Needlework Master, One Stitch Makes Difference
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
In the old days, needlework was thought of as an integral part of Korean women's daily life.
Before the introduction of ready-made Western garments, Korean women were supposed to make all of the family's clothing.
For that reason, sewing traditions have strong ties within the family structure.
Here is a case of deft-fingered skills in needlework being handed down from a mother-in-law to a daughter-in-law.
Koo Hye-ja, a needlework master, or ``chimseonjang'' was designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 89 in needlework on July 9 by the Cultural Heritage Administration.
``Chimseon'' literarily means needlework in general, but it usually indicates making clothes using needle and thread.
``I mostly make traditional clothes, matching beautiful colors with designs,'' Koo said in an interview with The Korea Times.
Koo has inherited traditional sewing techniques from her late mother-in-law, Jung Jeong-wan, who became the first master in needlework in 1988.
Jung, who was the forerunner in preserving Korean traditional needlecraft, died of natural causes in April.
``My mother-in-law used to make hanbok on special occasions for our family members, which were really wonderful. Her craftsmanship quickly spread to other people, by word of mouth,'' she said.
Koo said that she spontaneously learned needlework from her mother-in-law.
As Jung had sewing techniques that were closely associated with ``yangban,'' or the aristocrat class during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), Koo also specializes in recreating the styles and patterns, which were used during that period, those especially worn by the noble class (yangban).
``Both now and in the past, fashion has been led by the upper classes and rich people. So it is worth researching and preserving the costumes worn by the Joseon's noble class,'' she said.
She said that the late master restored luxurious costumes worn by the high class during the Joseon Kingdom.
``But I'd like to focus on making more comfortable and convenient dresses, rather than formal clothing,'' she said.
Chimseon covers the overall process of making clothes, one of the oldest household chores.
Throughout Korean history, sewing techniques can be seen in the needle-like metal items found among artifacts from the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935).
Evidence from Goguryeo tomb murals and references to chimseon in ``Samguksagi,'' a history book written in the Goryeo period and dealing with the Three Kingdoms period, also shows that needlework reached a high level of sophistication around this time.
The craft and tradition of needlework, later transmitted through Goryeo and Joseon, has survived well into the present day.
Koo excels in highly refined stitching and a distinctive sense of comfort and elegance.
Her masterful ability enables Koo to create lavish elegance, through the use of only differently colored fabric, for jeogori (jacket), skirt, and pants, as well as daenim (ankle bands).
As Jung's first daughter-in-law and at the same time as her heir apparent, Koo, who has long been Jung's apprentice, has retained Korea's traditional sewing craft.
She has been loyal to Korean traditional sewing methods that do not reveal stitches unlike Western-style sewing that exposes stitches for decorative reasons.
Asked about the current trend of excessively modernized and modified traditional costumes, she agrees that Korean traditional costumes should be more popularized but she disagrees with this trend.
She said that modifying traditional dress deviates from tradition without the genuine originality of the hanbok.
``We should tell the difference between gaudiness and brilliance. The recent modified hanbok is just showy and flashy. They are far from the beauty of brilliance based on elegance and grace,'' she said.
Many modern designers transform its basic patterns and formats to make it look gorgeous through blending it with Western style costumes.
``Unlike Western dresses which are tailored to the individual, the basic patterns of hanbok-making are almost the same,'' she said.
``When we break the patterns, traditional costumes lose their colors. I believe that Korean traditional garments can shine only when they are made based on traditional skills following basic formats,'' Koo said.
For the needlework, the most typical tools and supplies are fabric, needles, thread, spools, thimbles, scissors, yardsticks and irons. Silk, cotton, ramie and hemp are among the most-used textiles.
The choice of thread varies depending on the fiber content, color and thickness of the fabric; cotton thread is most often chosen.
Among the essential techniques are the hem stitching, basting, and back, top, overcast, catch and blind stitching, each of which is intended for specific purposes.
Koo said that sewing techniques also vary according to the season as a garment is intended to be worn for the season.
Summer clothes are usually unlined, and have thinner and narrower seams, unlike spring or fall clothes.
In winter, they were often stuffed with cotton for extra warmth.
Recently, the life of sewing is on the verge of extinction due to the emergence of sewing machines and development of other textile gadgets.
In the past, Jung's generation created cloth on a rule-of-thumb basis because there was no system or guidelines, which were just handed down from person to person.
But Koo is struggling to set up a system on how to teach and design closely in tune with Korean tradition. She wants to help ordinary people easily follow and learn her skills.
Koo has dedicated her efforts to educating students at universities and cultural institutes, along with busily preparing her own exhibitions.
She now teaches about 60 students a year in an effort to train next generation needleworkers.
It takes up to two months to complete a hanbok. She said that she spends many hours teaching students.
Despite her devotion and contribution to the traditional needlework, Koo humbled herself by saying that she doesn't think she is the best needlework master in the nation.
``I think I am different from others in that I take the responsibility to nurture more trainees and apprentices who can develop traditional skills,'' she said.
Nowadays, sewing machines are replacing hand stitching and thus many people might think hand stitches are unnecessary in this modern era with the development of high tech gadgets, she said.
But she said the machine cannot totally replace her art as a whole.
``Only using the machine cannot make them. Hand stitches are essential to hanbok-making, which requires various steps such as basting and blind stitches.''
``If nobody cares to preserve our traditional sewing techniques, the tradition will disappear. Craftsmen like me should continuously develop and restore the old styles of our dresses to preserve it,'' she said.