall elegance of a garment. Accordingly, Korean women devoted particular care to sewing there. 

Ku Hye-ja, Who Has Devoted Herself to Making Hanbok (Traditional Korean Clothing)

Crafting Korean Clothes That Bring the Body’s Curves to Life

Ku Hye-ja, a national intangible cultural heritage holder in sewing, was captivated by the distinctive beauty of hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) and has been producing it for decades. She emphasizes that the true charm of hanbok lies in the soft lines in the jeogori jacket and chima skirt, which fall straight yet subtly form curves that conform to the wearer’s body. 

Remarkable Sewing Skills Learned from Her Mother-in-Law 

Ku Hye-ja was born on July 30, 1942, the third of six children between Ku Yeong-gi (1906–2006), a minister at a church in Choryang, Busan, and O Cha-bong (1908–1960). Raised in a relatively affluent Christian household, all six siblings, including Ku, studied ballet and piano. After graduating from Gyeongnam Girl’s Middle School and Gyeongnam Girl’s High School, she entered the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Kyung Hee University. Although she had enjoyed sewing as a hobby since childhood, her deep connection with hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) only began with her marriage in 1970. Upon marrying the oldest son of a family, Ku Hye-ja lived together with her mother-in-law, Jeong Jeong-wan, who was the first national intangible cultural heritage holder in sewing. She initially picked up a needle simply to make a few garments for her family. During her newlywed years, her in-laws held monthly memorial services as well as ancestral rites during the New Year’s holidays and the Harvest Festival. For Ku, who had grown up in a Christian family in a Western-style home with a sofa in the living room and a separate study, adjusting to her in-laws’ traditional Korean lifestyle and fulfilling the role of the eldest daughter-in-law was not easy.

After her mother-in-law was designated as the first national intangible cultural heritage holder in sewing in 1988, she began to worry about who would succeed her. Ku’s husband encouraged her to carry on the craft, but Ku hesitated for some time since she was responsible for household duties as the eldest daughter-in-law and was nervous about learning directly under her mother-in-law. After much thought, she told her mother-in-law that she wished to learn the craft from her, believing that, due to her frail health, it might take two years rather than the usual one year to acquire the skills. Her mother-in-law responded, “Sewing is troublesome. I do not want my children to do it, but if you want to, then do it.” Ku could not tell whether her mother-in-law was pleased or not. She assumed her mother-in-law was concerned that sewing might lead her to neglect her household responsibilities.

Ku Hye-ja began sewing simply because she enjoyed it, but making hanbok offered a series of challenges. She was awkward with scissors and made frequent mistakes. Since fabric was precious at the time, her mother-in-law often scolded her for her poor cutting. It was difficult for her to satisfy her mother-in-law, who was a master artisan, and learning under her was demanding. Being reprimanded became a daily routine, and Ku had to continue her practicing with her teeth clenched. Sewing was the only thing for which she was ever scolded by her mother-in-law.

On holidays when she was not teaching her students, her mother-in-law would often be resting. Even during these times, Ku asked her about how to make skirts, jackets, wedding clothes, and shrouds, and her mother-in-law provided detailed instructions. Ku later compiled her notes on her mother-in-law’s teachings into a book called Making Hanbok: The Sewing Notes of Ku Hye-ja that was published by the Korea Heritage Agency. On one occasion, her mother-in-law told Ku to make ten dopo (everyday coats) commissioned by a local Confucian academy. Upon seeing the finished products, which Ku had worked on throughout the night, her mother-in-law remarked, “Now your work closely resembles mine.” Ku recalled this to be the highest praise she ever received from her mother-in-law. For Ku, the passing of her mother-in-law was the most painful event in her life, and the thought of never seeing her long-time teacher again was heartbreaking. Around 2007, when Ku was about to be recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage holder, she fondly recalled her mother-in-law’s words: “I am at ease knowing that Ku is taking care of everything. My eldest daughter-in-law is the best.”

While her mother-in-law, who was both her teacher and a more advanced artisan in sewing, focused on recreating and preserving hanbok, Ku Hye-ja has systemized and modernized it. Along with producing hanbok, she has continued to study the history of Joseon-era garments and has been reproducing historical garments. Worked with needles and thread throughout her life, she has developed occupational ailments such as eye strain and shoulder fatigue. She now works sitting in a chair at a desk, an improvement to her working environment compared to when she spent long hours working seated on the floor.

The difficulty of traditional sewing becomes particularly evident when attempting to teach it to students. Even at over eighty years old, Ku Hye-ja finds that twenty-four hours are never enough to pass on her skills to younger people. Ku currently teaches a diverse range of students, from costume-major college students to housewives, at the Traditional Korean Crafts and Architecture School of the Korea Heritage Agency. In addition to offering lectures at graduate schools, Ku has devoted significant effort to publishing textbooks. In 2022, a revised four-volume edition of Making Hanbok: The Sewing Notes of Ku Hye-ja was published. Based on her notes from her mother-in-law’s teachings, this publication reflects her ongoing research as well as the revisions and additions she made to her original notes while teaching students. Despite the ongoing changes in Korean society, Ku feels a profound sense of pride when she meets young people interested in Korean culture. Whenever a young homemaker who has never previously handled a needle and thread comes to her and takes up sewing as a hobby, Ku is reminded that many people remain deeply connected to Korean culture.

Ku Hye-ja became the accomplished artisan she is today through her persistent dedication to making clothes and following the traditions of her Korean ancestors. Many of her creations are intended for display in museums. She has also been commissioned to produce costumes for films, including “Untold Scandal” (2003) starring by Bae Yong-jun and Jeon Do-yeon. Ku makes the same garment repeatedly until she achieves the exact finish she desires. Every stitch she sews reflects the skill and heart of a true artisan.

Artworks

Durumagi Coat with Multicolor-Striped Sleeves

This is a reproduction of a girl’s durumagi coat with striped multicolored sleeves from the end of the Joseon Dynasty. A light green bodice, multicolored-striped sleeves, dark navy side panels, yellow front panel, pink inside panel, and purple neckline and strings are used for such durumagi coats for girls.

Dongdari Inner Coat

This type of dongdari (inner coat) was worn as part of a military uniform by officials, including the head of the Podocheong (Capital Police), provincial commander-in-chief, provincial navy commander, and officials at the Hullyeon Dogam (Royal Military Academy). The red cloth added to the sleeves could be torn off and used for emergency treatment. Like the jeonbok vest coat worn over it, the dongdari inner coat features a slit in the center of the back, a design that made both garments suitable for military use on horseback. 

Production Process

A variety of delicate sewing techniques are used for different parts of a garment, including running stitch, backstitch, hemming stitch, topstitch, overcasting, buttonhole stitch, and blind stitch. For summer, seams are sewn with a single stitch, while in spring and autumn, they are sewn with a double stitch. In winter, garments are padded with cotton to provide additional warmth.