Koreans in the early 1900s were known as “the white-clad people.” Nearly everyone wore white. Men dressed in loose white trousers and short jackets. Women wore full, flowing skirts called chima with short, curved jackets called jeogori. Aristocrats set themselves apart with a gat — a wide-brimmed hat woven from black horsehair and bamboo — worn to protect the topknot hairstyle that marked a man as married and an adult. Unmarried boys, at any age, kept their hair in a single long braid down their backs.
Keeping all that white clothing clean and pressed was a major part of daily life. The process of ironing was called dadumi. Women worked in pairs late into the night, beating washed fabric against a smooth stone block with wooden sticks. The rhythmic tapping echoed through neighborhoods for hours. This method removed wrinkles and gave the cloth a bright, glossy finish.
While women handled the fabric work, older men often smoked tobacco from long bamboo pipes. The pipe’s length was a direct signal of status. The longest pipes were so unwieldy that a servant had to walk to the far end just to light the bowl.
Homes were built around a clever heating system called ondol. Heat from the kitchen fire traveled through stone tunnels beneath the floorboards and exited through a chimney on the far side of the house. The stone floors stayed warm through the freezing winters, so families slept directly on the ground without raised beds. Commoners lived in small cottages with roofs made from thatched rice straw, replaced every autumn. The wealthier yangban class lived in larger compounds with dark, curved roof tiles that announced their rank.
Rural markets ran on a five-day rotation, drawing peddlers from across the region. Travelers sold dried fish, salt, and brassware between villages. Coins existed, but bartering remained a common way to exchange goods.
In the fields, the ox was the most valuable thing a farmer owned. These animals were fed hot meals of boiled beans and hay during winter to keep them strong for the plowing season ahead.
