Garot

Infobox Korean name

---

caption=
hangul=갈옷 / 갈중이
hanja="none"
rr=garot / galjungi
mr=karot /kalchungi

"Garot" or "galjungi" is a variety of hanbok, Korean traditional clothing, which has been worn by locals of Jeju Island in Korea as a working clothes and everyday dress. [ [http://www.jejuuritour.co.kr/tour/tour_03_view01.html 제주우리투어 ] ] Although there is no historical record on its origin, it is known that Jeju farmers and fishermen have worn it for a long time. According to a research on Jeju traditional tools, about 700 years ago Jeju people used fishing lines which were dyed by unripe persimmons. [cite web|url=http://english.jeju.go.kr/contents/index.php?mid=030201&pno=0301 |Publisher=Jeju Special Self-Governing Province |title=Real Aspect of Jeju Folklore Clothing |work=Clothing habits|accessdate=2008-07-16] , because it was much stronger than undyed one. They might have come up with the idea that persimmon dying could make cotton stronger, so they might have started to dye it. "Gal" (갈) comes from "gam" (감) which means persimmon in Korean, and "ot" (옷) means clothes in Korean. Therefore, "garot" refers to clothes dyed by persimmons, especially unripe persimmons.

Making garot

According to "Natural coloring that we have to know" [Yi, Jong Nam. Natural coloring that we have to know. (P386-P391) Seoul: Hyenamsa. 2007.] , Various tones of black or brown colors can be obtained from dye made by unripe persimmon. To make high-quality "garot", lots of time and effort is required. First, hard unripe persimmons should be cleaned and smashed using a wooden mortar. Next, fabric should be soaked evenly in unripe persimmon pulp, and it is then massages in the juice of unripe persimmons. Then, after removing down small fragments of persimmon, the fabric should be lain on the grass and dried under the sunshine without wrinkles, otherwise you'll get an uneven color. It is turned over and to allow the opposite side to dry. After that, it should be soaked in water and be dried again under the sunshine. It needs to be dried and soaked in water twice a day for 7 to 10 days. The longer it stays in the sun, the deeper the color it has. In this procedure, you will get dark brown color basically. If the color should be lighter than brown, it is better to add some water in persimmon juice and soak the fabric in it at first time. If the color should be dark and thick brown, it can be soaked in light solution of persimmon at second time instead of water. Or it can get black color if it is soaked in iron oxide solution at second time. So the color of "garot" depends on the catalyzer-limewater, iron oxide solution, vinegar-, water, and the amount of sunshine.(Summarized and Translated by Kim, Hyeong Hee)

Advantages of garot

"Garot" has come into the spotlight as a healthful and convenient clothing. It has mothproof, waterproof, and antifungal properties. Also Gal-ot prevents putrefaction, so it doesn't go bad when sweat or water remains on it. Because of the high-density of "garot", it protects you from a splinter or sharp things. Furthermore, it had been regarded as the best work-clothing in Jeju. In addition, even though Jeju's weather in summer is very humid, hot, and rainy, "garot" doesn't cling to the body whether it rains or you sweat. So approximately 85% of Jeju people had worn "garot" in summer [Yi, Jong Nam. Natural coloring that we have to know. (P384) Seoul: Hyenamsa. 2007.] . When it comes to laundry, you can wash it without detergent, even though there are some dusts on it, you can take them off by shaking. In addition, it doesn't get wrinkle easily, so without ironing you can wear it after doing laundry [Yi, Wha Young. "Research on function of Galot". A thesis for a doctorate. Graduate School of Kyunghee University. 1998.] .

Gallery

ee also

*Dyeing
*Hanbok
*Jeju-do
*Culture of Korea

References

*Yun, Seong Hee. "Research on 'Jeju Galot' Photography: For 'MongSaengYi' Editorial Fashion Photo". A master´s thesis. Graduate School of Art and Design of Sangmyeong University. 2004 (P6)

*cite web|url=http://www.korea.net/kois/magazine/pictorialKoreaView.asp?Html_no=154 |title=Garot : Clothes Replete with the Color of the Sun and the Wind |publisher=Korea Overseas Information Service|accessdate=2008-07-16

External links