[실꾸리 사패전]Korea's boudoir culture revealed

08.11.21

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Here is a chance to peek into the dressing rooms of Korean the traditional customs of the Joseon dynasty in particular.

"The Exhibition of Korean Traditional Spool" is running at the Museum of Korean Embroidery in Nonhyun-dong, southern Seoul. A total of 150 spools are displayed.

"The spools, needles and threads reflect women's lives of their time," said Huh Dong-hwa, one of the founding members and the current director of the museum in an interview with The Korea Herald.

"This is the first time an exhibition highlighted one of the specific boudoir cultures. It will be a chance to sympathize with the women of the past."

Korean traditional spools [The Museum of Korean Embroidery]

Established in 1969, The Museum of Korean Embroidery is practically the only institute in Korea that displays the cultural assets of Korean women's boudoir, such as "pojagi," or Korean traditional wrapping clothes, needles, spools and embroidery. It holds more than 3,000 cultural assets, including a couple of treasures. The spools showcased at the exhibition vary in material. Those made with ivory or cow bones were only used inside the palace by the royal family and aristocrats. Commoners used ones made of straw, embroidered cloth or wood.

Look carefully at the spools and viewers can discover engraved letters. People carved little passages hoping for happiness in the family or a baby boy.

"It is amazing how the people of the past managed to do art even on these small things," said Lee Hye-kyu, the curator of the museum.

The founders of the museum busily ran back and forth from antique art markets to collect these items since the 1960s.

"These are very precious items, but Koreans didn't seem to realize that," said Huh. "So we decided to collect them, and preserve them before they all get lost."

Thanks to their efforts, the world now focuses on Korean boudoir culture. The museum has held about 50 exhibitions in many countries, such as the United States, France and Japan.

"About 80 percent of the visitors are foreigners, since the museum is more famous overseas than in Korea," says Lee. "This museum is a must-stop spot for tourists. Including those held overseas, more than 7 million people have come to our exhibitions."

It will also be a relieving experience for Koreans to find out that some of the long forgotten traditional culture still remains, although tucked away in a museum.

The exhibition runs through March 5, 2009. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.bojagii.com