Rok

Vrouwenrok, ch'ima, van zeer fijne zijde. De rok is opgebouwd uit acht banen zijde die geplooid aan het witte bovenstuk bevestigd zijn. Dergelijke rokken worden met banden van het bovenstuk over de schouders vastgemaakt. De kleur van deze rok, blauw, geeft aan dat hij waarschijnlijk door een getrouwde vrouw van middelbare leeftijd werd gedragen. This is a skirt made of silk, probably used by an old woman. Eight parts of silk fabric were attached together. It is tied above the breasts with long sashes. The length of sash of this ch'ima is 97cm. In the Chosŏn period, shapes and colours of skirts differ according to the social class. The general populace and servants wore rather short and narrow skirts and kisaeng, women artist-entertainers, used a belt. From her wedding ceremony to her first birth, a woman wore a deep-red skirt. Middle-aged woman wore a blue skirt, older women wore a light-blue or grey skirt, and widows wore a white skirt up to their deaths. On the upper part a white cotton band is attached, and two strings are attached on either side of this band. Silk for this skirt was dyed with indigo plants. Making indigo dye begins with cutting the plants in the early morning before the summer sun dries up the dew. The plants are stored in a jar and turned over exactly 24 hours later. Oyster shells are burned on a pile of wood, covered by straw mars, and then pulverized, sieved and added to the water containing indigo. As the oyster powder is stirred into the jar, the indigo juice changes from yellow to jade green to green to blue, and froth rises like a cloud. At the end of the oxidation reduction process, the indigo settles to the bottom of the jar and jells. The jelly is saved and diluted in water in another jar with wood ash being added The jar is kept in a room while the solution seasons into dye. It needs delicate skill to balance of ingredients and conditions involved in the oxidation reduction process. The dyeing process was usually repeated eight times but sometimes the material was dipped into dyes ten times for a deeper blue colour.