Why did everyone in old Korea wear white?

Why Koreans wore white is presented as a long, disputed historical question tied to Confucian, geomantic, and nationalist meanings. The article says white was linked to purity, nobility, honesty, mourning, and later resistance. It also notes that colored dress was once encouraged or mandated, and that white was eventually banned in 1906.

The article says the Gabo Reforms of 1894, under Japanese influence, recommended colored clothing because white clothes needed frequent washing.

It says the wearing of white was completely banned by law in 1906.

It notes that during the Joseon Dynasty, scholars wore white robes and valued white porcelain, white backgrounds in poetry and painting, and the idea of yeobek, or lingering white space.

Published Sep 12, 2026 11:40 am KST

Courtesy of National Folk Museum of Korea

If you have the good fortune to spend time looking over photos and videos of Korea in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, you will notice something quite striking: nearly everyone’s wearing white. There is a uniformity in the appearance of the people, marked by their plain, unadorned white clothing. Contrast this with the bright pinks, blues and greens we see foreigners wearing around the palaces and bursting through our screens in high definition as part of the latest K-drama, and you realize that there’s a disconnect between the past as it was and as it is imagined today.

Consider the following 1920s quote:

“While China and especially Japan are using so many different colors in their dresses, there is no such trend in the neighboring country, Joseon. They wear no color but white. Even when they use a color, it's an almost colorless jade. What makes everyone, regardless of gender or age, wear white? There are many countries and nations in the world, but none are like Joseon.”

But why did Korean people wear white? And why were they known as "Baekui Minjok" (People in white clothing )? Like any history, it’s difficult to explain.

Some argue that the reverence for white in the Mongolian steppes was directly linked to the reverence for white among the Korean people. Certainly, look very far back, when records seem to disappear, Korean people didn’t only wear white. Baekje, Silla, Gaya and Goryeo seem full of color. Women of social rank reportedly wore yellow. Furthermore, numerous edicts from the monarchs banned the practice of wearing white and encouraged blue to be worn.

The writings of the ruling class frequently criticized and controlled white clothing rather than praising it. This was due to the argument that, based on the Confucian theory of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, Koreans in the East should wear blue clothing rather than white. Geomancy and the elements were factors that long influenced the destiny of this nation before capitalism and coffee arrived. The fact that white clothing was indistinguishable from mourning attire also served as a basis for exclusion.

Thus, in the first year of King Chungnyeol of Goryeo, the Bureau of Grand Historians said, “The East occupies the position of Wood among the Five Elements, so the color blue should be revered. White is the color of Metal, but since the people of the country currently wear white, this represents Wood being suppressed by Metal. We petition that the wearing of white clothing be prohibited.” The King apparently heeded this advice.

The records also shout at us thus:

"Our country begins at Mount Baekdu and ends at Mount Jiri; its topography is a land of water roots and wood trunks, with black as the parent and blue as the body. If we conform to the Earth, we will prosper, and if we act against it, we will suffer disaster. Therefore, from now on, let all civil and military officials wear black robes and blue hats; let monks wear black headscarves and large crowns; let women wear black silk; let pine trees be planted on the mountains to flourish; and let all vessels be made of brass, copper, and earthenware, so that we may adapt to the climate and land."

The position of cities, the fortune of kings, the rise and fall of families — all of this was done with tradition, color and geography in mind. In traditional folktales, female ghosts are always depicted wearing white mourning clothes. There are few, if any, female ghosts wearing red or black clothing.

However, Koreans' love for white is not limited to clothing. During the Joseon Dynasty, which adopted Confucianism as its governing philosophy, white was practically the ruling color. Scholars wore white robes, enjoyed poetry, calligraphy and painting on white backgrounds, and cherished simple and modest white porcelain. "Yeobek," or lingering white space, was everywhere. Officials were called "cheongbaekri," a term combining the characters for "cheong" (clean), "baek" (white) and "ri" (official). White rice has also long symbolized abundance and wealth for Koreans. Perhaps that is why the promise to ensure all the people could eat "ibap" (white rice) and meat soup was a theme most frequently mentioned by North Korean leader Kim Il-sung during his lifetime.

