Question about Korean superstition/taboo...

[telophase]

I seem to recall that there's a Japanese taboo against wrapping the kimono with the right side over the left, as that's the way it's done on the dead. Is there an equivalent superstition/taboo in Korea?

Because I'd like to know, if a Korean person saw this man, would they twig that something was up by the way he wears the right side over the left, or would it not matter?







And now to figure out what to go out and get for dinner. :P

Comments

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

telophase--how urgent is this question? I can ask my mom, but unless she calls, it'll have to be by snail mail (for complicated reasons I don't have her phone # and it's an international call) and it'd probably be about two weeks before any response would reach me.

I do know that the closure used to be on the other side and then they switched over, I think in response to Chinese custom filtering into the country, or something. oyceter might know more, but I'll check my sources and get back to you tomorrow evening (I have a guest over today).

[telophase.livejournal.com]

It's not urgent, just me wondering about it when I noticed it. :D THanks!

Huh. SO maybe it's not that he's wearing old-fashioned clothing, it's that he's wearing old-fashioned clothing? Hm.

[oyceter]

Nooo... he's not actually wearing really old-fashioned clothing; pre-Goryeo clothing looked a little like a shirt/robe over pants (the robe opens completely like a haori or kimono). I thiiiink that kind of collar is post-left-right-switch, particularly because it's got the white lining sewn on. Aiiiee! Now I wish I had stolen that Korean costuming book from the library ;).

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Curiouser and curiouser! Maybe I should just track down someone literate in Korean and ask the manhwaga! XD

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

And then given it to me. *g*

Was it ILL?

[oyceter]

Hee! Yeah, it was ILL. Do you want me to dig up the title?

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

YES.

[oyceter]

Here you go: Lee Kyung Ja, Hong Na Young, and Chang Sook Hwan - Traditional Korean Costume

Link to my post: http://oyceter.livejournal.com/721845.html

[oyceter]

Yeah, I know in general it's left-over-right in China and Korea and Japan, though I'm not aware of a taboo about the sides save in Japan. I was looking at Korean clothing books, and back in the pre-Goryeo period (um. pre 700 CE?), all the clothes were actually crossed right-over-left (you may be able to Google for images of people painted on cave walls). And then Tang China influences came and the clothing switched to left-over-right. I don't recall reading anything about the switch or if it was in response to Tang influence, though the switch happened right when Korean clothing was changing in response to Tang clothing. Also, neither book I read said anything about clothing taboos, so... no idea! Sorry it's not more helpful =(.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I'm guessing that it's supposed to signify that Mr Yang is a very very ancient whatever-he-is. Or maybe that he's very Korean, without Chinese influence? Hrm. Makes me want to find someone who writes Korean to write a letter to the manhwaga and ask! XD