• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.66 no.5
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• pp.66-81
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• 2016

This study is designed to understand the problems of existing Korean male soldiers' winter uniform tops by researching its current state, and contribute to developing uniforms with improved size and motion appropriateness. Military bases were visited to research satisfaction of size and motion appropriateness of the current winter uniform tops. 193 soldiers were surveyed and interviewed, and the shape and fit of the standard sizes of the inner and outer layers of the current winter uniform were analyzed. Findings of this study are as follows. 1) Compared to the new combat uniforms that soldiers were wearing in their appropriate size (of the 44 sizes), there were many cases where the soldiers were not wearing winter uniform inner (of the 8 sizes) or outer (of the 18 sizes) layers in the correct size for their body. 2) A total of 37 combat uniform sizes appropriate for the body shapes were expected to be newly applied, and inside and outside layers of winter tops would be presented as sets of 14 different sizes in step with the new combat uniform sizes, instead of the existing 8 inside layer sizes and 18 outside layer sizes. 3) The inner and outer layer of the existing winter uniform tops had several problems with the shape and fit. First, the inner layer was shorter than the combat uniform. Its shoulder width was wide, but the sleeve length was short creating lack of coverage, and the angle connecting the sleeve and bodice was very small creating a high sleeve cap curve and narrow sleeve width that make motions difficult and cause discomfort. As for the outer layer, the hem moved up when soldiers bent over or adjusted the waist string so the top could not sufficiently cover, the shoulder width was wide and the sleeve length was short, requiring improvements.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.776-788
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• 2019

This study developed an ergonomic Korean female military winter jacket and (inner and outer) pattern in in order to increase dimension and operational suitability for military missions. First we developed the 1st development pattern and sample jackets with improved dimensions and operational suitability based on a previous investigation of fitness and motion suitability of Korean female military winter jackets (inner and outer) and motion suitability by a wearing test. The evaluation result of fitness for the 1st development pattern were over 4.0 (5.0 Likert scale) for both the inner and outer jacket, a positive result and the result of motion suitability were over 3.5 in both the inner and outer jacket except for the neck front part by collar height. However, we did not modify the collar height because decreases in warmth and military regulations. We also evaluated appearance by experts that showed good results in both the inner and outer jacket. Finally, we developed a final pattern based on evaluation results and military regulations. Existing military uniform research was conducted mainly on male soldiers. Beginning with this study, we expect to expand research on the development of military uniform patterns suitable for a female soldier body type.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.910-926
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• 2022

Suitability for the human body, freedom to move and thermal insulation are important design considerations in military clothing. This study investigates the performance and wearer-satisfaction of the functional inner winter uniform currently used in Korea; it is hoped that our data can inform the development of a future version. Interviews were conducted, in which the participants suggested various improvements. The uniforms were mainly worn for guard duty or as daily attire in cold weather. The participants chose how many layers to wear according to the current situation, rather than sticking to the layering recommended in the manual. Layering choices did not significantly affect combat efficiency but were found to affect wearers' comfort. Wearers' satisfaction was found to depend on the convenience of the clothing, whether it was in the appropriate size, freedom to move and thermal insulation. Also, this study suggests a problem with the current size system, as the analysis of size distribution, across all sizes, the range of current production is insufficient to cover the demand.