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Baegui 백의 ( 白衣 ) White clothes, widely worn by the people of Korea

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Baegui 백의 ( 白衣 ) White clothes, widely worn by the people of Korea

Baegui 백의 ( 白衣 )White clothes, widely worn by the people of Korea.Baegui (Kor. 백의, Chin. 白衣, lit. white clothes) have been established as the clothing representative of the Korean people despite countless bans and restrictions over the ages, through the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties and the period of Japanese colonial rule. Records show that the custom of venerating white clothes goes back to ancient times: in the ancient state of Buyeo it was believed “the people venerated white clothes” (在國衣尙白); in the ancient state of Byeonjin (300 BCE-300 AD), it was believed that “the people should wear clean and neat clothes” (衣服淨潔); and in the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 BCE – 668 CE) it was believed that “all people should wear clean and white clothes” (其人潔淸).Baegui has three meanings: first it refers to plain-colored (sosaek) clothes; second, it refers to mourning clothes; and third it refers to clothes worn by those without public office. This is due to the different symbolism of white clothes and sobok, which is clothing of a plain color that has not been processed in any way. Baek (白) is commonly used to mean “white” but so (素) refers to the original color of cloth, which is considered more important. This is partly because sosaek is considered to be the color of mourning clothes worn by the chief mourner, or the person who has lost a parent, as well as those who are being punished for a comparable crime. Even under the ideology of Neo-Confucianism, which was the foundation of Joseon society, in 1648 (26th year of the reign of King Injo), white clothes were banned on the grounds that “If one is dressed in white clothes and a white hat it is the same as a mourner dressed in white and is thus an ominous sign.” However, even in 1799 (23rd year of the reign of King Jeongjo), the white dallyeong robe worn by government officials was called baegui, or white clothing, showing that the concept of white clothing was inseparable from mourning clothes.Goryeosa jeolyo (Essentials of Goryeo History) contains a phrase saying, “the baegui are also allowed to take gwageo [state examination] up to ten times…”; Yeollyeosil gisul (Narratives of Yeollyeosil) says, “Baegui takes first place in the state examination, a student or scholar without public office experience, ” which shows that in old documents the term baegui was used to indicate ordinary people. The phrase baegui jonggun (白衣從軍), literally meaning “serving in war wearing white clothes, ” which is frequently seen in old documents, can be also understood in the same vein. Baegui was an object of interest for foreigners who came to Korea in the early 1900s. They called Koreans baengmin (lit. white people) to indicate that all Korean people were wearing white clothes. In the 1920s, they described marketplaces where many people gathered as “a field covered with cotton.”Under the oppression of the Japanese during the colonial period, baegui still lived on in the Korean sentiment. At the state funerals of King Gojong (1919) and King Sunjo (1926), even the commoners wore white clothes and white hats.As to the origin of the reference to “people of white clothes, ” Kiichi Toriyama, a Japanese historian on the colonial period, explained in his paper titled “Joseon Baeguigo” (Research on the People of White Clothes) that after Mongolia’s invasion of Goryeo, the people of Korea began to wear white clothes, bitterly grieving the loss of their country. Art historian Yanagi Muneyoshi also said that the people wear white clothes due to their great sufferings and historical experiences.During their occupation, the Japanese blatantly stopped the people from wearing white clothes. One of the most common examples is found in this account: “Spray red or black water over people wearing white clothes so that they will never wear them again.” The Japanese official organ extensively published reports justifying the ban on white clothes, citing statistics obtained from an experiment conducted by the Japanese Government-General of Korea from the 1930s.However, Koreans were given an excuse to wear white clothes again. When an American B-29 bomber attacked Japan at the end of the Pacific War, Syngman Rhee, the first president of Korea, appeared on the American television and radio network Voice of America and urged the public to wear white because the bomber would recognize those in white as Koreans and refrain from attacking. Towards the end of their colonial rule, the Japanese once again banned Koreans from wearing white clothes on the pretext that white clothes stood out so those wearing them would become an easy target. This was Japan’s final attempt to eliminate the Korean custom of dressing in white clothes.The color white symbolizes the sun, and Koreans had venerated the sun since ancient times, holding sacred the white rays representing light, and thus enjoyed wearing white. Therefore, the long tradition of wearing white garments was rooted in indigenous folk beliefs centered on veneration and worship of heaven and earth and the universe. The practice of wearing white clothes can be found in ancestral rites and rites for heaven during which participants wore white clothes and made offerings of white rice cake, white rice wine, and white rice. In addition, white as “a pure color” carries sacred meaning and was also considered an auspicious color symbolizing purity, virginity, brightness, and morals. This thought has been passed on to modern Koreans, which is evidenced by the practice of dressing a baby in a white upper garment called baenaetjeogori on the third day after birth.Although faced with countless trials, such as bans and oppression and the influx of Western-style clothing, baegui have been regarded as the clothing of the Korean people. Unfortunately, since the 2000s it has become difficult to find in ordinary homes properly made white mourning dress or white clothes or robes, which were once given the highest regard as ritual attire.

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