Clothes Excavated from the Tomb of General Yi Eung-hae

Yi Eung-hae (1547–1627) was a military official who served as army commander of Jeolla Province in 1613, the fifth year of King Gwanghaegun. A large quantity of clothing and other items was excavated in 2002 when his tomb was relocated, and these are now held at the Chungju City Museum. The finds total thirty-four items in all, comprising clothing together with coffin furnishings such as a quilt and a mat. The clothing comprises various forms of seventeenth-century men's dress, including the changui, an everyday robe worn by Joseon scholar-officials, most of it made of silk decorated with phoenix, floral and cloud patterns; despite being men's wear, the garments are so elaborately composed that they are considered refined pieces reflecting the aesthetic taste of Yi Eung-hae himself. The dallyeong, a Joseon official's robe with a round collar, wide sleeves and a length reaching to the feet, is especially notable: its lining is silk spread with an elaborate floral pattern, while its outer layer is made of thin, semi-transparent sukcho, a silk fabric woven from boiled silk thread, making it a very precious piece of evidence. A variety of stitching methods were used in the clothing, including running stitch, whip stitch, basting stitch and backstitch, with the intricate old ssamsol seam particularly notable. This seam was used in early Joseon to join the sleeve curves of fine, single-layered garments such as the cheollik or dallyeong, or to connect the straight and diagonal lines of fabric, and it is known as a highly intricate method requiring great care. Most of the clothing excavated from Yi Eung-hae's tomb consists of outer robes of varied types, including jingnyeong, changui, bangnyeong and dallyeong, making it important material for the study of men's outerwear after the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598). Yi Eung-hae lived through the period immediately before and after the invasions, a time of turbulent change in Korean dress, so these garments are especially valuable for tracing the transformation of costume during that era.

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Where it is

Region

Chungju, Chungbuk

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산