All men, especially during the Joseon Dynasty, also earlier, wore hats because they proved their social class and reflected Confucian values. The hat was a sign of dignity. Also, with hats, people could distinguish whether a person was a high-ranking scholar or a commoner working in the fields. Men wore different hats than women, and singles wore different hats than married people. The same applies to what work each person did. Each hat also represented the occupation of the other since one could tell the type of work by just looking at the hat the other was wearing.
I watch historical K-dramas and wondered about the meaning behind each hat I saw. Each time I saw a different one, wondering how many hats existed. So, I decided to do some internet research and dig deeper into each one, starting with a tribute to men's hats first.
Royal Family:
The Myeonryugwan was the crown that kings and princes used to wear at ceremonies, coronations, and weddings. The number of strings determined the rank of the king or prince. The more strings at his crown, the more power he had.
The Ikseongwan was the crown that kings and crown princes used to wear during the Joseon period. The feathers at the back indicated the position held by the king or prince, who wore the long hat.
Gongjeongchaek was a hat worn by the first-born prince, the crown prince and heir to the throne. He used to wear this hat because he was not yet old enough for the official coronation.
Hogeon was a headgear with tiger patterns stitched on it. It used to be worn by the young boys of the royal family.
Sangtugwan was a small crown used to hold the bun on top of the head. They were made of gold, and worn by kings, princes, and nobles.
Gwanja was a pair of buttons tied to the manggeon, one on the left and the other on the right. They served to hold the hats in place and the same time revealed the class of the person who wore them.
Nobles:
Sangtu was the hairstyle that most if not all, men used to wear during the Joseon period. This hairstyle was a bun on the top of the head and a crown of other material than gold to hold it and was common among princes, nobles, and scholars.
Manggeon was used to hold the headdress. Along with the manggeon, it was a natural consequence of tying their hair in a bun on the top of the head. It was a hairstyle that was considered a sign of masculinity since they used to do it when they got married or were of marriageable age, which was usually young.
Jeongjagwan was a hat that nobles used to wear indoors. It was made of horse hair and had many peaks.
Gatkkeun was a string of beads, sometimes alternating in two colors and sometimes in more. There were also gatkkeun that had different sizes and shapes of beads. Nobles used to wear it along with their gat.
The Gat was an ordinary hat, which we are used to seeing in all historical K-dramas, but this hat was used to be worn outdoors by the nobles. It was made of horse hair, while the frame was made of bamboo and was partially transparent.
Heukrip was the black hat with a brim, also often seen in K-dramas. It was cylindrical in shape and made of horse hair, while the rim was made of various materials such as bamboo.
Commoners:
Minsangtu is a bun made by men of the lower social class. They tied their hair in a bun on top of the head, but there was no crown and manggeon.
Satgat is the familiar conical hat we have seen countless times in Asian dramas and movies. Commoners and farmers wore it to protect themselves from the sun and rain while working outdoors. The main material used to make this hat was straw.
Paerangi was a hat that used to be worn by commoners and farmers. It was made of bamboo or straw.
Military Officials:
Jeollip is a hat worn by military officers. It had a round top and peacock feathers as a decorative element. Around the hat was a woven rope.
Samo was a hat worn by officials and members of the royal family. Some have a pair of feather-like flaps on the back of the hat, which identified the wearer's rank. In fact, the one who wore the samo had two wings if he had been married once, and they removed the one if he had married twice.
Okrorip was a hat worn by military officials when they were on missions and traveling to foreign nations as representatives.
The Jurip was a red hat in which one ear rose on one side and another on the other. Ιt was worn mainly by the royal guards and was part of the royal army.
The Jeonrip was a hat with a hemispherical top worn by military officials. Each hat had different decorative patterns, according to the rank of the person who wore it.
Scholars - Educated:
Yugeon was a hat worn by scholars during the Joseon Dynasty. It was usually made of silk and is easily recognizable from historical K-dramas, where there is always a scholar.
Aisahwa was a hat with branched flowers given to the top students who took part and excelled in exams to work for the king.
Baekrip was a white hat worn by men of higher social education during mourning. There is a wide variety of these hats depending on the class of the person who wore them.
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