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Gungjung boksik (royal court attire) refers to the formal attire worn by those in the royal court, i.e. the royal family members (i.e. King, the Queen, the Crown Prince, his wife and eldest son), sanggung (court ladies) and naegwan (private aides to the King). The royal family members displayed their status with the luxurious outer clothing they wore. The inner clothes they wore, however, were not much different from those worn by upper class people outside the royal court. Let’s take a look at the characteristics of the royal court attire with attention to yaebok (ceremonial attire).
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King’s attire
The King in the photo is wearing the myeonbok (royal crown and robe) for the garye (the wedding of a member of the royal family). This attire was representative of the ceremonial attire that well displayed the King’s dignity. This attire was also worn on other important occasions, such as jaesa (paying homage to deceased ancestors) at jongmyo (where their mortuary tablets were kept) or the King’s enthronement ceremony.
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The King in the photo is wearing the 12-ryu myeonryugwan, the royal crown with 12 strings hung and myeonbok of 12 jangbok. There are 2 types of myeonbok - 12 jangbok and 9 jangbok. The former refers to the 12-stringed royal crown and a robe carrying 12 patterns of the sun, moon, mountain, fire, dragon, star, etc. Kings of the Joseon dynasty used to wear 9 jangbok until King Gojong termed himself an emperor and started wearing 12 jangbok designed for an emperor.
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Kings wearing a myeonbok would also wear a waist belt made of jade. They wore paeok (jade accessories) on both sides of their waist. The accessories made cheerful sounds when the King walked. The King in the photo is holding an okhol (a long jade mace).
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When carrying out everyday business, kings wore a royal robe called sangbok. The most representative is the gonryongpo (royal robe) often seen in TV dramas. Dragon-shaped patterns were embroidered in gold-colored threads on the chest and shoulders of the gonryongpo (royal robe). The five-clawed dragon appears to be about to spring up, symbolizing the King’s courage and power.
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Queen’s attire
The Queen in the photo is wearing a red chijeogeui. The outer garment with 12-rows of embroidery is called 12-deung jeogeui. A total of 148 pairs of pheasants appear on the front and back of the garment, with white pear blossom patterns inserted in between. Ssangbonghwangmun (double-phoenix patterns) are attached at intervals of 8cm. And a pattern of an ojongryong (five-clawed dragon) is attached to the chest and shoulders. Queens also wore jade binyeo (a long pin thrust through the knotted hair as both a fastener and a decoration) with a pattern of a dragon called ‘jeonipjam.’
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Though it is now shown in this picture, under the chijeogeui, queens wore three layers of chima (skirts) - dark blue chima (skirt), daeran chima with two layers of long skirts and jeonhaenghu chima - and sokjeoksam (undershirt) and jeogori (jackets). The number of garments a queen wore came to about 20 pairs, including the sokgot (inner clothing). Patterns decorating a queen’s garment contain a profuse amount of gold. The queen was called the mother of the country. And so, it was natural that the queen should wear the most gorgeous garment in the country.