Today, we argue about aespa's Karina and other celebrities wearing red and blue during election season. We see the neutrality BTS have adopted recently with their black outfits and abandonment of purple. Cortis and their fans tell us "REDRED." A century or two ago, it was different.

But there was something about white as being the color of the Korean people. During the latter stages of the Joseon Dynasty, as imperial powers and colonial forces began to circle the land, the wearing of white became associated with unity and resistance. Sometimes referred to as "minbok" (the people’s clothes), it was as a symbol of national identity as well as ethnonationalism.

The Gabo Reforms of 1894, implemented under Japanese influence, recommended wearing colored clothing, citing the inconvenience of white clothes requiring frequent washing. The wearing of white was completely banned by law in 1906.

Newly arrived foreign observers looked at the ubiquitous white hanbok of the late Joseon and colonial periods and saw what they wanted to see. To the Japanese imperial authorities and Western observers like R. V. Laguerie in 1898, a nation walking around in desperately maintained white cotton and hemp looked like a people wrapped in perpetual mourning. This analysis was often likely intentional for it fit neatly into an exoticized narrative: a passive, melancholic population frozen in stasis, ripe for modernization and outside control. It was around the same time the notion of "han" was constructed and applied to the people, false consciousness given in order to suppress.

And yet, far from mourning, white traditionally symbolized purity, nobility and honesty. Confucianism championed the suppression of individualistic desires, while Buddhism encouraged emptiness and self-control. It was fabric in harmony with nature.

In 1946, Choe Nam-seon wrote, “Generally, the Korean people in ancient times regarded the sun as God and believed themselves to be His descendants. They regarded white light as sacred to signify the radiance of the sun and wore white clothes with pride, eventually making it a custom of the entire nation.”

It’s really hard to pinpoint why, how and to what extent Korean people wore white. But, when you compare the photos a century apart, you will notice that the pure white has been replaced by an outrageous array of colors. NewJeans and "Perfect Crown" got their depictions of Korean traditional culture right. Few others have. But perhaps all the contradictions are the real beauty of Korean history. It’s only simple when you want it to be.

关于韩国​​人为何穿白色服装，文章指出这是一个由来已久且充满争议的历史问题，与儒家思想、风水观念和民族主义意义密切相关。文章称，白色象征着纯洁、高贵、诚实、哀悼，以及后来的反抗精神。文章还提到，韩国曾鼓励甚至强制穿着彩色服装，而白色最终在1906年被禁止。

文章称，1894 年受日本影响的加布改革提倡穿彩色衣服，因为白色衣服需要经常清洗。

报道称，1906 年法律完全禁止穿白色衣服。

它指出，在朝鲜王朝时期，文人墨客身穿白袍，珍视白瓷器、诗歌和绘画中的白色背景，以及留白的概念。

发布于2026年9月12日上午11:40（韩国标准时间）

图片由韩国国立民俗博物馆提供

如果你有幸花时间浏览19世纪末20世纪初韩国的照片和视频，你会注意到一个非常引人注目的现象：几乎所有人都穿着白色。人们的着装风格统一，以朴素简洁的白色服装为标志。这与我们在宫廷周围看到的外国人穿着的鲜艳粉色、蓝色和绿色形成鲜明对比，也与我们在最新韩剧高清屏幕上看到的这些色彩鲜艳的服装形成鲜明对比，你会意识到，真实的过去与我们今天想象中的过去之间存在着巨大的鸿沟。

请看以下这段 20 世纪 20 年代的引语：

“中国，尤其是日本，在服饰上运用了如此丰富的色彩，而邻国朝鲜却截然不同。他们几乎只穿白色。即便使用其他颜色，也只是近乎无色的玉色。究竟是什么原因让朝鲜人，无论男女老少，都穿着白色呢？世界上有很多国家和民族，但没有一个像朝鲜一样。”

但为什么韩国人穿白色衣服？为什么他们被称为“白衣民族”？就像任何历史一样，这很难解释。

有人认为，蒙古草原上对白色的崇敬与朝鲜半岛人民对白色的崇敬直接相关。当然，追溯到很久以前，在那些似乎已经消失的史料中，朝鲜半岛人民并非只穿白色。百济、新罗、伽倻和高丽时期，服饰色彩丰富多彩。据记载，有社会地位的女性会穿黄色。此外，君主也颁布过许多法令，禁止穿白色，并鼓励穿蓝色。

