A Royal Korean Procession in the 1890s (reblog)

Yesterday I started going through my subscriptions here at WordPress, trying to catch up on blogs I may have missed in the past few months, and came across this fascinating share from my friend the Textile Ranger over at Deep in the Heart of Textiles.

This article is a little longer read, but get a cup of coffee or juice and enjoy the beauty of the clothing and drama of ceremony of Kurdong from Isabella Bird, an Englishwoman who traveled the world in the late 1800s and was in Korea at various times in 1894 through 1897.

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When I started watching K-dramas, I was so intrigued by the costumes; I wanted to know what resources the costume designers had available to them.  I have enjoyed dipping into Korean books and websites, but I was very happy to find this resource in English, Korea and her Neighbors, by Isabella Bird, published in 1905.

The occasion was a visit of the King in state to sacrifice in one of the ancestral temples of his dynasty, members of which have occupied the Korean throne for five centuries. Living secluded in his palace, guarded by 1000 men, his subjects forbidden to pronounce his name, which indeed is seldom known, in total ignorance of any other aspect of his kingdom and capital than that furnished by the two streets through which he passes to offer sacrifice, the days on which he performs this pious act offer to his subjects their sole opportunities of gazing on his august countenance…………

A Royal Korean Procession in the 1890s

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