Here is a list of sources that I’ve found helpful while doing research on Korea in the SCA. I’ve included some notes on each one. Books are in English unless otherwise noted.
The Korean Craft and Design Foundation is putting out a series of books, each one dedicated to a specific traditional Korean craft. These have been extremely valuable while researching since they’re published in English and include sources and the masters of the crafts. I’ll list the ISBNs of the ones I have here since they can be hard to find. The bold ones are books that I have found to be the most useful so far:
02 – Traditional Korean Dyeing – ISBN 978-89-97252-16-9
05 – Hanji: Korean Handmade Paper – ISBN 978-89-97252-27-5
07 – Nubi: Korean Traditional Quilt – ISBN 978-89-97252-36-7
08 – Onggi: Korean Traditional Earthenware – ISBN 978-89-97252-56-5
09 – Chimseon: Korean Traditional Sewing – ISBN 978-97252-58-9
10 – Maedeup: Korean Traditional Decorative Knotting – ISBN 978-89-97252-69-5
11 – Ipsa: Korean Traditional Silver or Gold Inlaying – ISBN 978-89-97252-70-1
12 – Cheongja: Korean Traditional Celadon – ISBN 978-89-97252-91-6
13 – Ottchil: Korean Traditional Lacquer – ISBN 978-89-97252-92-3
Accessories
The Spirit of Korean Cultural Roots 2: NORIGAE – Splendor of the Korean Costume – Images and history of Norigae – decorative knots and tassels that ladies wear from their waist. It labels the names of the knots and has lovely sketches of the components. There aren’t dates on the pieces, so I assume it’s late Joseon.
Knot Another: A step-by-step guide to 50 Korean Maedeup knots and projects – A step by step DIY book on how to do 매듭 – maedeup – decorative knots found in norigae, pouches, and other decorative items.
Art
Art of the Korean Renaissance, 1440-1600 – Mostly paintings and pottery, but has some paintings of palace scenes with people so you can use it to find clothing references.
Clothing
Traditional Korean Costume – Lots of very detailed drawings and images of pieces from the Joseon dynasty with construction notes and history. It’s just outside of our period, but it’s a fabulous resource. It’s hard to find at a decent price since it’s published in the UK, but this site has it for a great price!
Korean Costume Through the Ages – This book is great because it covers clothing from the Three Kingdoms period all the way through Joseon and includes tomb paintings and dress recreations from them.
Hanbok: Timeless Fashion Tradition – This book is a good overview of the hanbok in the different time periods. It’s not super in depth, but it has some nice photos.
A Chinese Traveler in Medieval Korea – A translation of Illustrated Account of the Xuanhe Embassy to Koryo by Xu Jing, a Chinese envoy’s account of his visit to Koryo in 1123. It has lots of notes on various topics, including clothing, furniture and pottery, the people and social ranks, flags, military, and customs. This version is annotated and has lots of notes. Definitely a great book to flip through to see a slice of Korean history.
한국 전통복식 2천년 Two Thousand Years of Traditional Korean Costumes – A Collection of items from the Daegu National Museum and Daegu National Museum Society that includes recreations of outfits from the Three Kingdoms period and pieces from Joseon. The book is in both Korean and English and listed time periods and which museums the pieces are located. It can be hard to find. The link I’ve included is to a Korean website.
복식 (Traditional Clothes) – A small book with lots of colored photos and dates on items from the Three Kingdoms through Joseon. Includes clothing, accessories, and murals. Korean only and can be hard to find.
Culture
Korea’s Pastimes and Customs A Social History – This book has lots of tidbits of information in it from Clan names and how they came about, to traditional games that were played and social ranking and customs. I’ve found information about the banning of 가체 – gache – braided hair pieces and some other luxury bans in there. It’s also got some history of 윳 – yut – game with stick die and gameboard.
Websites
Medieval-Baltic – This is a site of another person who has done tons of wonderful research on Korea in the SCA and has laid out pieces for a 기생- gisaeng outfit. She has great sources and links to museum pieces.