Memories: Sokbaji (Inner Trousers for the Hanbok)
These inner trousers that were worn under the hanbok (traditional Korean dress), called sokbaji, were carefully kept by Myeong-ryeon Jeong (79 years old in 2005). They have not discolored over the years, and the texture of the hemp has remained intact. Myong-ryeon Jeong received the sokbaji along with a jeogori (the basic upper garment of hanbok) made of mumyeongbe as a trousseau from her mother when Myong-ryeon Jeong came to Japan in the 1940s.
Considered a form of preparation before marriage, weaving techniques and knowledge were taught to daughters for generations, from grandmother to mother to grandchild. Jeong is an example of a woman who learned weaving from her mother when she was young. However, she says she was unable to reach her mother’s skill level. This handmade sokbaji was thus for her the “perfect cloth.”
After liberation, Jeong was unable to fulfill her dream of returning home and seeing her mother again. This sokbaji is tied inextricably to the memory of her beloved mother.
