China And South Korea In Traditional Costumes Symbol

Clothes are a means of expressing oneself as well as one of social productions. Colors of clothes can be also valuable resources to understand the spirit of a specific age, in that they are direct expressions of human spirit and emotions. They are key elements intended for expression as well, together with shape, so it is impossible to perfectly understand clothing, excluding colors. Meanwhile, growing global interest in China recently has led to a number of studies on Chinese clothing. This study is designed to understand China and Korea in terms of colors, connecting China recently attracting attention worldwide to colors, and contribute to some extent to analyzing the principles of visual harmony through the examination of traditional red color of Korea and China from a modernized point of view.In this study, we examined symbolism based on general characteristics and analysis of cases and color features of red color as shown in traditional clothes. Due to its vast scope of the analysis of red color as appeared in traditional clothing, we analyzed features and contrast of colors, categorizing red colored clothing of the Chosun dynasty of Korea and the Chung dynasty of China into men's and women's clothes and accessories on the basis of 35 red colors selected as complete enumeration as to recognition of red color, and then examined symbolism of red color.First of all, after analyzing red colors of Korean and China, R3(Munsell signal 7.5) series red colors are most frequently used in both countries. R2 series follow (5) R3(7.5) ones, more often used in Korea than China. From this, it is clear that red tinted with orange color instead of one with purple was used more often in the traditional clothing of Korea and China.Second, in comparison of tones of red color series used in clothing, both of the countries prefer vivid and strong tones. Korean clothing used vivid tone the most, while Chinese counterpart using strong toned red color. Compared to China, Korea often used red colors of clear moderate brightness and high saturation.Third, in terms of contrast of red colors, Korean clothing used a combination of red with purple-tinted dark blue most often, followed by white and yellow. In case of China, coloring of achromatic colors with black is frequently found. Other colors following black color are white dark blue, and yellow. We found that clothing of both countries is based on the principles of Yin-Yang and Five Elements.Symbolism of red color used in clothes is expressed in terms of driving out evil spirits, formality, social status, and blessing. Colors with symbolism of sorcery in both countries are used to prevent diseases, wish for long life, and protect oneself from hardships. More cases are found in Korea frequently regarding symbolism in dresses or accessories, compared to China. Symbolism of formality is expressed by red color in both countries in a special occasion such as wedding or other ceremonies, while red color to show social status is more often used in Korea, as appeared in an example from the red gown of king symbolizing absolute power.Symbolism of red color showing social status played a key role in expressing authority and dignity, being frequently used for clothing for ruler. Symbolism of blessing, which is more meaningful in China rather than Korea, can be found in that Chinese people have worn clothes in red color on a special event, considering it blessed color and calling a'color of blessing'.It is highly significant that this study compared clothes of two countries, Korea and China, on the basis of modern interpretation and application, and it is expected that this study will heavily contribute to advances of the discipline in terms of development of research methods through coloring as well as introduction a new method of research. We pursue to prepare useful and valuable data to understand red color of the two countries.