统治阶级的著述往往对白色服装持批判和管制态度，而非赞扬。这是因为他们认为，根据儒家阴阳五行理论，东方的朝鲜人应该穿蓝色衣服而不是白色。在资本主义和咖啡传入之前，风水和五行一直是影响这个国家命运的重要因素。此外，白色服装与丧服难以区分，这也成为排斥异己的依据。

因此，在高丽忠烈王元年，史记局表示：“东方属木，故应崇敬蓝色。白色属金，但当时国民身着白色，象征着木被金克制。故请下令禁止穿白色衣服。” 国王显然采纳了这一建议。

这些记录也向我们发出这样的呐喊：

“我国起于白头山，止于智异山；地貌为水根木干之地，黑为母，蓝为身。顺应地势，方能兴盛；逆地而行，则必遭灾祸。因此，自即日起，文武官员皆须身着黑袍蓝帽；僧侣须戴黑头巾大冠；妇女须穿黑丝；山上须栽种松树；器皿须以铜、陶、铜制成，以适应气候与地势。”

城市的位置、君王的命运、家族的兴衰——这一切都与传统、色彩和地理息息相关。在传统民间故事中，女鬼总是身着白色丧服。几乎没有女鬼穿着红色或黑色的衣服。

然而，韩国人对白色的喜爱并不仅限于服饰。在以儒家思想为统治哲学的朝鲜王朝时期，白色几乎是主色调。文人墨客身着白袍，喜爱以白为底的诗词、书法和绘画，珍爱朴素的白色瓷器。“留白”（yeobek）随处可见。官员被称为“清白里”（cheongbaekri），这个词由“清”（cheong，意为干净）、“白”（baek，意为白色）和“里”（ri，意为官员）三个字组成。白米饭也长期以来象征着韩国人的富足和富裕。或许正因如此，确保人人都能吃上“饭”（ibap，白米饭和肉汤）的承诺，成为朝鲜领导人金日成生前最常提及的主题之一。

今天，我们讨论的是aespa的Karina和其他一些名人在选举季穿红蓝服装的现象。我们看到BTS最近以黑色服装和放弃紫色来表达中立立场。Cortis和他们的粉丝则喊着“红红红”。一两个世纪前，情况可不一样。

但白色似乎与韩国人民有着某种特殊的联系。在朝鲜王朝后期，随着列强和殖民势力的扩张，白色象征着团结和抵抗。它有时被称为“民服”，既是民族认同的象征，也是民族主义的体现。

1894年受日本影响而实施的加波改革建议穿着彩色服装，理由是白色衣服需要经常清洗，不方便。1906年，法律彻底禁止穿着白色服装。

新来的外国观察家们审视着朝鲜王朝后期和殖民时期随处可见的白色韩服，看到的只是他们想看到的。在1898年，日本皇室当局和像拉格里这样的西方观察家眼中，一个身着精心维护的白色棉麻服饰的民族，仿佛永远沉浸在哀悼之中。这种分析很可能是刻意为之，因为它恰好契合了一种异域化的叙事：一个被动、忧郁、停滞不前的民族，亟待现代化和外来控制。大约在同一时期，“韩”的概念被构建出来，并被强加于民众身上，这种虚假的意识被灌输，旨在压制民众。

然而，白色非但没有象征哀悼，反而历来象征纯洁、高贵和诚实。儒家提倡抑制个人欲望，而佛教则推崇空灵和自制。白色是一种与自然和谐共生的面料。

1946年，崔南善写道：“古代韩国人普遍将太阳视为神，并认为自己是神的后裔。他们认为白光是神圣的，象征着太阳的光辉，并自豪地穿着白色衣服，最终使之成为全民族的习俗。”

很难确切地说出韩国人为什么、如何以及在多大程度上穿白色。但是，如果你对比相隔一个世纪的照片，你会发现纯白已被五彩缤纷的服饰所取代。《新牛仔裤》和《完美皇冠》对韩国传统文化的描绘很准确，其他作品鲜有如此。或许，所有这些矛盾之处正是韩国历史的真正魅力所在。只有你想让它简单，它才会变得简单。