Abstract
This study is about women's veils from Chosen period housed in various museums and see how they reflect the escalating inequality between the two sexes based on Confucianism and its social ramifications including the strict rules that kept women from freely communicating or staying in same quarters with men from tender age. I first visited various museums to see what kind of veils they had in their collections and then looked at reproductions, museum catalogues, and other studies to get a better understanding of the designs, colors, and fabrics of the veils in each collection and came to following conclusions:. 1. I looked at 26 veils of 7 different sues both in person and in museum catalogues, and they included a Neouls,3 Myunsas, l2Jahngots,4 Chuneuis,1 Sahkgat 3Junmos, and 1 Garima. Various documents attest to the existence of one more style of veil,1. e. skirt-shaped veil, but there was no specimen of the type. 2. Museums had various types of veils for women, but most of them dated from late Chosun period. 3. Female veils in Chosun period had dearly-defined characteristics depending on their wearers. Each type had its own fabric color, and form, so one could tell the status of the wearer just by looking at it 4. The veils that I found at museums around the country had following characteristics: . Neoul was worn by high-class women and it covered up the face better than other types of veils. Myunsa was also caned Myunsapo, and it featured brilliant gold foils to mark the salted status of the wearer. Jahngot was originally a robe for both sexes but it turned into a type of veil for low-class females in late am period and there were more Jangots in museum collections than my other type of veils. Chuneui has various styles and it has a cotton lining so low-class women wore it to both cover the face and to stay worn Sahkgat was worn by low-class women for its convenience. Junmo was elaborately decorated and showy, and it was worn by courtesans. Garima was worn by courtesans or professional women in medicine, and unlike other type of veils, it showed the face of the wearer.