• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.6-21
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• 2022

This paper examines the material culture of the Goryeo-Joseon Period through changes in the design and crafting of the earpick. In Chapter 2, terminology regarding earpicks is presented, and the culture of using earpicks is examined through fragmentary literature of the late Joseon Dynasty. Earpicks were first a personal hygiene tool, and, secondly, they played a symbolic role as a style accessory used by men, analogous to the fan carried by women of the time. In Chapter 3, earpick form are classified by period, and characteristic decorative techniques for each form are examined. During the Goryeo Dynasty, earpicks were sanitary tools, and, according to their form, they were classified into single and complex types. From Unified Silla to Goryeo, there is an angled type of connecting rod, and in the Goryeo period, there appeared earpicks with colorful decorations on the handle, completely forged earpicks with a thin and long shape, and earpicks which were part of multitools. Common decorative techniques include line expression, gold plating, cheophomun on the background, and inlay. Earpicks of the Joseon Dynasty are classified into sanitary tools or ornaments, according to their purpose of use. Sanitary tools are divided into single type and complex type, and earpicks used as ornaments include headdress, norigae, and sunchu. For earpick accessories, headdresses and norigae were used for women, and sunchu was used for men. The decorative techniques of earpicks during the Joseon Dynasty were mainly seen in the headdress earpicks. They were decorated with various colors in the Cloisonné method or bejeweled. Research on everyday tools among crafts is lacking; greater attempts to read the flow of time and approaches to material culture through everyday tools should be made.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.52-77
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• 2016

A spirit tablet of king Guan Yu is enshrined in Donggwanwangmyo shrine[East Shrine of King Guan Yu], which houses 51 hanging boards. The hanging boards were written by the kings of Joseon Dynasty and envoys and generals of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Most studies on hanging boards have been focused on the collections of the palaces but not on those in Donggwanwangmyo shrine. In this regard, this study researches the hanging boards of the kings' writings in the late Joseon period and analyzes their forms and contents. In terms of contents, it examines who made the boards, when they made them, and what brought them to make them, etc. This study analyzes the forms of hanging boards by types, used materials, and periodic transition of forms. The findings are as follows. First, Donggwanwangmyo shrine houses 7 pieces of hanging boards inscribed with kings' handwriting: one piece of King Sukjong, 4 pieces of King Yeongjo, and 2 pieces of Emperor Gojong. They are divided into two types: one is the name of the buildings and the other is the poems that the kings wrote regarding what they felt when they visited the shrine. Especially, the latter were written by the kings who visited the shrine in spring and autumn. The kings intended to promote peace of royal family through a sense of royalty and fidelity of King Guan Yu. Second, the hanging boards of the kings are differentiated from those of the envoys and generals of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in materials and forms. The background of the board is colored by blue, deep red lacquer color, and black lacquer color, which are more expensive than black color or white color. The hanging boards are embossed with the kings' handwritings and then colored with gold. The frame-style four-side hanging board is held at a 45-degree angle and painted with floral patterns and seven-treasure patterns in Dancheong technique. The left and right sides and the top and bottom sides of the board are decorated with Dang-cho pattern(Korean arabesque pattern). This style is called "quadrilateral"and considered the most classy and top-class among the other three ones. In conclusion, this study confirms the status of Donggwanwangmyo shrine with hanging boards inscribed with kings' handwritings as a political space where kings had interest and demanded their soldiers' royalty and fidelity. Research into the boards inscribed with the handwritings of envoys of the Ming Dynasty and generals of the Qing Dynasty, and the comparison of the styles and periodic transition of forms will be reserved for another study.