Top Jacket

This is a women’s jacket indigenous to Korea, which has been documented as yu, wihae, jeogori, gyeonmageum, or gyeonmagi. In the Joseon Dynasty, jeogori became shorter and closed with a breast tie instead of a belt. It consists of front and back panels, sleeves, a collar, a thin collar strip, and a breast tie. Jeogori features a straight collar, a left front panel overlapping the right front panel, and narrow sleeves. Some women’s jackets had different-colored patches under the arms and at the cuffs. According to the fabric and the sewing method used, the jacket was classified into an unlined jacket, a lined jacket, a cotton-padded jacket, and a quilted jacket. Collar shapes included a mokpan (wide and rectangular) collar, a flight feather-shaped collar, and a pointed collar resembling the toes of traditional Korean socks. Depending on whether different-colored patches were put over a collar, cuffs, and armpits, there were also samhoejang jeogori, banhoejang jeogori, and a solid-colored jeogori. Samhoejang jeogori referred to a jacket whose collar, cuffs, and armpits were patched with fabric in a different color from the body. The length of the jacket differed according to the era, and the length and width of the breast tie were adjusted accordingly.