Beoseon

An item made of cloth to keep the feet warm and shape them.

It is also called jokui, and in Chinese, it is called ‘horse’. It is not certain when the beoseon existed, but it is presumed that the ancient beoseon was in the form of a pair of trousers. During the Three Kingdoms period, high-quality textiles such as neung, na, and ju were also used, but there were restrictions according to status.

At that time, there was a separate beoseonmok for the female beoseons that appear in the records, so it is believed that they were made and attached separately. During the Goryeo Dynasty, white captive beoseons were made without class discrimination. However, red socks were worn on the king’s robes, and blue socks on the queen’s hostility.

Even in the Joseon Dynasty, except in special cases, white cloth socks were worn regardless of rank. There are detailed names for each part of the beoseon. It is not clear when these names were used separately, but they are currently called as follows.

① Sunuk: The part that comes to the instep. ② Nose: It is the protruding part in the front. ③ Hook: This is the part that extends from the entrance of the heel to the front neck horizontally. ④ Beak: The part that is open for the feet to enter. ⑤ Neck: The part from the neck to the beak. ⑥ Ball: Refers to the front width of the foot.

Also, depending on the sewing method, it is divided into Sombeoseon, Double Beoseon, Single Beoseon, Quilted Beoseon, and Tarae Beoseon.

+ref  Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture