Charicteristics of Wonsam on An-dong Kim Clan's Tomb Relics in the later Chosun Dynasty

안동김씨모 출토 조선후기 원삼의 특징

Wonsam, a type of korean women's gown in Choseon Dynasty, was used as a small ceremonial costume for queens, crown princesses and princesses and as a grand ceremonial costume for royal concubines and wives of high rank officials. It was also worn as a wedding dress for commoners. In the families of illustrious officials, it was also used as burial accessories or garments for the dead. In this context, Wonsam is a formal dress for the people's most important four ceremonies of coming-of-age, marriage, funeral, and ancestor worship. It is worth emphasizing the costume since it was widely and importantly used by all ranks of women, from royal families to commoners. Through the Wonsam of An-dong Kim Clan's, we can see what the society was like at the end of Choseon Dynasty. First, a status system that strictly divided costumes for each class, was, in many parts, broken down. Second, the highly wrought patterns and texture of fabrics of the Wonsam reveal that it was granted from Court, or, if woven by the Kim family, it is considered to be produced by the Court's craftsman or through technical transfer, considering that the weaving skills used are as good as those in Courts. Third, regarding the precise needlework that is uncomparable to textiles used by other illustrious officials families, the Wonsam is considered to be granted from Court or, produced through the needlework skills that were handed down from needlewomen in Courts. The Wonsam of An-dong Kim Clan's has noble beauty in it, with outstanding weaving skills, fabrics, needlework and shape. Thus, it is no exaggeration to say that it has those qualities to be the standard costume that inherits the tradition of Korean people.