Although Hansam (a traditional Korean jacket) forms an important subject in the history of fashion and dance, it has drawn little attention in the area of dance study. This study investigates Hansam, an indispensible element of Korea's traditional dan...
Although Hansam (a traditional Korean jacket) forms an important subject in the history of fashion and dance, it has drawn little attention in the area of dance study. This study investigates Hansam, an indispensible element of Korea's traditional dance costume, through researches on literatures, relics, and customs related to Hansam. It attempts to define Hansam both as a component of fashion and as a constituent of dance.
Then, it aims to explore the meaning of Hansam by examining the colors of Hansam that appear in Hansam dance performed as a part of Gungjung Jeongjae (the court dances) during the ancient periods, and to find the role of Hansam in the Hansam dance.
The preliminary questions and goals of this study are as follows.
1. What is Hansam?
2. How is Hansam defined differently in fashion and in dance?
3. What colors are components of Hansam color? And What kinds of Hansam dance take part in Gungjung Jeongjae?
4. It is required to classify Hansam colors into different categories, so that the meaning of each color can be discussed.
5. It is also needed to find the meaning of Hansam and its role and function in Hansam dance.
This study has drawn following conclusions.
First, Hansam, Jeoksam, and Sama commonly had a single layer and were regarded to have a same meaning. The term Hansam indicated the jacket worn by the social classes higher than those who wore Jeoksam. As a form of clothing, Hansam was used to mean Sokjeoksam which is equivalent to an underwear in our times; but, to that effect, the term was only used in the court. This fact enables us to know that commoners wore Hansam either to protect themselves from coldness or to cover the hands, whereas it was rather an element of style to the court people. Baeksam, another wording of Hansam, had its particular use: expression of social status. Showy accessaries and colors of Baeksam also made influence on the formation of traditional wedding dress as we presently know of. Consequently, the Hansam which has excessively long sleeves refers to both Sokjeoksam, the underwear, and the present-day Hansam that during the ancient times the court people wore on the sleeves.
Second, when beginning to be used in the court, Hansam naturally took on its particular form, so that Hansam departed from its original form as a jacket and transformed into a clothing to be attached to the sleeves. Korean traditional dance, which relies more on the upper body than on the lower body, has had to develop the choreography that requires a wide range of hand movements. In Hansam dance, the colors of Hansam fixed to the hands bore particular meanings to be conveyed to the king.
Third, the literature review has enabled us to classify several relationships between the colors of Hansam and the Hansam dance as an element of the Jeongjae (court dance) repertoire.
Therefore, the Hansam dance can be divided into the pure Baek-hansam(which was used for such dances as Mugo, Bakjeopmu, Suyeonjang, Youngjimu, Cheoyongmu, Heonseondo), the ghost-repelling Hong-hansam(for such dances as Chunaenjeon and Hyangjeonmu), the mystique-inspiring Ok-hansam(for such dances as Gainjeonmokdan and Yeonhwadaemu), the peaceful-mind Nok-hansam(for such dances as Musanhyang and Suborok), and lastly the peaceful-reign Oksaek-hansam(for such dances as Mudeokgok, Bosangmu, Gyungpungdomu, Geumcheokmu•Monggeumcheok,Saseonmu,Abakmu•Dongdong,Mansumu, Muaemu, and Seonyurak). Although the length of a Hansam may vary, it has no significance whether it is long or short. However, the patterns inscribed on Hansam represented the signs of the times.
Fourth, our nation is called the white-clad folk. Even for the party given to a hundred-day-old baby, the baby is clad with a white garment which not only symbolizes the new life's sanctity but also bears the parents's religious wish for the child's longevity and health. As such, a long and white cloth represents Koreans' national characteristics, and the act of dancing scattering the pieces of white Hansam can be said to visualize Koreans' unique national sentiment, constituting a part of distinctive Korean national culture. As mentioned earlier, the majority of traditional Korean dances (Jeongjae) utilized the upper body instead of the lower body. The most noticeable parts of the upper body are the arms and the hands. It was only natural that the dancing which maximizes the movements of the arms and the hands has developed.
Therefore, Hansam which secures a wide range of fluttering movements makes the beauty of movement lines and the delicacy of curved lines still more distinctive. Moreover, since Hansam had a direct relation to ancient Koreans' clothing, it served to establish the dynasty's legitimacy, establishing itself as an important property or an essential element of costume in the court dance (Jeongjae) which upheld an elegant and refined dancing style. Having originated from the court, Hansam gradually transformed into an ordinary dress and a dancing dress worn by the common people. On the other hand, Sokjeoksam, the underwear used by the commoners, made inroads into the court and became a part of the official costume for the court dance (Gungjung Jeongjae). Once settled, the costume developed into the form which is attached to the arms. A special meaning is to be found in such reciprocal influences in the development of Hansam.
Lastly, considering that Hansam served such diverse purposes as an expression of the wearer's social status, a sign of the times, and a message for the king, we are to restore the shapes and colors of Hansam as accurately as possible, instead of using only Osaek-Hansam (five-color Hansam) without much consideration in reenacting the court dance. In addition, since it is also possible for us to make creative dance by using the meanings, colors, and materials of Hansam, it is required to establish the meaning of Hansam as a component of dance rather tha